In grappling with Phillip Hughes’ loss, the words of Australian SAS soldier and Victoria Cross winner Ben Roberts-Smith have grown in significance for Mitchell Johnson
Daniel Brettig08-Dec-20143:19
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When Mitchell Johnson first met with the Australian SAS soldier and Victoria Cross winner Ben Roberts-Smith, he was seeking to take lessons from the life and death scenarios of warfare and apply them to the relatively light-hearted business of cricket.After the death of Phillip Hughes, Johnson and his team-mates have found themselves going through some of the emotions felt by servicemen coping with the sudden loss of a comrade in their field of work. In grappling with this mess of grief, confusion and apprehension, the words of Roberts-Smith have only grown in significance for Johnson, as he resolves to carry on with the job of bowling fast for his country at Adelaide Oval.Roberts-Smith was a major contributor to Johnson’s rejuvenation, taking the left-armer through the soldiers’ way of forging on, irrespective of how they are feeling, what doubts and fears gnaw away at them, and what has become of their squad mates. Johnson has held on tightly to these concepts this week, building himself back up to a pitch of focused aggression and rhythm for the task of attacking India’s batsmen.”I’ve been able to reflect on that, it’s made me a stronger person and going through this sad tragedy, it’s definitely helped me,” Johnson said of Roberts-Smith. “I’ve been able to get back in what I know best and playing cricket, bowling fast and being aggressive, is what I do best.”You have to get on with the job. Obviously you grieve and everyone’s different as to how long it takes, but as soon as I got that ball in my hand – I probably took a little bit more time to get into it, but I’ve been through a fair bit in my career, not to this extent, but being able to speak to him I’m able to mentally block that stuff out. Hopefully on game day I can do that as well.”Johnson first spent time with Roberts-Smith while searching for improved mental skills to run alongside a technique refined in the company of Dennis Lillee at Perth’s Hale School. Those expanses also happened to be the Alma mater of Roberts-Smith, who now shares Army Reserve duty with corporate-motivation work.”You find a way no matter what it takes, because in our line of work complacency or lack of desire can lead to loss of life,” Roberts-Smith told the last year. ”When we put it in those terms and he and I spoke along those lines, it became clear to him what lengths we will go to by way of training and development to achieve our outcome. It’s got to be done regardless of how you feel. You’ve got to get back on the horse.”Mitchell Johnson: ‘As a bowling unit we’re going to play the way we’ve been playing over the past 18 months’•Getty Images
”He had a bad time – a lot of people would have packed it in and given up. That’s why I said our whole job, our selection course, everything is based on if you’re willing to give up, then you’re not the person we’re looking for. If you really want to achieve something, when things are hard and going wrong, when you think like you’re not going to get out of a situation, that’s when we need people to stand up.”That’s the calibre of the men I work with. He got that. That reaffirmed in him the way he was before he got into his low was where he wanted to be again.”Before receiving this advice, Johnson’s mind was often scrambled by events around him, whether it be worries about his bowling technique, stories in the media or trouble at home. Last summer he showed how much he had learned about finding focus. This week he must take that further, not only dealing with the trauma of Hughes’ death but also taking up a commission to physically threaten with the ball.”You can’t let emotions get in the way,” Johnson said. “That’s probably what I used to do when I was struggling a bit, letting other things get into my head. You have to go out and play your skills and be switched on. I know our guys will be. It probably will be tough at first, but everyone does handle it differently. For me for my first session just getting back into it, I didn’t bowl a bouncer until late in the session, the more I’ve bowled the better I’ve felt.”Over the past few days, Johnson and his team-mates have regathered themselves, supporting each other even as they competed in the nets and in fielding drills. On Tuesday they will find out how effective this has been, and Johnson will have Roberts-Smith’s words of advice helping to keep him level.”The level of intensity was probably up there with the best that we’ve trained in a long while – it was more the mental side,” Johnson said. “For me it was quite difficult getting in the nets first up having a bat. The more you do it the better you feel and I think everyone has got that as well.”I know we are all ready to go. It’s a big start to the series, obviously we’re not playing in Brisbane where we would normally start, but this is really important match for us to get off running nice and early and hopefully we can have a win. As a bowling unit we’re going to play the way we’ve been playing over the past 18 months, and as a batting unit we’re going to be aggressive … we’re here to win.”