Mitchell Johnson exposed!

It's odd, but more than those spells outta hell in the 2013-'14 Ashes, I tend to remember Mitchell Johnson for his smile that's always plastered on his face. A manic moustache hid some of that smile, and Johnson handed out quite a few England retirements that Ashes. There was no respite for England. Johnson started with nine wickets in Brisbane, followed by eight in Adelaide, six in Perth, eight in Melbourne, wrapping up with another eight in Sydney - far more than the bagful of wickets were the mental scars left on the England batsmen; it was raw, filthy pace at its fearsome best. A man with a smile like that, who would've thunk it.

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Michael Clarke was wrong. Bonding over beer doesn't kill the killer instinct

So much of cricket is not about cricket. What happens on the field is so often linked with what happens off it. Every cricketing culture is also part of the wider culture from which the players are drawn. Take the recently concluded Ashes series, where the question of shared cold beers led to frostiness between the two sides.

The story goes something like this. England captain Alastair Cook walked up to his Australian counterpart Michael Clarke aka "Pup" after the first Test, which England had lost, and offered the suggestion that the teams should sit down and have some beer together. Clarke turned down the offer. The English were most puzzled. Come to think of it, it's not a bad idea. A friendly drink helps keep things in perspective. After all, cricket is just a game and not war. Obviously, the Aussies think differently. Read more.