Horrie Is God
First Grade
- Messages
- 8,073
http://www.foxsports.com.au/cricket/australia/mitchell-johnson-has-no-plans-to-retire-from-cricket-turns-to-dennis-lillee-to-rescue-his-test-career/story-fn2mcu3x-1226239155765
Mitchell Johnson has no plans to retire from cricket, turns to Dennis Lillee to rescue his Test career..
By Peter Badel News Limited newspapers January 08, 2012 11:08AM
A determined Mitchell Johnson says he has no plans to retire from cricket and has turned to fast-bowling legend Dennis Lillee in a bid to resurrect his Test career.
Speaking for the first time since undergoing toe surgery in December, Johnson opened up about his turbulent 2011 calendar year and hit back at critics who believe he will never play for Australia again.
Recuperating at his Perth home with his left foot encased in a compression boot, Johnson has had plenty of time to ponder his future.
He took only 13 wickets last year at 56.62, faces more than a year in Test exile and his top-five Cricket Australia ranking is set to plummet following the emergence of boom quicks James Pattinson, Patrick Cummins and Mitchell Starc.
But Johnson promises this - he is not finished. Hell-bent on returning to Test cricket, he has made fresh contact with Lillee, his former mentor and the man who described a 17-year-old Johnson as a "once-in-a-generation" bowler.
"I've spoken to Dennis Lillee already," Johnson said.
"I have worked well with him in the past and he knows me really well. I spoke to him at a Perth Scorchers function recently and he said he's always available to help me.
"When you find someone like that who works for you, you have to grab them with both hands and do some hard work with them.
"Dennis is like a mentor to me and it's great to be able to rely on a coach like that in times when you need them."
Now 30, Johnson accepts he faces a long road back to the baggy green given the arrival of Pattinson and Cummins, Peter Siddle's continued improvement and the rebirth of Ben Hilfenhaus.
He will see his surgeon in Melbourne this week and doesn't expect to bowl for another four months. But Johnson, Australia's most successful Test left-armer of all-time with 190 wickets from 47 Tests, has walked the path of adversity before and emerged a better man for it.
"I can definitely make it back," he said. "It would be a nice milestone to reach 50 Tests as a bowler. I had a look at my baggy green the other day and it smells and looks pretty old. It means a lot to me.
"I'm realistic, it's going to be pretty tough to get back in. There's not many Tests left this year and now even Ben Hilfenhaus is back bowling great.
"But it's a good goal to have, I'm working towards wearing that baggy green cap again.
"I'm looking to play for another five or six years and I want to play Test cricket again. I find it a bit strange that people are saying I'm gone, that I'm done and dusted. If anything, that motivates me a lot more."
Was he shattered to miss the Australian summer?
"To be totally honest ... no," he said. "It was a bit of a relief in a way. I haven't got too down. I haven't watched much cricket at all, I just wanted to get away from it.
"This Christmas was my first one at home in about six years.
"There was a lot of talk about my form and I haven't been going as well as I previously have been. I do miss the game, but the way I'm looking at it, I see it as a positive because it's given me the opportunity to start from scratch and work on some technical things with my bowling that you can't really do when you are away on tour."
Johnson admits he has been left confused by all sorts of advice and has pledged to get back to bowling his way.
"That has something to do with it, it's hard when you have a lot of people coming in and telling you what you should and shouldn't be doing," he said.
It must be a strange feeling knowing that your missus could kick your arse whenever she felt like it..
Mitchell Johnson has no plans to retire from cricket, turns to Dennis Lillee to rescue his Test career..
By Peter Badel News Limited newspapers January 08, 2012 11:08AM
A determined Mitchell Johnson says he has no plans to retire from cricket and has turned to fast-bowling legend Dennis Lillee in a bid to resurrect his Test career.
Speaking for the first time since undergoing toe surgery in December, Johnson opened up about his turbulent 2011 calendar year and hit back at critics who believe he will never play for Australia again.
Recuperating at his Perth home with his left foot encased in a compression boot, Johnson has had plenty of time to ponder his future.
He took only 13 wickets last year at 56.62, faces more than a year in Test exile and his top-five Cricket Australia ranking is set to plummet following the emergence of boom quicks James Pattinson, Patrick Cummins and Mitchell Starc.
But Johnson promises this - he is not finished. Hell-bent on returning to Test cricket, he has made fresh contact with Lillee, his former mentor and the man who described a 17-year-old Johnson as a "once-in-a-generation" bowler.
"I've spoken to Dennis Lillee already," Johnson said.
"I have worked well with him in the past and he knows me really well. I spoke to him at a Perth Scorchers function recently and he said he's always available to help me.
"When you find someone like that who works for you, you have to grab them with both hands and do some hard work with them.
"Dennis is like a mentor to me and it's great to be able to rely on a coach like that in times when you need them."
Now 30, Johnson accepts he faces a long road back to the baggy green given the arrival of Pattinson and Cummins, Peter Siddle's continued improvement and the rebirth of Ben Hilfenhaus.
He will see his surgeon in Melbourne this week and doesn't expect to bowl for another four months. But Johnson, Australia's most successful Test left-armer of all-time with 190 wickets from 47 Tests, has walked the path of adversity before and emerged a better man for it.
"I can definitely make it back," he said. "It would be a nice milestone to reach 50 Tests as a bowler. I had a look at my baggy green the other day and it smells and looks pretty old. It means a lot to me.
"I'm realistic, it's going to be pretty tough to get back in. There's not many Tests left this year and now even Ben Hilfenhaus is back bowling great.
"But it's a good goal to have, I'm working towards wearing that baggy green cap again.
"I'm looking to play for another five or six years and I want to play Test cricket again. I find it a bit strange that people are saying I'm gone, that I'm done and dusted. If anything, that motivates me a lot more."
Was he shattered to miss the Australian summer?
"To be totally honest ... no," he said. "It was a bit of a relief in a way. I haven't got too down. I haven't watched much cricket at all, I just wanted to get away from it.
"This Christmas was my first one at home in about six years.
"There was a lot of talk about my form and I haven't been going as well as I previously have been. I do miss the game, but the way I'm looking at it, I see it as a positive because it's given me the opportunity to start from scratch and work on some technical things with my bowling that you can't really do when you are away on tour."
Johnson admits he has been left confused by all sorts of advice and has pledged to get back to bowling his way.
"That has something to do with it, it's hard when you have a lot of people coming in and telling you what you should and shouldn't be doing," he said.
It must be a strange feeling knowing that your missus could kick your arse whenever she felt like it..
