JOIN USMitchell Johnson wasn’t the force one expected him to be in Australia’s triumphant World Cup campaign but he had his moments that reminded everyone of his ability to change the course of a game in the space of a spell or an over.
A tally of 15 wickets from eight matches at a slightly high economy rate of 5.13 tells you that the left-arm paceman had had an average Cup by his standards but he appeared to have reserved his best for the semifinal and the final where his performances helped Australia coast to victories over India and New Zealand respectively.
Johnson broke India’s resolve during their chase of 329 in Sydney by dismissing Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in quick succession while he had figures of 3/30 as Australia blew away the Kiwis to a paltry 183.
“It's surreal at the moment,” said Johnson during a public celebration of their fifth World Cup and the first at home. “You get flashbacks of the night, parts of the game. Seeing the crowd here today and the support throughout this tournament has been unreal. We had past players come and talk to us about 1992 and what it was like for them. To actually experience this now, to win the World Cup at home… It doesn't get much better,” he gushed as thousands of Australians gathered at the Federation Square in the party on Monday afternoon.
Johnson attributed Australia’s success at the biggest stage – four World Cups in the last five – to their ruthlessness. “The ruthlessness is what we're all about,” he pointed out. “We play hard cricket. We built up to the final to play that kind of cricket. Mitchy Starc was excellent throughout the tournament. He deserved to win the player of the series. He bowled outstandingly. Guys performed throughout the tournament but as a group we stepped up in those final stages.”
There were quite a few pace attacks that stood out in this tournament. New Zealand were excellent in their swinging and seaming conditions while India were a surprise package so far as their fast bowlers were concerned but the Australian pacers proved they were better than the best.
“It's pretty hard to compare,” said Johnson when asked to compare the present unit to previous World Cup-winning attacks. “I had the pleasure of bowling with Glenn McGrath and Brett Lee -- those guys that you idolise, you watch them on TV growing up. We don't have those legends of the game yet. Some of these guys will be. We've got a great bowling group,” he offered.
Johnson felt Mitchell Starc, who stole Johnson’s thunder with 22 wickets and man of the tournament award, was ripe to prove his Test credentials too. “I don't think it's far away,” he said. “I just think he needs to play consistent Test match cricket. I know what it was like when I first started -- you're trying to find your rhythm and trying to find your place. This has definitely given him a lot of confidence. He was criticised through that Test series last year (against India). He has really stood up. I'm really proud of him,” he remarked.