Johnson Retires From global Cricket

“If I had to pick out one moment, it’d be that spell in Adelaide (in the 2013-14 Ashes)”, he said.Johnson made his first-class debut for Queensland in 2001-2002 and reveled in the conditions at the Gabba, where the pace and bounce have helped Australia maintain an unbeaten run in Brisbane Tests since 1988.

Australia opener Phil Hughes died on November 27 2014, after a bouncer from Sean Abbott hit his neck.

“It still hurts to this day”, Johnson told the ABC’s 7.30 of Hughes’s passing. He added that it was indeed a great challenge to play against one of the best players of all time. “They have made a lot of sacrifices, especially my attractive wife Jess who has provided me with unconditional support, and I am incredibly grateful for that”.

Johnson, who has 239 ODI wickets in 152 matches, also saw his form dipping after Hughes’ death.

He took 43 wickets at 34.3 in 12 Test matches following Hughes’ death, compared to 58 against England and in South Africa at an average of 15.5 the previous summer.

After getting the news of the retirement of Johnson, Sachin went to the social networking site twitter to share his feelings and tweeted, “Good luck to Johnson who has always been a special bowler”.

Johnson today announced that he would retire from global cricket at the end of the ongoing Test against New Zealand in Perth.

“I just lost the hunger to compete. To win an Ashes series and a Cricket World Cup is something I will treasure forever”, Johnson said.

Johnson, however, was confident that his absence would not be felt much as Australia has a great bench-strength when it comes to fast bowlers. Guys like Pat Cummins, James Pattinson are very talented.

Describing De Villiers as the most “outstanding player” of his generation, Johnson admitted that facing the South African swashbuckling batsman was a huge challenge for him as he had always looked calm and composed while playing, Cricket Australia reported.