Mumbai: Mitchell Johnson has let one rip as he said he came close to punching Kevin Pietersen. In his recently released autobiography ‘Resilient’, former Australian pacer reveals that the maverick England batsman “crossed the line” and “got really personal”.
While the duo had an altercation during Australia’s 5-0 Ashes clean sweep in 2013-14, the incident, which Johnson talks about, took place in 2009 ahead of the opening Test in Cardiff.
"Things got out of hand during the warm-up for the Test and what happened probably indicates where my head was at. Kevin Pietersen is a guy who likes to stir things up and I can appreciate that. He knows how to get under people's skin and when we were bowling in the morning he played a few pull shots in our direction, says Johnson.
"It wasn't exactly harmless because we could easily have stood on a ball in our run-ups. I threw a ball back to where he was and I suggested he stop it. Of course, he didn't. When he hit another one towards me I kicked it as far as I could in the other direction, Australia’s ex-pace bowling spearhead as saying by ‘cricket.com.au’.
"Words were exchanged and KP crossed the line in what he said. He got really personal and I'm not going to dignify his comments by repeating them. The red mist descended and I stormed in his direction with every intention in the world of hitting him,” writes Johnson.
"This was all being played out in full view of spectators who had arrived early and the media. Stu Clark (Stuart Clark) saw it all happen and came rushing over just as we came together and jumped between us. KP is a big guy, but I was very worked up. Fortunately, Stu is bigger than both of us because it took a bit to convince me not to go through with what I planned. I am so glad Stu was there," adds the former Aussie pacer.
Johnson, who ran riot with his thunderbolts in 2013-14 Ashes series at home, also said that had the duo gone ahead, life could have taken another strange twist.
"I have rarely had a fight in my life, but when I have had a chance to pull the gloves on I've loved it. During the boot camp ahead of the 2006–07 Ashes series we had to get in the ring with a professional cage fighter. He was a scary bloke and I landed a couple of good hits. Hardly anyone else touched him. If KP and I had gone toe to toe, life might have taken another strange twist,” says Australia’s World Cup-winning hero.
"I was pretty disappointed with what he said and it stayed in the back of my mind after that. We had conversations off the field and he seemed okay, but I wouldn't say he was the sort of bloke I would ring up or send a text congratulating him on his career. There are limits to what you can say. I am sure everyone knows the line. You can't bring family or stuff like that into it and I am sure he knew he had gone too far, but he did it on purpose because he wanted to get me going," concludes Johnson.
