Mitchell Johnson - A case of over-dependence by Australia ?

Mitchell Johnson – Dealing with over-dependence?

When you are woefully out of form, people begin to write you off. This becomes much more prominent during a keenly-contested series, such as the Ashes, where everything you do is under intense scrutiny.

Australia’s left-arm pacer Mitchell Johnson had a terrible 2012. But the current season has seen a revival in his skills and an extra spring in his step. Having wrecked the much-vaunted Indian batting line-up during the recent ODI series and now meting out the same treatment to the hapless England batsmen, Johnson has become Australia’s Weapon X – fast, fearsome and ferocious.

Not many bowlers around the world will have the remarkable speed or stamina to send down the short-pitched stuff at 150 km/hr on a regular basis. First, those deliveries are hard to play. Second, with Mitch hitting the higher end of the speed gun frequently, the ball becomes a vicious missile with just one thing on its mind – hit the batsman where it hurts the most.

The 32-year old left-armer is enjoying a second wind, especially after he was not selected for the first leg of the 2013 Ashes. The first game of the return leg showed the Aussies where they had erred; at Brisbane, it was as if the clock had turned back to when Lillee and Thomson terrorized batsmen around the world. England capitulated without a fight. Johnson was a hero.

However, the bigger question is – are the current Australian setup depending too much on Mitch?

It is not an unreasonable query. The moment the southpaw left India to prepare for the Ashes, the Kangaroos’ bowling was all over the park. Rohit Sharma helped himself to a magnificent double-century as India took the series. Without Johnson at the helm, the pace attack’s sting was negated.

Of the faster bowlers in the current squad for the Ashes, Ryan Harris and Peter Siddle are the only two experienced ones besides the Queensland-born left-arm seamer. While both are fine exponents of the short stuff, neither has the express pace of Johnson. In particular, Harris is prone to severe injuries, and Siddle is more workman-like in his approach.

Nathan Lyon is effective, but spin really isn’t one of Australia’s stronger suits yet. This means that the burden of providing breakthroughs and keeping a tight leash on the rival batsmen still rests – though not completely – on Johnson’s shoulders.

A fast bowler’s most vulnerable part is his back. Johnson has struggled with stress fractures and a lot of other injuries in recent times. If Australia’s strategy is to knock England over with pace, it can prove to be counter-productive because the only one who can hit the 150 km/hr mark is Johnson, and doing that regularly will take a toll on his body.

Barring the left-arm pacer and the off-spinner, I have not seen any other bowler even trying to dominate the English. Siddle has disappointed me, to be honest. For a guy who is very accurate, he seems to have lost a bit of confidence in himself. He looks a pale shadow of his wicket-taking self, and despite maintaining his nagging line, has struggled to make any significant in-roads into the opposite line-up.

Harris, on the other hand, is bowling well within his limits. His match haul of five wickets at Brisbane suggests that he will be exactly what Johnson needs – a steady supporting hand. He won’t risk getting injured again, but a few quick deliveries around the rib cage area should take the pressure off Mitch a bit. The right-left combination works well for a team that’s batting first; I see no reason why it shouldn’t work for the bowlers as well.

All Johnson needs is a wealth of support and reliable back-up. Australia should focus on those aspects too because even though Mitch can win games for his side, he knows it is a team sport and everyone needs to contribute. If the entire bowling attack clicks as a unit, we may see a much more effective Johnson in years to come!