“I was really disappointed in the whole situation”
Image courtesy of: Zimbio
In his autobiography, Resilient, former Australia left-arm seamer Mitchell Johnson delved into the depths of the infamous ‘homework-gate’ scandal, which occurred during the national team’s tour of India in 2013.
Johnson, Shane Watson, James Pattinson and Usman Khawaja were dropped for the third Test after failing to complete a task that was set by then head coach Mickey Arthur.
Opening up about the details of the task, Johnson wrote: “After that second Test we were told that we needed to write down a few things about how we could do things better ahead of the third Test in Mohali.
“At that moment I thought I should just go and tell them instead of writing it down. I wasn’t much good at doing assignments. I should have gone with my instincts but I just left it.”
Upon being told that he was not being considered for the third Test, Johnson admitted that he couldn’t believe what he had heard. He added that this was the starting point of relations between him and Arthur turning frosty.
“I was absolutely stunned. I didn’t know what to say or do,” he wrote. “I think I was in a bit of shock. Usman, James Pattinson and Shane Watson were given the same message.
“Perhaps the worst part of it was they told me I would have played in that match if I hadn’t done the wrong thing,” he added. “Why would you tell me that?
“I had a chat with Mickey as well, for maybe an hour. I had lost respect for him and told him and he didn’t like it; he was gutted by it. I had to tell him. I was really disappointed in the whole situation, but I took my punishment and moved on.”
Johnson also revealed that Arthur did not look favourably on his close friendship with all-rounder Shane Watson, who was involved with a bitter dispute with then captain Michael Clarke.
“I copped it a little bit because I was mates with Watto and we would talk a lot,” he said. “Watto is an honest bloke and that is what I love about playing with him. Mickey told me I spent too much time with Watto and that was the real issue here. I was told we were too close, like we were a faction or something.
“I am sorry but you can’t help but be close to a bloke you have been playing cricket with since you were 19.”
Johnson admitted that he considered retiring after the ‘homework-gate’ scandal, but was glad not to have gone through with it.
“I eventually moved past that thinking (retirement) and I am glad I did because it would have been an awful note to end my career on,” he wrote. “I guess it was easier to do nothing and that was what I did. I just put my head down and worked on proving that I was a better bowler than people gave me credit for.”