Ashes 2015: Mitchell Johnson reveals his retirement plans

Ashes 2015: Mitchell Johnson reveals his retirement plans: Although, the Australian side endured a horrific thrashing at the hands of England in the Third Ashes Test match at Edgbaston but Mitchell Johnson reached an implausible milestone in the same match. When Johnson bowled a ripper of a bouncer to get rid of Jonny Bairstow, he became the 5^th Australian to cross the 300 Test wickets mark and joined the exclusive club of Australian bowlers. So far Dennis Lille, Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Brett Lee had achieved the humongous feat.

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Mitchell Johnson is now 33 and before the beginning of the Ashes series, he had indicated that it will be his last test series in England. Now, Mitch is only 10 wickets away from breaking Lee’s record of 310 Test wickets while with 55 more test wickets he will surpass Dennis Lille’s record of 355 test wickets as well. Johnson has been a splendid performer for the Aussie side over the years. The 33-year old admitted that once he crosses Dennis Lille’s wickets-tally, he might well retire from the game as well.

The hero of the 2014/15 Ashes series said that, “Another personal achievement it would be nice to reach DK Lillee. That’d be pretty special. You never know, if I get that opportunity to reach him I could end it there as well. It would be a nice little finish as well. It’s probably something I don’t normally think about and it’s something that I’ll be able to cherish when I’m finished cricket and sitting back with my mates enjoying a beer.”

Mitchell Johnson further said that, “It was a very special occasion to get my 300th and the way I did it. I guess that’s sort of a trademark for me now, to bowl that short ball and get it ripping off the gloves and getting the catch behind or somewhere around there. It was very special for me and to join an elite club it doesn’t get any better.”

“For me it’s all about winning Test matches but you do have those personal achievements and goals that you have. It’s something I’ve never been really about, but since the 300 has come up I’ve thought about it more. (The) next target for me is trying to chase down Brett Lee. That’d be really nice; a hero of mine. I once said I wanted to bowl as fast as Brett Lee when I first came on the scene and I was able to bowl with him. That was a great experience.” Johnson said.

Jonson also talked about being targeted by the English fans since the commencement of Ashes series here in England. He takes such things in a positive way and said that, “I get amongst it a bit more now. I definitely take it as a bit of a compliment now and when the whole crowd is cheering my name at the end of a game when they (England) have just won, you have to take that as a compliment.”

Praising the jam-packed Edgbaston crowd, he said that, “It’s a pretty special crowd, they were really loud there (at Edgbaston) and I expected that from past experiences, they really do get vocal and they really enjoy their cricket. A couple of boys (his Australia teammates) reminded me out there to get involved again because they wanted a bit more (crowd) noise towards me. I think that’s fair game”

The Aussie speedster added that, “I definitely feel like I can take the brunt of it and I take the focus away from the other guys, and I’ve really embraced that role”.

But, Johnson also stated that everything has a limit and certain things are unacceptable. He asserted, “I’m all for it when it’s in a game, but I think when you’re walking with your family in the street I think it’s a bit overboard.”

“People are pretty passionate about their cricket and when they (their team) are doing well, so I guess you’ve got to understand it from that point of view. But I’d prefer that it (stays) out in the middle, that the crowd are right behind their team and giving it to me on the field,” he said.

The Fourth Investec Ashes test will start from Thursday at Trent Bridge. England is leading the 5-match Test series by 2-1.