Mitchell Johnson opens up about his altercation with Pietersen during Ashes 2013

Australia’s former left-arm fast bowler Mitchell Johnson has opened about his altercations with England’s Kevin Pietersen in hs autobiography. Johnson, who tore apart the English batting in the 2013 Ashes series, had an intense rivalry in the series with Pietersen which stretched from press conferences to the middle of the pitch.

An incident occurred during the Ashes in 2009 that almost led Johnson “hitting” Pietersen. The retired pacer’s autobiography ‘Resilient’ that released on Monday, digs into the details of that incident. Before one of the Tests, in the warm-up session, Pietersen was playing a few pull shots in direction of the Australian side. “It wasn’t exactly harmless because we could easily have stood on a ball in our run-ups,” Johnson wrote in his book.

Here are some excerpts from his book published in The New Daily, which discusses the incident: “I threw a ball back to where he was and I suggested he stop it. Of course, he didn’t. When he hit another one towards me I kicked it as far as I could in the other direction.

Words were exchanged and KP [Pietersen] crossed the line in what he said. He got really personal and I’m not going to dignify his comments by repeating them. The red mist descended and I stormed in his direction with every intention in the world of hitting him.”