On the pages of Cricinfo, I came across this statement from your manager
"You would have to say, looking back now, it worked effectively. With that same thing in mind we want to protect his long-term interests and I don't see that will be served by playing the IPL and he agrees."
Laudable sentiments those. And one which I would have endorsed wholeheartedly in normal circumstances.
But these are not normal circumstances.
A cursory glance through Statsguru reveals the following
Test matches - Bowling analysis - Innings break up
The minimum overs bowled by you in an innings is 8.
The Matchwise breakup makes for more painful reading
Test matches - Bowling analysis - Matchwise break up
The minimum number of overs bowled in a Test - 23.5
Add to that the following
1. Australia plays 11 test matches in the remainder of this calender year, not to mention T20 and ODI series.
2. Your team does not have a spinner, which means that the pace bowlers have to pick up the slack.
3. With Brett Lee on the sidelines and Stuart Clark on the mend, you are the go to guy for the Australians.
4. Your batting has come about in leaps and bounds, making you a genuine all rounder in the lower middle order.
My point - your workload will not decrease anytime soon As a matter of fact, you will have more to do during this season and the next.
And given that your idiot captain uses you as both strike and stock bowler, how much longer before you pick up injuries? And how much longer before your captain bowls you to the ground?
You are 27 now, and not getting any younger. And given the way the cricket calender is structured and given the paucity of bowling resources your team has at the moment and given the manner in which your captain treats bowlers ( Gillespie, Kasprowicz, Krejza, Lee), how long do you think your shelf life is?
Signing up for the IPL may increase your workload, but you don't have to show up for work to be assured of a steady income for the next 3 years - the pro rated salary structure takes care of that.
And here is the other thing - you are the flavour of the season at the moment. You may be on the sidelines the next. And when you are on the sidelines, how many IPL owners do you think will be queueing up to sign you?
So tell me again, how are your long term interests being protected?
Cheers,
PS:- Just realized something - you play your tests at Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town, venues that hosted you the last time Australia were in South Africa. And we all know what happened then, right?
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Dear Mitchell,
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4 comments:
Mate
For starters, I simply am not buying into this Mitchell Johnson bloke. For someone supposedly good, he sprays the ball around way too much.
Now, if the bloke himself wouldn't know where the next one might land, what chance does the batsman have. This is the main reason he gets half his wickets!
Forget Mcgrath, this bloke isn't close to Gillespie. He would peter out sooner than Punter ever imagined.
As to his IPL statement, it's so in vogue in the Aussie team to show their ' patriotism'. Whole lot of bollocks if you ask me.
A bit foolish i guess.
He should have joined in now, better now than any later.He really has squandered a chance to make 800 grand.
PLaying in the I.P.L wud be better than Ponting screwing his career up
Tifosi Guy,
Johnson looks good with the white ball, I am yet to be convinced with his ability with the red cherry.
For the most part, his MO seems to be to bowl wide and let the batsman chase - bringing the slips and gully into play.
Will be interesting on how he goes in England.
Cheers,
S.L.D,
My sentiments exactly.. In fact, he does not even have to play - just signing up and a half decent contract will get him some money on the side for just being a part of some franchise.
Now, that I think about it though, imagine Johnson getting 800K while "Bargain Basement" remains at 340K.
That will surely jeopardize Johnson's long term interests :) - think Brett Lee, Andrew Symonds.
Thanks for your comments and welcome to the blog.
Cheers,
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