Summer ending injuries to Pat Cummins and James Pattinson have opened
the door for one of the more unlikely Test recalls in recent history
with Mitchell Johnson set to play against South Africa in Perth
tomorrow. In-form, Johnson is one of the most intimidating stump rattlers in the world and the bouncy WACA has
traditionally been his most fruitful playground.
Australia need a strike weapon. South Africa have two in Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander while Australia were looking towards injury prone young guns Cummins and Pattinson as this summer’s X-factors. Currently Peter Siddle is leading the Australian attack and is doing so with complete commitment but is a strike bowler? He bowls well and bowls for a long time and gets plenty of wickets along the way but is he our best option when the chips are down and we need quick wickets.
In Adelaide, Siddle bowled himself into the ground, collecting four wickets in the process of almost snatching the win. Maybe he just needs a hand at the other end? At the moment his partner in crime Ben Hilfenhaus has earned his place in the team with solid performances but he’s down on form and hardly has the Proteas shaking in their boots. At his best Johnson can get those quick momentum shifting wickets. Is he Siddle’s elusive strike partner?
The worry for fans is that Johnson is only
intimidating when in-form. His most recent efforts in the baggy green
were awful to the point where we all assumed that his Test career was
over. Playing away in South Africa, Johnson claimed 3/255 across 4
innings. And he would have gone for more runs had Michael Clarke not hid Johnson in the attack. There is no room for passengers this time around.
The backlash would have been
more sever had Australian not tied the 2 test series with a victory in
the 2nd Test thanks to an impressive 7 wicket match haul from debutant
Cummins and ironically, some very handy lower order batting from Johnson who swatted 38(not out) and 40(not out). Johnson subsequent summer ending foot
injury was irrelevant. He was on the scrap heap anyway.
So what of his current form? Johnson has been okay
in the Sheffield Shield this year taking a middling 17 wickets per 29 runs. Not exactly world beating but not all that bad if you buy into
the fact that Johnson has been returning from injury. Supreme optimists would note that Clarke’s pre-series Shield form with the bat was decent without being overly dominant but his Test summer so far will go down as one of the greatest patches in history. Not that we’re predicting a 10 wicket Test haul for Johnson but if he’s physically and mentally nearing his peak, we can expect him to lift further to slot into the Test team.
Johnson is among a
pack of 6 vying for 4 spots. Siddle and Hilfenhaus would be definites but it’s been a taxing series, especially for Siddle. We’ll
assume that at least one of the two will be ready to roll tomorrow. Mitchell Starc has carried the drinks for the last two tests so he has to be
next in line. That leaves Johnson and the uncapped Josh Hazlewood and
medium pacer John Hastings. If they are fighting for 2 spots, Australia
won’t blood two debutants. Even if Siddle and Hilfenhaus are both good
to go, Johnson still looks to have the edge on account of Aussie
selectors willing to take a gamble on Johnson’s WACA rep and Test
experience.
Johnson’s impending Test recall might not be music to all our ears but he is a player capable of dominating a team. And the Aussie’s are certainly desperate for that.
Mitchell Johnson’s WACA heroics:
