At his best, he was Marauding Mitch, producing unplayable spells, breaking fingers and carrying Australia on his golden left arm. At his worst, he was Hit the Pitch, Mitch, struggling during the Ashes. Either way, this has been a memorable year for Mitchell Johnson. He was in brilliant form with career-best match figures of 11-159 in the Perth Test last December, setting the tone for a destructive few months against South Africa. The 27-year-old put two of the world’s best batsmen, Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis, in hospital, and displayed an irresistible all-round talent with his maiden Test century, an explosive 123 not out in 103 balls, in Cape Town. Having helped Australia to a 2-1 series win in South Africa with 16 wickets and 255 runs, Johnson arrived in England with a reputation as cricket’s new superman, and has confessed he did not handle the pressure well. He did recover to finish the Ashes with a respectable 20 wickets at a cost of 32.55 each. Johnson then became only the second Australian after Ricky Ponting to win the ICC Cricketer of the Year award. Chloe Saltau
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