Date:25/12/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/12/25/stories/2006122507691600.htm

Sport - Football

Johnson fills in for McGrath

Melbourne: As Glenn McGrath, nicknamed `Pigeon', bids the game goodbye, Australia has a `Little Pigeon' in young fast bowling prospect Mitchell Johnson, who is ready to fill his shoes, chiefly as a prankster.

McGrath, the world's most successful pacer who will quit after the World Cup in April, has a reputation among his teammates as a serial pest due to his love of practical jokes and dressing room tomfoolery.

Often annoying, McGrath's antics have also lightened some tense moments in the Australian dressing room and 25-year-old Johnson has been studying the master at work.

"He jokes around a lot and it's something I've started to do — they are already calling me `Little Pigeon'," Johnson was quoted as saying by the `Herald Sun'. "Now I've got a bit of confidence around the players I'm really hamming it up. People say Pigeon is a pest but I've always found him really funny," he said.

Touted as Australia's next pace star, Johnson is also likely to be drafted into the Test side after McGrath's retirement. — PTI