Steven Smith, Darren Lehman persuaded Mitchell Johnson to continue with ODIs

Australia’s second test against the Kiwis in Perth was Mitchell Johnson’s last international match

Australia’s coach Darren Lehman said to a radio station that he and Aussie captain Steven Smith wanted Mitchell Johnson to continue with One Day Internationals. However, the pacer had already decided about his retirement from international cricket and stuck to that.

While speaking to Adelaide radio station 5AA, the Aussie coach said, “His mind was made up as soon as he spoke to Steven and myself after day three. He'd been thinking about it for a while, been talking about it in the media. We spoke to him about maybe playing the one-dayers, we think that was a really good option for us to have that experience there. But he's not into it, he's not into the training anymore, he's had enough and he just wants to sit at home and watch us play.”

The 34-year-old bowler had informed his coach and captain about his decision on the WACA Test third evening against New Zealand. Though he won’t be playing any international tournament, he might play in the Big Bash League. The Perth Scorchers have already contacted Johnson’s manager Sam Halvorsen. Western Australian Cricket Association (WACA) chief executive Christian Matthews said, “We've had indications he's keen to play for us.”

Post Johnson and Ryan Harris’ retirement, Australia is trying hard to find replacement for these two pacers. Talking about this Lehmann said, “We've got a few injuries at the moment, with Harris and Johnson retiring and then you chuck in Pat Cummins injured at the moment. We've got some depth in young kids, but these four [Starc, Hazlewood, Siddle, Pattinson] are prime bowlers for us and we've got to keep them on the park.”

Though Lehmann hasn’t found Hazlewood’s performance satisfactory yet, he also feels it is too early to comment on the young bowler. Talking about Hazlewood, Aussie coach said, “He got better and better in Perth, he certainly bowled well with the new ball in the second innings, better than he probably has all series, so he looks like he's running into a little bit of form there. But it's tough to spot because he's a young kid, he bowls well in patches and we probably should have held a few catches to help our bowlers out a little bit as well. He'd like more wickets, as we would.”