Mitchell Johnson has revealed how his long-standing friendship with Shane Watson made a rocky start when the allrounder stuck the future Australia fast man's head in the toilet during a wrestle at the Cricket Academy in Adelaide.
Back in 2000, the Academy was very much an alpha-male environment helmed by Rod Marsh and featuring tutorials from the likes of Ian Chappell, John Inverarity and Dennis Lillee. Johnson told the story of how that year's intake had a habit of watching the Australia soap Neighbours together, although this seems mainly a pretence for the bouts of wrestling that took place in commercial breaks.
"Every night we'd pile into the common room and watch Neighbours before dinner," Johnson wrote in his autobiography Resilient, which released on Monday. "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."
Back in 2000, the Academy was very much an alpha-male environment helmed by Rod Marsh and featuring tutorials from the likes of Ian Chappell, John Inverarity and Dennis Lillee. Johnson told the story of how that year's intake had a habit of watching the Australia soap Neighbours together, although this seems mainly a pretence for the bouts of wrestling that took place in commercial breaks.
"Every night we'd pile into the common room and watch Neighbours before dinner," Johnson wrote in his autobiography Resilient, which released on Monday. "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."
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