Smiff not-so-subtle swipe at Johnson wide of the mark

‏@CricketAus
@GraemeSmith49 has fired a couple of not-so-subtle digs at the bowling prowess of @MitchJohnson398: cricketa.us/1f6vixo   #SAvAUS

In the wake of his side’s first Test humiliation, South Africa captain Graeme Smith has questioned just how lethal Mitchell Johnson really is.

Despite Johnson’s 12-wicket haul – including the wicket of Smith twice – the captain has pointed to both the nature of the pitch in Centurion, as well as the players Johnson is dismissing.

"The stats, even in the Ashes, say that he picked up a lot of lower-order wickets," he said, while also adding: "I truly believe that the wicket played a big role in the success that he had”.

A closer look at the fiery left-armer’s run of 49 wickets in six Tests at 13.14 finds little to support Smith’s claim.

Through those six matches – five in the recent Ashes whitewash and the first Test at SuperSport Park – Johnson has dismissed 26 batsmen in the top six, including 11 openers.

By the numbers, that’s 53.06 per cent of his wickets. Considering the top six make up 54.5 per cent of an XI, Johnson’s wickets are almost exactly proportionate when it comes batting positions dismissed.

Batting posn

Wickets

Openers

11

No.3

4

No.4

3

No.5

3

No.6

5

No.7

6

No.8

5

No.9

5

No.10

1

No.11

6

The 32-year-old's run of 49 wickets is also the 10th-most productive six-Test streak in the history of the game.

www.cricket.com.au/news-list/2014/2/16/n...itchell-johnson-jibe

why dont Smiffy tell us how Mo had him dancing in de 2nd innings

respect the Mo you moron!

http://www.cricket.com.au/news-list/2014/2/16/~/media/AD38DBD81223452AA66212E717C766F0.ashx

dance Smiffy dance


South Africa captain Graeme Smith gets out trying to protect himself from a vicious Mitchell Johnson bouncer

When is the PEDs gonna come into the International discussion ?

why everbody swerving to avoid ..

Chairman , please to contact WADA ....thanks !

Haha I love this. Now Mitch'd be even more pumped. Smith is a total retard. He might be right, of course pitch did favor him somewhat, but annoying Mitch does not put him down, it pumps him up - and he's shown that lots of times.

Don't get me wrong, I like Smith and he's a gentleman otherwise, but this is stupid