Former Australian fast bowler Mitchell Johnson has revealed how his friendship with belligerent all-rounder Shane Watson got off to a very shaky start. Johnson gave an account of the incident when the duo were part of a Cricket Australia academy back in 2000.
The tearaway quick revealed this particular spat in his autobiography, Resilient. Johnson said that back then there was a tremendous influence of characters like Ian Chappell, John Inverarity and Dennis Lillee. He goes on to reveal that the people who assembled that year were all addicted to an Australian soap, Neighbours. However, he is quick to mention that this was merely an excuse for the frequent bouts of wrestling which took place during the advertisement breaks.
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"Every night we'd pile into the common room and watch Neighbours before dinner. I was always a bit willing as every time there was an ad break there would be an all-in wrestle on the floor until the show started again.
"In one wrestle I was dragged through the door and into the bathroom by a heap of guys and somebody pushed my head into the toilet. I wasn't impressed and the red mist descended. Somehow I managed to break free and I grabbed whoever it was by the front of the shirt as I got up and someone grabbed mine.
"I raised my right fist and he did the same. Then we looked at each other. It was Watto. I think we both looked at each other and thought: nah, I'm not going to hit him, he's my mate, and put our fists down at the same time. I can't say I wasn't angry. It took me a few days to get over it", Johnson wrote in his autobiography which released on Monday.
However, both the burly players became the closest friends later on in the careers, so much so that they were barely separable. During the infamous 'homeworkgate' scandal, the then coach Mickey Arthur had accused Johnson of spending too much time with Shane Watson. Arthur had also said that this was one of the reasons why Johnson was suspended for the match.
"Mickey told me I spent too much time with Watto and that was the real issue here. I was told we were too close, like we were a faction or something. I am sorry but you can't help but be close to a bloke you have been playing cricket with since you were 19."
Johnson also said that he copped a lot mainly because he was close to Watson.
"Watto is an honest bloke and that is what I love about playing with him", Johnson further said.
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