It seemed next to impossible a just 18 months ago but unfortunately Mitchell Johnson – England’s Ashes destroyer in the 2013-14 series – could find himself dropped for the next Test between cricket’s oldest rivals.
Johnson scalped 37 wickets in Australia’s 5-0 whitewash of the last Ashes held in Australia with a sublime average of 13.97 .
Johnson’s aggressive short-pitched bowling, assisted by swing and a decent yorker – saw England batsmen surrendering, both on the cricket field and mentally. He almost single handedly demolished the English resistance.
Kevin Pietersen admitted in last October last year that England were “scared” of Johnson and that he was “really worried” and “petrified” of the Aussie spearhead.
So what has really changed now?
Well, Johnson is no more that fast as he used to be, and it is natural as he turns 34 in November. In that famous Ashes series, he often crossed the 150km/h mark, occasionally edging towards 155km/h.
In the recent series in the West Indies, Johnson kept bowling around 140km/hr mark. He often looked tired after a heavy international schedule. He has been playing at home and away countries across all the three formats which included World Cup, IPL and the West Indies over past six months.
Cricket Australia wanted him to skip the IPL and offered incentives to the paceman in the hope he would rest up for the Ashes but Johnson, understandably, wanted to cash in the opportunity.
Now the big question is will it cost him a spot in the first Test in the Ashes?
Interestingly Johnson was not given the new ball in the recently concluded second Test in Jamaica. It was for the first time since a 2013 Test in Delhi this happened with Johnson.
Well taking a look at his peers, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc , they are bowling better than Jhonson.
Hazlewood was the major positive out of the West Indies tour, as he grabbed 12 wickets at an outstanding average of 8.83 and an economy rate of 1.86 runs per over.
This comes on the back of 12 wickets in three Tests he picked up against India before the World cup at an average of 29.33. His average was better than anyone else who picked up a wicket in a Border-Gavaskar series.
Hazlewood who does not have the pace of his fellow pacers Mitchell Starc or Johnson but his smooth action, both in and away seam movement and to top it all accuracy means that he has all what it takes to become Australia’s most successful seamer in years to come.
One more encouraging sign was that the Hazlewood was equally good with The Duke ball in West Indies, which will be used in England during the Ashes, which is different to kookaburra. This means there are no reasons he won’t bowl well in English conditions.
Then there’s Starc, who probably is in his career-best form. He’s bowling fast, obtaining bounce from any pitch, swinging it and is capable of making the world’s best batsmen look silly.
The only concern over Starc has been his tendency to bowl too many bad balls but he has undoubtedly improved in that regard.
A strong New Year’s Test in Sydney was followed by a brilliant World Cup, as he led Australia to victory with 22 wickets in the marquee tournament, followed by a successful IPL campaign. In WI he picked 10 scalps at an average of 16.00 in the West Indies which makes him a surety for the Ashes.
He, like Jhonson has also played in the IPL, but at 25 and with only 17 Tests under the belt, is better equipped to deal with a hectic schedule.
Selector Mark Waugh also calls Starc “probably about the best fast bowler in world cricket at the moment – red or white ball”.
So coming to the conclusion, the actual competition is going to be between Johnson and Ryan Harris for the spot of the third fast bowler assuming the Aussies will go with Nathan Lyon as the solo spinner.
Moreover, Ryan Harris who was not a part of WI tour is also a class bowler, ranked fourth in the Test cricket. His record is second to none, picking up 113 wickets in 27 Test matches.
He was also showed an impressive performance on the 2013 Ashes Tour.
Harris took 24 scalps at 19.58 in four Tests, with Peter Siddle (17 wickets) the only other Aussie to take more than 11. Without Harris things could have been far worse for the kangaroos.
To makes selection of Johnson more difficult, have a look at Johnson’s record in England. Fiery pacer has played total of seven Tests, picking up 23 wickets and a mediocre average of 37.73.
Many former players will argue that just the sight of Johnson will put fear into the England batsman, but if one looks at cold stats Johnson should not be in the touring party.