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Australia captain George Bailey has breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of his “strike weapon” Mitchell Johnson charging in at full pace in preparation for the one-day series against Pakistan.
Cricket Australia pulled last summer’s Ashes player of the series out of the Champions League Twenty20 tournament because of a rib complaint.
But the left-arm quick has resumed bowling in the nets with the Australia squad in Dubai.
Tuesday’s opening clash of the three-match ODI series is in Sharjah and Australia’s main selection issue is finding a replacement for allrounder Mitch Marsh, who broke down during last week’s Champions Trophy tournament with a hamstring injury.
While Johnson has taken only five wickets in six ODI games in 2014, Bailey needs no convincing that the fiery quick has the ability to make Pakistan’s top order jump around, even on flat pitches.
“He’s been training, building up his loads. He should be good to go,” Bailey told reporters on Monday.
“He’s nice to have. He adds something that little bit different.
“The beauty of Mitch is that he does something very few people in the world do.
“It’s a real strike weapon for us.
“He can get something out of a wicket that no one else can.
“In many respects that’s when he’s at his best.
“He can change a game quickly. He can get you back into a game quickly.
“I think particularly in these conditions he will be very valuable.”
Marsh had been set to make his Test debut in Dubai on October 22 against Pakistan. Bailey says the 22-year-old is unlikely to play in the ODI series.
“There’s a Test spot sitting there waiting for him, so I know that will be the focus to get him right for that,” Bailey said.
“I can’t imagine that he’ll be risked for ODIs unless he’s 100 per cent ready to go.
“So there’s probably that one spot up for grabs at the moment.”
Uncapped pace bowler Kane Richardson, 23, is a contender for Marsh’s position while opener David Warner is due to return to the side after missing the ODI series in Zimbabwe in August and September for the birth of his first child.
Australia won their 2012 ODI series in the UAE against Pakistan by a margin of 2-1 and Bailey recalls it as being a tough battle.
“It was a weird one. We were playing late at night and I don’t recall it feeling like it was getting any cooler,” Bailey said.
“It was hard work to bat for a long time. I know the bowlers really found it tough.”
KEY STATS ON AUSTRALIA’S ODI SERIES AGAINST PAKISTAN
* Pakistan to host Australia for a three-game series starting on Tuesday in Sharjah at 1500(2200 AEDT)
* World rankings: Aust 4, Pakistan 6
* Head-to-head record: Aust 54, Pakistan 31, tied 1
* Last time they met: Aust won by 3 wickets with 3 overs remaining in Sharjah on Sept 3 2012 to clinch the series 2-1.Australian squad: George Bailey (capt), David Warner, Aaron Finch, Steve Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Brad Haddin, James Faulkner, Mitchell Johnson, Mitchell Starc, Kane Richardson, Nathan Lyon, Sean Abbott, Phil Hughes.
Pakistan squad: Misbah-ul-Haq (captain), Ahmed Shehzad, Anwar Ali, Asad Shafiq, Fawad Alam, Junaid Khan, Mohammad Irfan, Raza Hasan, Sarfraz Ahmed, Shahid Afridi, Sohaib Maqsood, Umar Akmal, Umar Amin, Wahab Riaz.
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