Former Poms destroyer rips Root's Gabba claim

2 years ago 448

Mitchell Johnson terrorised Joe Root and his England teammates successful the Gabba Test of the 2013-14 Ashes.

And astir 8 years later, arsenic Australia adjacent successful connected the Brisbane Test of the 2021-22 Ashes, Johnson has unleashed different Gabba-inspired thunderbolt astatine the Poms.

The erstwhile superstar accelerated bowler has changeable backmost astatine Root's caller remark that the venue is nary longer an Australian fortress.

That remark, published by The Guardian successful November, came connected the backmost of India's unthinkable triumph astatine the Gabba successful January, which consigned Australia to their archetypal Test decision astatine the venue since 1988.

"Having to spell backmost determination and play again for the archetypal clip against us, what with it being specified a stronghold for them for specified a agelong play of time," Root said successful an interrogation with The Guardian.

"We present cognize that it's not."

Johnson has present fired backmost astatine the England skipper successful an interrogation with Wide World of Sports, arsenic Australia's artillery of quicks – spearheaded by new skipper Pat Cummins – primes itself for Wednesday's match.

"Maybe he's trying to instrumentality his ain caput into reasoning that due to the fact that India played good determination that they should beryllium OK," Johnson said.

"But I deliberation he's trying to fool his ain mind.

"It's inactive a stronghold from our constituent of view, from an Australian (point of view). Even from the position of idiosyncratic conscionable watching the game, who hasn't played successful a while, you cognize the Gabba's hot."

The Gabba has agelong been considered a investigating batting aboveground for distant sides owed to the antithetic grade of bounce and velocity the transportation generates.

Countries from the subcontinent, specified arsenic India and Pakistan, person had peculiar trouble batting astatine the crushed owed to the low-bouncing and slow-paced quality of their location wickets.

The challenging bounce and velocity of the Gabba platform are large reasons wherefore erstwhile Australia pacemen Glenn McGrath (65 wickets astatine 21.75), Craig McDermott (40 astatine 22.62), Johnson (34 astatine 25.08), Dennis Lillee (31 astatine 20.16) and Brett Lee (29 astatine 21.55) person sparkling Test records astatine the venue.

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Brisbane's oppressive summertime conditions besides hamper distant sides astatine the Gabba.

"You ever cramp successful that archetypal Test match," Johnson says.

"It doesn't substance if you're an experienced subordinate oregon not, and you get yourself prepared the champion you can; you thin to find, particularly if you're a bowler and if you're batting for a agelong time, you volition cramp there.

"The ground's a spot softer, the transportation is hard, truthful you spell from brushed to hard, past you've got the heat, the humidity. If it rains determination you've got to woody with the moisture coming retired of the crushed arsenic well. So you're feeling each that stuff.

"It decidedly plays into Australia's hands.

"So that's wherefore it's 1 of the champion places to commencement a Test bid for Australia."

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