Strength in the Face of Adversity

The respective performances of Mitchell Johnson and Chris Tremlett in the Perth Test Match serve as a reminder of the difficulties that professional sportspeople go through to achieve success. The two pace - bowlers have different stories, filled with trials and tribulations, but have one important thing in common; they've both bounced back and they've both done it in style.

The way in which Mitchell Johnson has performed in the Third Test Match of this Ashes series is nothing short of remarkable.

Having been dropped after giving an astonishingly erratic account of himself in Brisbane, journalists, fans, ex - players and pundits all lined up to berate Johnson and it looked as if the Australian public had fallen out of love with the tattooed Queenslander.

His exclusion from the Second Test Match was contentious and he reportedly was furious at his omission from the side. Cricket Australia then refused him the opportunity of playing state cricket during the Adelaide match (instead he carried the drinks and completed twelfth man duties) leaving Johnson dejected and kicking his heels.

So how in such a short space of time has Johnson turned it all around?

A self belief bordering on delusion, a confidence which most would describe as arrogance and an exuberance surpassed by none has seen Mitchell drag himself off the canvas, dust himself down and put in a performance similar to that when he was the World's best in 2009.

Whilst Johnson's recovery has come in a relatively short period of time, Chris Tremlett's return to Test Cricket has been a much longer and drawn out affair.

Tremlett first played International Cricket back in 2005, and made his Test Match debut in 2007 against India. He was a cricketer with considerable ability, blessed with height and a frame that most pace bowlers would die for.

What Tremlett lacked was fitness.

Plagued by injury after making his debut for England, the former-Hampshire paceman struggled to gain any sort of consistency in his cricket and his International career was as good as written off until he joined Surrey for the 2010 season.

The move sparked a run of form that saw Tremlett catapulted back into the media eye, complete an injury free season and gain selection for the Ashes tour. All of a sudden the 6"8 giant was being touted as England's number one back up bowler and when Stuart Broad was ruled out for the rest of the tour, Tremlett was first in line to replace him.

His performance in Perth, not only reminded us of his considerable talent, but was the perfect example of somebody grabbing their opportunity and making it count.

These examples illustrate the determination that we find in sportsmen desperate to succeed. They put to shame the people who let their talent go to waste, who under-achieve, who don't have the fight or the desire. Both Tremlett and Johnson are talented beyond belief (nobody questions that) but their stories reflect the kind of people that they have become.