Mitchell Johnson – Overcoming Self-Doubt
Self-doubt is something that we all face at some point in our lives. For some, it stops us from taking a leap into the great unknown, resigning us to ask what if for the rest of our lives. For others, this self-doubt is made worse by those that we encounter, keeping us in our own little glass box and never truly reaching our full potential. But today, I want to talk about a story that shows that often self-doubt is nothing but words, and when a person truly realizes that they are the makers of their own destiny, life has a funny way of pushing us towards where we were meant to be all along.
It's January 7, 2011, the fifth Ashes Test in Sydney, and for the first time in nearly 24 years, the English had done something that would make Aussie stomachs turn: they'd won the Ashes in Australia, and they would be taking the urn back to England. Australia, on the other hand, was in the process of renewal itself after the progressive retirement of that world-beating side of the 2000s. There were still titans in that 11, but the team just wasn't the same anymore. The English were better in that series, and, not known for letting a good opportunity go to waste, the English let the Aussies know about it both on and off the field.
Now, this is par for the course. Australia and England have that kind of relationship, especially in sports, and it's not like Australia isn't guilty of it either. But one player copped it more than anyone else: Mitchell Johnson. Since the retirement of Brett Lee, Mitchell Johnson had been ordained as the next spearhead fast bowler for the Australian bowling attack, and he had the skills to do it. Tall and imposing, with a slingy left-arm action, Mitch was the key to Australia's bowling attack. He didn't need a full day to wear down a batting lineup; he just needed one spell to change the fortunes of an inning. By the time these Ashes rolled around, he already had six career fifers. But like other fast bowlers in history, that tearaway fast pace came at a cost to his accuracy. That slinging action that allowed him to create so much velocity also meant that there was less margin for error between this and this.
England's supporter group, the Barmy Army, known for their songs during England games, came up with one for Mitchell Johnson that was as clever as it was scathing. They sang it virtually every time he came out to bowl and even when he came out to bat, and whether it was intentional or not, it had an effect on Mitchell's performances. With the exception of a man-of-the-match performance in Perth, Johnson's issues with accuracy were coming to the fore, not helped by the media, and he had had one of his worst series to date.
The jibes weren't confined to the playing field either. In 2015, Johnson recounted an incident in Melbourne with some English fans around the time of these Ashes. There was this time five years ago when I was walking down the street with my wife in Melbourne, and I copped abuse from about 10 English blokes, and this was in my own country. It was pretty full-on, and I'd better not repeat what they said.
But perhaps more significantly, the impact that this series had on Mutual self-confidence would stay with him long after England had left Australia's shores.
Australia's next series was away in Sri Lanka, and Johnson would have been hoping to move past the performances in the Ashes of last summer. Over that three-test series, Australia won one nil, but Johnson's ineffectiveness and inaccuracy with the ball would continue. He only picked up six wickets for 313 runs at an average of just over 52.
With now two poor series on the trot, the calls from the media to drop him grew louder. Although Captain Michael Clarke and the selectors stuck by him for that next series in South Africa, there was no uptick in his fortunes, taking three wickets for 255 runs at an average of 85. It appeared that Mitchell's problems were more than just a form slump. With a lack of self-confidence, his bowling action was changing from delivery to delivery, as he could sometimes fall away with his bowling action. The trajectory of his deliveries was changing ball to ball. While he wasn't necessarily bowling whites every time, those aimed at middle and off were able to be flicked down Lakeside for four, although those pitched back of a length were coming out as half volleys.
Johnson had a bigger problem now. With a crisis of confidence, he had developed mechanical issues with this delivery. All good shots, well played. Don't worry about running for that.
It was at this point where something happened to Mitchell, which, at first glance, might seem as yet another bad thing to add to the rest. While batting in the final Test in Johannesburg, Mitchell broke a ligament in his toe that would force him onto the sidelines. He had to take time off to recover. Talk about bad luck. But it wasn't all that bad. In reality, it was exactly what Mitchell needed: a circuit breaker to get out of the grind of international Test cricket and put himself on a better mental footing.
Once he was back to bowling fitness, he gave a call to a man who's always been in Mitchell Johnson's corner ever since he spotted him as a 16-year-old and named him a once-in-a-generation bowler: Dennis Lilly.
Dennis Lilly doesn't need an introduction, but this injury setback allowed him to get his game back on track. Key to this was a simple four-letter acronym that he could remember while he was playing: TUFF.
The first T stands for Target, as in locate where your bowling target is. The U stands for "stand up," stand upright during your delivery action, and avoid falling away to either side. The first F stands for front arm; bring your front arm down as fast as you can to generate velocity. And the final F stands for follow-through: follow through with your delivery action to ensure all the momentum that's generated goes through the ball and it's not wasted elsewhere.
Mitchell Johnson's first chance to put the baggy green back on happened in the Australian summer of the 2012-2013 season against South Africa and Sri Lanka. We saw a Johnson who wasn't bowling at a tear-away pace just yet, but whose issues with accuracy and inconsistency had largely disappeared. He took 15 wickets in three Test matches that he played that summer, and his confidence seemed to be building once again. What had originally seemed like an injury that could derail his career might have been the one thing that saved it.
For much of the 2013 season, Mitchell Johnson didn't play for the Australian Test Team. Part of it was to do with a coach, some unfinished homework, and a resulting media frenzy, something that I might make a Blog about in the future, while Australian selectors decided to pick up up-and-coming stars James Pattinson and Mitchell Starc to support Peter as he settled into an unsuccessful Ashes campaign in England.
But as the Australian summer of 2013-2014 rolled around, England was seeking to extend their Ashes win streak to four series in a row, something they hadn't done since before Australia became its own country. Stress fractures in the lower backs of James Pattinson, Pat Cummins, and Mitchell Stark ruled them all out for that summer. In defending Australia, it was down to the old guard pace attack that faced England at the beginning of our story: Ryan Harris, Peter Siddle, and Mitchell Johnson.
Under new coach Darren Lehman and Captain Michael Clarke, Johnson's role in the side was slightly different from earlier series. Johnson wasn't going to lead the line anymore. Instead, he would be brought on for a few overs and then taken off to rest. That way, he could maintain his pace throughout the day and throughout the series.
On that first day of the Ashes at the Gabba, Johnson took to the field with a mustache that his mentor would be proud of. It signaled a change of mindset and intent, at least from the outside. Johnson wasn't the timid, self-doubting player who let the English fans get into his head and affect his game anymore. No, with self-belief in his abilities, Mitchell Johnson became the enforcer and chief of the Australian cricket team. And that summer, he was nasty. He was cocky. He was almost unplayable.
Australia whitewashed that series five nil and kept the urn on Australian shores. Mitchell Johnson, the player of the series, took 37 wickets at an average of just under 14. He had shown the world, and more importantly himself, self-doubt be damned, that he truly was that once-in-a-generation bowler.
He went on to experience two more seasons with the Australian Test team before calling it quits on his Test career at the Wacker in front of friends and family. At the end of it all, Mitchell Johnson ended with 313 Test wickets.
Imagine if he had walked away from the game in that 2012 season. We would have never seen a man who conquered his demons and put on that historical Ash's performance. Mitchell Johnson will be forever remembered as one of Australia's best-ever fast bowlers.
And I guess it's true after all. When a person realizes that they are the masters of their own destiny, life, or some other power, it has a funny way of putting us exactly where we need to be all along.
Hey guys, Mitchell Johnson here, and this story in particular is one of my favorites, and I hope that you enjoyed the Blog. If you did, please think about leaving a like down below and sharing with someone who might like the Blog also. And if you're new, thanks for stopping by, and consider subscribing. This Blog about overcoming adversity shares a few similarities with another Blog I made on Jack Leach, which is on screen now. Check that one out if you haven't already, and until the next one, take care, and I'll see you soon.