Mitchell Johnson (Under Wraps)

[acker]

Left hand Fast can bowl over 150 kph settles generally in the mid 140's
Queenslander destroyed Victoria in last years "Pura cup" (Sheffield Sheild) final
4 for 11 against India in Kuala Lumpa then sent straight back to Australia.
Definitely being groomed behind closed doors with the Ashes in mind.
I took the following insert from BaggyGreen.com

Dennis Lillee fell hard and instantly when he spotted him as a 17-year-old at a Pace Australia camp and called him "a once in a generation bowler". Lillee immediately phoned Rod Marsh, who was then the Australian Academy head coach, and Johnson was quickly headed to Adelaide and the national under-19 team.

[Mr Hutt]

i saw the spell against india and you are absolutely right he will be used in the ashes as a super weapon for the aussies, great bowler!!!

[acker]

Footnote

Finished the Vic's off in the second innings with 6 for 51 and 10 wickets for the final after Queensland had just declared at 6 for 900 on the first innings.

Tipped by Thommo to be the man most likely to break the 162 kph speed ball record also.

[Seamer]

Yes, i was just about to suggest that he requires optimum conditions to succeed. But that wicket that he skittled Vic on was an absolute belter.
Be a gamble for him to open with Lee however - they are both capable of ripping through sides but they are equally capable of going for plenty of runs.
Wonder if they will be prepared to take that gamble?

[Mr Hutt]

my god what an opening attack that will be... lee and jhonson... amazing.. like the two W's they areboth capable of tearing any team out. Very very interesting... im looking forward to this!!!!

[Ernest]

Originally Posted by acker

Left hand Fast can bowl over 150 kph settles generally in the mid 140's

Not as fast as Lee though is he? - 150kph is fast at 93-94mpm, but 140kph is just about 85mph I think.

Lee is faster that that I think.

[acker]

Dropped his pace off a bit in the last few years to master his ball control better. Was reguarly hitting the mid 150's a few seasons ago in televised domestic matches.

[Andy Mellon]

His major selling point is that he's a lefty who's quick. Most lefty seamers are *generally* swing bowlers - Irfan Pathan, Mark Ilott etc. And there aren't many lefties who make it as an international class seamer. In fact, Pathan has fallen away of late. I can't think of a top class lefty seamer off the top of my head.

If he's as quick as 85-90mph and left handed AND generally accurate (possibly even only 5 balls out of 6) he could be a genuine problem for a lot of top class batsman who wouldn't have faced that before.

[Beny]

Originally Posted by acker 113900

Dropped his pace off a bit in the last few years to master his ball control better. Was reguarly hitting the mid 150's a few seasons ago in televised domestic matches.

Domestic matches are'nt clocked and most people are only guessing he bowls that quick. When I saw him in NZ he was struggling to break 140kmph...

He's a talent but still needs work- much like Lee did... He can be very expensive at times and often only gets his wickets in single matches. He needs top conditions.

Saw him bowl to Ponting in an ING match last season and he basicly wet his pants (so did slips when the ball nearly took his head off) .

[Quagmire]

The best thing about johnson is that he can bowl lightning spells, but he can also swing the ball back into the right handers and angle the ball across the right harders. Could be something special in the making.