Perhaps slightly unfairly, Mitchell Johnson has come to epitomise the travails of Australian cricket over the last few weeks. Certainly the Barmy Army has been keen to highlight his role and reports are that England supporters have bought up all of Cricket Australia’s Johnson related merchandise. In the words of one observer, you can’t get a Mitchell Johnson fridge magnet for love nor money.
For Mojo Mitch this series has been a microcosm of his career since arriving in England in 2009 as the much heralded leader of the Australian attack. When he is good, as in the first innings at Perth and the second innings at Headingley, he is as close to unplayable as anyone in the world. When he gets it wrong, however, which is rather more frequently, he is a liability, not only gifting batsmen runs but also creating huge problems for his captain through his inability to bowl consistently on one side of the wicket.
The same is true of his batting. Blessed with a keen eye and considerable power he is capable of taking the game away from the opposition in an hour or so, but he is every bit as inconsistent with the bat as with the ball. In this series he made half centuries at Perth and Sydney but in his other five innings he contributed seven runs at an average of 1.4. This is in line with the rest of 2010 – between January and the start of the Ashes series he had scored one hundred and fifty-five runs at 10.33, but without his three highest scores his average fell to 3.17. This is a level of inconsistency that is unacceptable in a purported all rounder batting at number eight.
The real issue for the Australian management is that his problem is not mental or technical, it is a combination of the two. His bowling action has been scrutinised time and again, but the simple fact is that his arm is too low to enable him either to bowl a consistent line or to get the seam into position to allow the ball to swing. This means that, unless everything clicks into place as it did at Perth, his bowling is out of control. This is compounded by his desire to bowl as fast as he can – trying too hard causes problems for bowlers with excellent actions, let alone those who are technically flawed. However, if he isn’t swinging the ball then pace is his only weapon, so he is in a difficult position.
The lack of technique is also an issue for his batting. He barely moves his feet, relying instead on his eye and a full swing of the bat. This makes him very susceptible to the moving ball, especially early in his innings, as England and others have exploited effectively. Watching his second innings dismissal, to a very good ball, at Sydney in slow motion it was striking that he started to play forward, as he should have done, but then withdrew his front foot, leaving him trapped on the crease. It is almost as if he knows what he should be doing but can’t quite bring himself to do it.
Finally, there are the mental issues. With a handful of honourable exceptions, this Australian side looks weak mentally, lacking either the application or the intelligence to battle through when times are tough. Mojo Mitch is perhaps the most striking example – his bowling falls to pieces under pressure (he finished the series with the ball by being taken to the cleaners by England’s number nine) and he seems to lack the stomach for the fight when under pressure with the bat, particularly in the second innings. It came as no surprise to anyone when he was dismissed without scoring in the second innings at Sydney.
What, then, are the Australian selectors to do with him? There is no denying his talent, but at twenty-nine he is no longer a promising youngster and he and his coaches have singularly failed to resolve his technical issues. He is the kind of player who would have been a luxury worth indulging in the heady days when Australian cricket ruled the world, but in a side that is trying to re-build and come to terms with their new found standing in world cricket he is a luxury that they simply cannot afford.
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