Mitchell Johnson have had hundreds of encounters with batsmen on the 22-yard strip called pitch. He won a few and lost a few but it was his encounters with AB de Villiers that he enjoyed the most.
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Recently retired Australian fast bowler Mitchell Johnson has revealed who was the toughest batsman to bowl at, during his global career. “He was always so hard to get out and a huge challenge”, Johnson told Inside Cricket.
Johnson made England hop and jump in the 2013-14 Ashes series in his own backyard by picking 37 wickets in the five matches, and helped Australia won the series nearly single-handedly. Johnson managed to torment most of the Proteas batsmen except de Villiers.
Renowned for his express pace, ferocious bounce and capacity to intimidate, the 34-year-old said in a statement ahead of the fifth day’s play at Perth’s WACA Ground: “I feel now is the best time to say goodbye”.
Johnson had dismissed de Villiers in either innings and picked up the man-of-the-match award for 12 scalps in the fixture, but the latter’s gutsy knocks – of 91 and 48 – in the two innings left a lasting impression on the Aussie pacer.
“I keep in mind the sport at Centurion (in 2014) and I’d received a number of fast wickets in that recreation and he got here out to bat and appeared so calm and composed and simply performed his pure recreation”.
“It is really hard to deal with a situation when someone comes out and challenges you at the top of your game, but he has been one of the best cricketers I bowled to in my career”, he has been quoted saying.
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“It hit me really hard because I had that Ashes series when I was bowling really fast, and I did hit players and it made me think was I doing the right thing, playing in the spirit of the game”.
