REGARDLESS of what happened overnight in Australia's Champions Trophy semi-final, the embarrassment of losing the Ashes to an unremarkable England team six weeks ago still lingers for Australian cricket. Nor does it help that one of the culprits of our dmise has shown some improved form of late and just been named ICC cricketer of the year.
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| Mitchell Johnson |
For, along with the batting collapses in the two Tests that we lost, and the non-selection of a specialist spinner at the Oval, the biggest reason Australia lost the Ashes was the poor form of Mitchell Johnson.
There is a popular misconception doing the rounds that Johnson improved after the Lord's Test, but it couldn't be further from the truth. Apart from occasional spells of hostility, he bowled poorly for the majority of the series and failed to make a worthwhile contribution with the bat.
What made his series all the more disappointing is that he is obviously one of the stars of world cricket. It's easy to like big Mitch, and there is a distinct reluctance in cricket circles to criticise him. But the truth is, he went from being Australia's trump card to its biggest liability in the space of two months. Twenty wickets at 32 apiece looks fine on paper, but it fails to tell the tale of the lack of control he gave his captain.
By the time he got to the series-decider at the Oval, Johnson was a broken man. His bouncers in the second innings were pitching just metres in front of his own foot, and his inept shot in getting out to Steve Harmison near game's end encapsulated his hangdog mindset.
We tap-danced around his shortcomings all series: he was relieved of new-ball duties because of his inability to control it, and was used as a shock bowler in short spells rather than the workhorse that he'd been previously. In the end he put an unbearable load on the inexperienced Peter Siddle and Ben Hilfenhaus, and created more problems for Ricky Ponting than he did for the England batsmen.
The warning signs were there from the beginning of the tour: lifeless pitches meant that the edges we'd seen flying towards well-populated slips cordons in Australia and South Africa were merely running along the ground to third man for four.
Admittedly he had his moments where he embarrassed the likes of Paul Collingwood and Ian Bell with good short-pitched bowling, but he can worry right-handers with his deceptive slinging action even when he's below his best. His bowling to the left-handers, particularly Andrew Strauss, was most disappointing after his exploits against South Africa's Graeme Smith.
Since the Ashes, Johnson has gradually regained some confidence through the one-day format of the game. His rhythm seems to have returned, and he has struck some lusty blows with his gloriously clean-hitting ability.
There is a misguided notion that Johnson needs to get more aggressive, but we saw nothing of that last Australian summer as stumps, fingers and helmets were rattled. It's not part of his nature, and when on song his bowling is enough to put the wind up the world's best without him uttering a word.
Nor do we want to hear about off-field family distractions as a reason for a form slump. That's for the tabloids and glossy magazines. As cricket lovers, we've had standards of mental toughness set by men like Warne and Ponting.
The time has come for bowling coach Troy Cooley to vindicate his reputation. Johnson needs work if there is to be any hope of consistent swing and control of line and length, and Cooley's input is needed in his approach to getting batsmen out, and containing them.
Johnson is still the most precociously talented cricketer in the world. With his pace, athleticism and terrific work ethic he became Ponting's dream go-to man for a good 12 months. Soon he will get the chance to bully the West Indies on Australian pitches.
But he will only get back to being a match winner under real Test match pressure when he regains his true self-belief and displays a better understanding of his game. The great regret for Australian cricket fans is that those ingredients were missing when Johnson needed them most. --
TheAge
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