Mitchell Johnson back in Ashes frame
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Wayward paceman Mitchell Johnson is back in Australia’s one-day international squad, he’s set to play in the Twenty20 World Cup and he’s on the radar of Test selectors.
The forgotten 47-Test veteran’s career appeared to be at the crossroads as Johnson sat out the home summer with a toe injury while youngsters like James Pattinson surged ahead of him.
However, Johnson was on Thursday named in the ODI squad to play one match against Ireland in Belfast and five games against England in June and July.
Young allrounder Steve Smith has also been recalled to Australia’s 15-man ODI squad along with Pattinson, who is nursing a back injury, and fellow quick Pat Cummins, who has been battling a heel problem.
Australia’s chairman of selectors John Inverarity also named Johnson in an Australia A squad of 17 led by Test opener Ed Cowan for two four-day games against the England Lions in August.
Left-armer Johnson, a former ICC international player of the year, has not played since suffering a tendon injury in his left big toe while batting in the Johannesburg Test last November.
“With Mitch … he’s very much in our sights for the ICC T20 World Cup (in September in Sri Lanka),” Inverarity said.
“We’ll see how he goes in the nets and in the initial three matches before the ODI series and we’ve got plenty of back-up there.”
Inverarity said Johnson, 30, was absolutely still in the frame for next year’s Ashes tour.
“Mitchell Johnson is a fine cricketer with a very good record (190 wickets at 31.29) so we’re hoping that he comes back,” Inverarity said.
“I’ve seen Mitch bowling a couple of times in Perth recently. He’s bowling very well.
“I’ve had a number of conversations with him and talking a lot about how he bowled in Perth in that Test match against England (taking 6/38 and 3/44 in 2010/11) and really stacking up his action and getting through and bowling line and length and swinging them in.
“He’s had six or seven months to reflect on this and I think he’s desperately keen to do that.”
Johnson was reinvigorated after his six-month break, Inverarity enthused.
Inverarity said the fitness of Cummins, the 19-year-old speedster who claimed seven wickets on debut in South Africa in November, would be monitored throughout the ODI tour.
Cummins returned to competitive cricket for Australia’s under-19s in a quadrangular series last month.
Spinner Nathan Lyon was overlooked for left-armer Xavier Doherty in the ODI squad, while Peter Forrest, Peter Nevill, Dan Christian and Mitchell Starc were also left out.
Former Test batsmen Usman Khawaja, Phil Hughes and Shaun Marsh were not included in the Australia A squad.
Victorian opener Rob Quiney, despite being Shield cricket’s second-leading runscorer with 938 at 49.36, narrowly missed out on Australia A selection behind Western Australia’s Liam Davis and South Australia’s Michael Klinger.
Tasmanian wicketkeeper Tim Paine has also earned a call-up for Australia A after a long stint on the sidelines due to a finger injury.
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May 11th 2012 @ 6:18am
Red Kev said | May 11th 2012 @ 6:18am | Report comment
Disgrace.
There’s not much else to say. Inverarity, Marsh and Arthur strike another blow for Western Australia at the expense of Australia. I thought the new NSP was supposed to stop this nonsense. I hope the Australians get belted by everyone they play.
May 11th 2012 @ 8:08am
Lolly said | May 11th 2012 @ 8:08am | Report comment
It’s hardly a disgrace to be picking Johnson for the ODI matches. He’s got an excellent record in that format.
May 11th 2012 @ 8:19am
Matt F said | May 11th 2012 @ 8:19am | Report comment
That’s absolute rubbish Kev. Mitchell Johnson has been fantastic in the ODI arena. He was named in the last ICC ODI Team of the Year and averaged 20.98 with the ball in ODI’s in 2011.
As horrible as he was in the Test team, his ODI record more then warrants selection in this team.
May 11th 2012 @ 6:20am
Rhys said | May 11th 2012 @ 6:20am | Report comment
Good to see Steven Smith back in the Australian squad. I’d rate Dan Christian a bit unlucky to be replaced by Johnson. I guess if Johnson can rediscover some consistent form it’s all good for the depth in the Australian ranks.
May 11th 2012 @ 8:11am
formeropenside said | May 11th 2012 @ 8:11am | Report comment
Smith in the team is stupid. Apparently he’s replaced Forrest, who did not a lot wrong.
May 11th 2012 @ 7:36pm
Blaze said | May 11th 2012 @ 7:36pm | Report comment
But he does add a bowling option…
May 11th 2012 @ 7:21am
Disco said | May 11th 2012 @ 7:21am | Report comment
Johnson’s a good one-day bowler but a very average Test player who should now be well down the pecking order. However, it’s inevitable he’ll play Tests again because he’s one of the the boys (unlike, say, Copeland or McDonald).
I’m surprised Arthur’s second-favourite batsman Shaun Marsh isn’t captaining the A side, though I guess Cowan has ingratiated himself enormously through his ‘fitting in with the group’, ‘embodying the fabled unique Aussie spirit’ etc etc.
If he’s not in immediate Test thinking – and he’s clearly not – why on earth you wouldn’t want Khawaja playing in four-day matches against the English Lions ahead of an Ashes tour 12 months later is beyond me. Then again, I guess Arthur, Clarke et al are probably very happy with the present Test top six.
I’ve read this line about Khawaja and Hughes already being contracted to counties this Northern summer and that’s why they weren’t picked in the A side, but Inverarity claims the squad was picked on last summer’s playing performances. I guess that’s why Tim ‘The Anoited’ One Paine was chosen ahead of Peter Nevill.
May 11th 2012 @ 8:22am
Matt F said | May 11th 2012 @ 8:22am | Report comment
Well if it were picked on last summer’s form then Khawaja and Hughes would still be nowhere near the team
May 11th 2012 @ 8:29am
Disco said | May 11th 2012 @ 8:29am | Report comment
Agreed. But neither would Paine or Johnson… or Smith or Cummins.
Quiney on the other hand…
It seems to me that they trot out out contradicting reasons to justify Usman’s omission.
May 11th 2012 @ 8:47am
Matt F said | May 11th 2012 @ 8:47am | Report comment
Paine and Cummins were out of the side because of injury, not form. When they were in the Australian set up they both did very well. That’s very different to why the likes of Hughes, Khawaja and Marsh aren’t there. Smith is a fair enough call but he’s in the ODI/T20 sides. Different squad entirely.
The “A” batting line-up is very strong. Davis, Bailey, Forrest and Cowan all averaged over 50 in the Shield last season, Klinger was close to that (and has been immense for a few years now) whilst Cooper and Burns (who both averaged 40+ last summer) have obviously been taken over with an eye towards the future.
I’d say that Khawaja did a great job in not picking himself by averaging below 30 last summer. Hughes as well.
May 11th 2012 @ 9:01am
Disco said | May 11th 2012 @ 9:01am | Report comment
Smith’s also in the first-class A squad. Why, I’m not quite sure.
Paine’s the golden boy; he’ll always be selected.
Khawaja struggled in the late-season Shield games, true. Prior to that, having top-scored in the second dig in Jo’burg, then run out by the ever-useful Ponting in Brisbane when he looked very good, Khawaja next failed twice on a green Hobart wicket (as did almost everyone, farcically in Ponting’s case) and did pretty well in the PM’s game against India. I suspect being set adrfit from the Test set-up at that point hit his confidence quite hard. Personally, I’d have persevered with him as he looks to me to be the most talented Australian batsman under the age of 30. Hence his stellar ’09/10 and ’01/11 domestic seasons. His face doesn’t fit though, seemingly.
I’ve no problem with Burns and Cooper being looked at, but while I like Bailey and Klinger are they (or indeed Marsh or Forrest or Cowan) seriously better Test prospects than Khawaja?
May 11th 2012 @ 9:29am
Matt F said | May 11th 2012 @ 9:29am | Report comment
Fair call. I’m not sure how Smith is in there, though given he’s an all-rounder who bats in the middle order, he’s not exactly a like for like replacement for Hughes/Khawaja. I don’t think his selection would have made an impact.
As you’ve just said, he didn’t make runs. Big issue.
The players in the “A” squad are usually a mix of youngsters who have shown recent promise, and are “long term” prospects (i.e. Cooper and Burns) and also more experienced players who have been in good form and that the selectors believe could step into the Test team tomorrow, if needed. Clearly the likes of Bailey, Klinger etc are in that category. If Khawaja had made runs this season then he would also be in that category, but he didn’t. It’s his own fault.
You can’t pick a batsman who isn’t scored any runs lately. A player needs to earn his spot. Plenty of players have been dropped (sometimes unfairly) and responded with a stack of runs to force their way back into the side. Unfortunately for Khawaja, he didn’t do this.
May 11th 2012 @ 10:01am
Disco said | May 11th 2012 @ 10:01am | Report comment
Yeah, that’s fair enough.
Re: the Test side, it’s a moot point anyway. There’s no indication any of the current top six are in any dangher of being dropped… unless of course Arthur desperately wants Marsh back in there.
May 11th 2012 @ 7:54am
Disco said | May 11th 2012 @ 7:54am | Report comment
”Khawaja at 25, 26 hasn’t shown what Damien Martyn had [at the same age],” Inverarity said. ”He hasn’t. We would dearly love to have that next tier of batsmen at a higher standard than they are, but selection is all about picking the best of what you’ve got. My experience with young people is they are better off in the mid- and long-term if you demand performance from them.”
Not sure what Martyn’s got to do with the continued ostracism (and concerted criticism) of Khawaja, but I can only assume that the world-class performances of the likes of Watson, Cowan, Marsh and Forrest have demonstrated to Invers that they of a superior standard and thus warrant selection.
May 11th 2012 @ 8:10am
Lolly said | May 11th 2012 @ 8:10am | Report comment
Forrest and Marsh aren’t in either squad are they?
May 11th 2012 @ 8:21am
Disco said | May 11th 2012 @ 8:21am | Report comment
Forrest is in the A squad.
Marsh isn’t, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he was first reserve for a Test batting spot.
May 11th 2012 @ 8:23am
Matt F said | May 11th 2012 @ 8:23am | Report comment
Given that we don’t have a Test series until this summer, and that current test players are in the A side, I’m not sure what they’re saving him for
May 11th 2012 @ 8:26am
Disco said | May 11th 2012 @ 8:26am | Report comment
Perhaps they’re saving him from further humilation at the hands of English seamers!
That way, Arthur can push for his recall against South Africa.
May 11th 2012 @ 8:03am
Lolly said | May 11th 2012 @ 8:03am | Report comment
Selecting Johnson for English A tour is all good. He was going to be getting a gig at some pont, but in England, he’ll get hit around a fair bit for not many wickets in the 3 and 4 day matches and so can slide right down the pecking order for test match bowling.
May 11th 2012 @ 8:05am
jamesb said | May 11th 2012 @ 8:05am | Report comment
“Inverarity said Johnson, 30, was absolutely still in the frame for next year’s Ashes tour.”
your kidding right. The last time he played an ashes series over there, he was laughed and ridiculed by english commentators and fans alike. I think ATM, theres 7 or 8 fast bowlers that are ahead of him.
As Disco said earlier, Johnsons not a bad one day bowler. Could be a handy player to come in and replace the aging Brett Lee.
May 11th 2012 @ 8:13am
Lolly said | May 11th 2012 @ 8:13am | Report comment
Considering how often the Aus bowlers break down, I would think that just about any Aus bowler under the age of 35 is in the frame for next year’s Ashes. I’m sure that’s why they’ve picked ludicrous numbers of quicks for both squads.
May 11th 2012 @ 8:24am
Disco said | May 11th 2012 @ 8:24am | Report comment
I would have thought with Cummins’ major fitness concerns – having been blooded in Test cricket prematurely – they’d have saved him for first-class cricket next summer, rather than recalled him for some meaningless ODIs.
It seems Harris is being protected for Test duty, so why not this much-vaunted prospect?
May 11th 2012 @ 8:53am
Matt F said | May 11th 2012 @ 8:53am | Report comment
They’ve said that it’s a squad picked with an eye on the T20 World Cup in September.
May 11th 2012 @ 9:08am
Disco said | May 11th 2012 @ 9:08am | Report comment
Again, is that really the direction Cummins should be pushed towards with hardly any first-class cricket behind him?
May 11th 2012 @ 9:20am
Matt F said | May 11th 2012 @ 9:20am | Report comment
If he’s fully fit then why not? He burst onto the scene in the BBL and is a very good T20 player. If his injury is 100% healed why shouldn’t he play? The T20 World Cup ends on October 7 (that’s assuming we even make the final) so I don’t think that he’d miss any Shield matches? Happy to be proven wrong on this point though, I haven’t seen next summers SS schedule yet
May 11th 2012 @ 9:28am
Disco said | May 11th 2012 @ 9:28am | Report comment
I just wonder whether he’d be better off in the long term if the priority was getting some serious bowling into his body, as opposed to some four-over stints. Let’s hope he’s still fit for the Shield in October.
May 11th 2012 @ 9:31am
Matt F said | May 11th 2012 @ 9:31am | Report comment
It’s a legitimate concern. I’d only consider him for selection if his body was really 100% right. If it works out well then the T20 World Cup could be good at easing him back into bowling before he has to start bowling long spells in the Shield.
May 11th 2012 @ 8:36am
Matt F said | May 11th 2012 @ 8:36am | Report comment
In wouldn’t read too much into that James. If I were a selector I’d say the same thing about any player, a year out from a series. A lot can change over 12 months so it would be stupid to categorically rule a line through any player.
If, by some miracle, he cam back with better control, movement and was ripping through teams then he would justifiably come back into contention. Obviously the odds of that happening are unbelievably tiny but strange things can happen.
That being said If he gets picked for the next test series against SA, given how well our quicks have done lately and given how little cricket there is before that series, I’ll be as angry as anyone.
May 11th 2012 @ 8:31am
The Bush said | May 11th 2012 @ 8:31am | Report comment
And so it continues, the recall of players whose day has been done (at least at Test level – let’s not kid ourselves, Johnson will be back in the whites soon) and the neglect of up-and-comers who don’t “fit in”.
Whatever, I mean, it’s only the Ashes…
May 11th 2012 @ 8:51am
jamesb said | May 11th 2012 @ 8:51am | Report comment
I’ve seen Rob Quiney bat a little bit, and I gotta say, I’m not a fan of his technique. ATM in his career, he has hit a purple patch, but IMO, Cowan is a better standard batsman than Quiney.
I haven’t seen Liam Davis play, but if he has another good season in shield cricket, than he could be a bolter for the ashes.
May 11th 2012 @ 9:26am
Christo the Daddyo said | May 11th 2012 @ 9:26am | Report comment
I’m still waiting for Justin Langer to be held to account for the ruining of the test careers of Hughes, Khawaja and Marsh. It seems any young batsman that comes under his responsibility falls apart within a few games.
Johnson being recalled is a farce. End of story.
May 11th 2012 @ 9:57am
Disco said | May 11th 2012 @ 9:57am | Report comment
Don’t hold your breath re: the cheerleader. He’s held the role for 18 months too long as it is.
May 11th 2012 @ 9:43am
Brett McKay said | May 11th 2012 @ 9:43am | Report comment
ignoring the lucky/unlucky selections for the moment, it does at least look like they are trying to build up the decent makings of a proper Test squad. Come the 2013 English summer (and even the upcomgin Australian summer), they’re going to want to have 8-10 quicks ready to go. They need to have a similar number of batsmen, too.
Injuries and/or sudden retirements could pop up any time between now and then. Form is a whole different kettle of fish too.