Ashes 2015: Australia's Mitchell Johnson on the story so far...
Taking 300th Test wicket was 'amazing', says seamer
Tuesday 4 August 2015 17:20, UK
Mitchell Johnson reflects on the horror of Edgbaston, offers his support for Michael Clarke and discusses the Barmy Army banter...
Fun with England’s Barmy army
Something I was really looking forward to in Birmingham was playing in front of a loud crowd, and I knew they would have a bit of banter in store for me.
I take it as a compliment when they go after me — it’s actually quite a nice feeling.
Towards the end of the match they were getting stuck in with me, so for one ball I stopped my run up on purpose just to have a bit of fun with them, which they seemed to appreciate.
Then the next ball I bowled from about two metres behind the crease. I meant to bowl the ‘long ball’ but probably not quite that far back.
We were really struggling by that stage so I thought I might as well try something different. It certainly surprised Joe Root — he gave me a bit of a smile.
Dealing with the crowd is part and parcel of being a professional cricketer, especially as a fast bowler when you stand at fine leg and get to listen to all the comments that are being said. A lot of them are quite laughable! As long as it doesn’t get personal then it’s just fine with me.
Support for skipper Michael Clarke
We all saw what Michael said after the match — he spoke out honestly because like any of us he really wants to win this series.
He’s the captain of the Australian cricket team and he felt like he let the team down.
He’s got everyone’s support. He’s led the team really well for the last few years. We just want him to play his best cricket. I think he felt as captain that he needed to step up and he said what he said.
The dejection of Edgbaston
There is no avoiding it — we were very disappointed with our performance in Edgbaston. We just didn’t bat well and we didn’t start very well with the ball either.
What’s going on out on the field has a very immediate effect on how everyone else is feeling back in the dressing room. The mood can change a lot during the course of an innings.
When we lose a couple of quick wickets, you can feel the tension in the air and all of a sudden people are starting to put their gear on.
The main thing is to try avoid too much tension and just remain calm. The same goes for when I get out — you don’t want to bring too much negative energy back into the dressing room.
Having said that, I have to admit I’ve had a couple of blow ups in my time. One of the funniest ones I had was also one of the scariest.
It was during a one-dayer against South Africa in Johannesburg. I got out not long after Ricky Ponting did and he was standing in the corner of the dressing room watching the game on TV.
I was so angry with myself for getting out that I threw my helmet down in disgust but I could only look on in horror as it bounced up and hit the captain of the Australian cricket team in the face.
I was absolutely terrified — I reckon all the blood drained from my face! I was very apologetic and luckily Punter just brushed it off.
These days I generally try stay pretty calm, hold that aggression and anger inside and then release it when I go out to bowl.
Bringing up 300 wickets
It was pretty amazing to take my 300th wicket and join such an elite club. It hasn’t really hit me at the moment and as a current player individual milestones aren’t really what I focus on but it’s definitely something I’ll be proud of when my career is over.
When it happened I didn’t really do anything special on the field but at the end of that day I cracked open a beer with a couple of the other boys, which is what we normally do when someone reaches a milestone.
But very quickly the focus turned back to the main task at hand, which was trying to win a game of cricket.
Looking back on how my game has evolved, I think I’ve definitely become a lot smarter in how I bowl.
Earlier in my career I said that I just try to run in and bowl fast but that was probably me trying to be the big, tough fast bowler.
These days I’m able to adapt to conditions a lot quicker. In the past I tried to blast teams out when the conditions didn’t really suit that approach, so you have to try something different. I’ve become a lot more patient.
Mitchell Johnson's Ashes column originally appeared on www.foxsports.com.au
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