Ashes 2019 | Mitchell Johnson condemns spectators booing Steve Smith’s return to the crease
Mitchell Johnson has condemned the minority of spectators at Lord's, who booed Steven Smith on his return to the crease after being felled by a Jofra Archer bouncer, as 'not cricket fans'. However, Johnson believes that England’s tactics to get Steve Smith out was fair and added to the excitement.
Back in his day, Johnson was one of the few fast bowlers who could bowl at the kind of pace, with such aggression and hostility as Archer did on day four of the second Ashes Test. During the 2008-09 season, as he recalls, there was a moment at the SCG when South African captain Graeme Smith walked out at No.11 in a bid to save the match for his team. Smith had had his hand broken by Johnson earlier in the match but when the former came out to bat, entire crowd went up to give him a standing ovation.
"One of the biggest disappointments for me was the crowd. Not the whole crowd, obviously, but a couple of boos could be heard through the effects mic, and that really disappointed me when he came back out to bat. I remember in 2008 when Graeme Smith came out to bat, and the crowd were on their feet. The majority of the fans here were, but for me, the ones that booed were not cricket fans," Johnson told ESPNCricinfo.
So, the former Australian speedster understands and agrees with England’s tactics, given the level of skill that Smith has displayed in the series so far.
"How do you get Steve Smith out? We keep talking about it and England hadn't tried that tactic of really going after him. But the game is played with the short ball. We saw Patty Cummins earlier in the Test going quite hard at Archer, so it's expected in this game. There was nothing illegal about the delivery, I don't think there was too much of it,” Johnson said.
Although they understand the tactics were almost a desperate measure on the part of the hosts, and they shared in the excitement it brought, nearly everyone on social media was upset with the English players’ reactions as Smith writhed in pain.
“In that situation, they did everything they could as players. They made sure he was okay as best they could. They are not professionals in the medical world, so they have to leave that up to the professionals to make those decisions and sort that out. There is a bit of stuff going around in social media about Buttler and Archer laughing and smiling, but you don't know what they were laughing at, and for me, they weren't laughing at Steve Smith," Johnson added.
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