6 times when Mitchell Johnson intimidated the opposition batsmen

It was always a difficult prospect for batsmen to face an angry Mitchell JohnsonIf ever there was a bowler who has made a career out of Intimidating, it would have to be Mitchell Johnson. True, he is one of the best bowlers Australia has produced in recent times, but what makes him all the more special is the fact that he brought the fear of fast bowling back to Test cricket, particularly during his final few years.While he left some of the opponents with physical scars, a few of the others got scarred mentally. It was a great sight to see Johnson forcing batsmen to arch their backs in order to avoid getting hit by one of his bouncers.There have been a number of occasions when Mitchell Johnson has intimidated batsmen with his brand of aggressive fast bowling. Time to take a glance at some memorable instances:

#6 Encounter with Virat Kohli

Even the gutsy Virat Kohli was left temporarily without answer by Mitchell Johnson’s pace

Another popular altercation that Mitchell Johnson had during the fag end of his career was the one with India’s current best batsman Virat Kohli. It was Kohli’s first Test as captain being played in Adelaide, and early in his innings, he was hit on the helmet by a rip-roaring short delivery by the big Australian.

Although Johnson showed some concern for the batsman as he went to the ground, he continued to have run-ins with the batsman throughout the innings. Although Virat did get a century to his name in the same innings, the greatest memory one has from the match is of the encounter between Kohli and Johnson.

#5 Hits Ryan McLaren on the head

Ryan Mclaren was floored by Mitchell Johnson’s brute fast bowling

South African all rounder Ryan McLaren would probably have better memories of Mitchell Johnson’s career best 12-wicket haul against his home country than the man himself. During the Proteas 2nd innings, he was hit on the head by a Johnson bouncer which caught him right on the grill of his helmet.

Poor McLaren got a taste of a fearsome fast bowler going about his task with absolute perfection. Such was the impact of the blow that in his very next over, McLaren fell gloving to another short delivery from big Mitch.

It was a lesson in fast bowling for the South African who is himself a pacer by trade.

#4 Altercation with Ben Stokes

Umpire Kumar Dharmasena had to step in to stop the fight between Mitchell Johnson and Ben Stokes

In the 2013 Ashes, Mitchell Johnson’s verbal volleys were an equally potent weapon as were his smashing bouncers. The biggest evidence of this was visible on the final day of the 2nd Test of the series which was played in Adelaide. It was an incident which involved Johnson and England allrounder Ben Stokes.

While Stokes was scampering across for a single, his and the Aussie bowler’s shoulders collided. This did not go down too well with Mitch and he gave Stokes a mouthful as the two got involved in a heated exchange mid-pitch. So much so, that umpire Kumar Dharmasena had to intervene and separate the two.

Although both players suffered fines after the match, it was certainly Johnson who had the last laugh, when his team won.

#3 Giving Jacques Kallis a bleeding jaw

Jacques Kallis is smashed in the jaw by Johnson

It was the 2nd Test of what was a riveting series between two giants of the cricketing world, Australia and South Africa. The Mitchell Johnson of that period was not exactly known for being the brutal fast bowler that he went on to become later on; but he still had the pace to trouble batsmen.

That is exactly what he did in this Test, that too against arguably the best batsman South Africa have ever produced, Jacques Kallis. Johnson had been troubling Kallis from the beginning as he was constantly forcing the batsman to fend off deliveries.

When the Proteas legend was batting on 22, a sharp bouncer from the Aussie quick bowler smashed Kallis right on the jaw from under the helmet. Very soon, there was blood dripping and Kallis had to leave the field in pain. He returned to bat again after some overs but got out within 2 deliveries.

#2 Breaking Graeme Smith\'s hand

Johnson had former South African skipper Graeme Smith in more than a spot of bother

In a Test series between Australia and South Africa played in the year 2009, Mitchell Johnson went on to break the hand of opposition skipper, Graeme Smith. The Proteas already had the series in the bag as they collided one final time with the Australians in the 3rd Test at Sydney. During South Africa’s 1st innings, a sharp rising delivery from Johnson hit the South African captain Graeme Smith in the hand while he was batting on 30.

Smith was attempting to pull out of the shot by getting his bottom hand out of the way but he was hit on one of the fingers of his left hand as he was left wincing in pain. The result was that Smith had to retire hurt and did not come back to bat, but he did bat in the second innings.

#1 Causes Jonathan Trott to pull out midway through the Ashes

Jonathan Trott had to do a lot of hopping and ducking in the 2013 Ashes

Perhaps the greatest impact that Mitchell Johnson ever created in his career was that on the mind of England batsman Jonathan Trott. The technically sound Englishman had been a hero for his country in many a Test battle, particularly in the Ashes. But it all seemed to come apart in the 2013 edition of the Ashes played in Australia as paceman Mitchell Johnson became his greatest tormentor.

What’s worse is the fact that it took the fearsome Aussie bowler just a single Test to send Trott on the flight back home on grounds of stress-related illness. During the 1st innings, Johnson first hit Trott with a bouncer on his gloves and two overs later had the batsman edge one through to the keeper. In England’s 2nd innings, Jonathan Trott once again fell to a Johnson short ball, this time pulling one straight into the hands of the square leg fielder.

Soon after the Test, it was confirmed that Trott would not be taking part in the rest of the Ashes as he was suffering from depression, something which the England batsman denied later and stated that it was just a burnout. But his struggles against the short ball on his return to the team told a different story.