England's James Anderson celebrates with teammates as Australia's Michael Clarke ,left, leaves the field after being caught by Alastair Cook, on the second day of the second cricket test match between England and Australia at Lord's cricket ground in London, Friday, July 17, 2009. AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth
Phillip Hughes must be feeling so relieved that his place in the Australian cricket team is open to all comers, from both within and outside the touring squad.
Firstly the only ‘spare’ batsmen in the squad, Shane Watson, tells the world that he is available to open the batting (one presumes that Shane forgot to add that ‘should my young team mate continue to fail’).
No signs of team solidarity that is so often spruiked by the sensitive new age professionals in that pronouncement.
Then grey bearded Justin Langer, aged 39, but still belting the pride of English cricket mediocrity around county grounds announces that he is ready and willing to play in the 3rd Test , if required. This said only partly tongue in cheek.
Hughes has found the path to the top a lot less slippery than the perch. His technique has been found wanting, and clearly so.
He was only within an umpire’s whim and then an easy edge let pass by the Northants keeper and slip fieldsmen from a sixth straight failure. Regardless of his second dig 68, which would have returned a some measure of confidence, he is far from the positive mental state with which he began this Ashes campaign.
The England bowlers will have a straightforward tactic waiting for him at Edgbaston, but he will play there despite the offers of Watson and Langer.
Mitchell Johnson finds himself in an altogether different head space. He has bowled one spell worthy of an international cricketer since Durban in March.
He has NOT, I repeat NOT, swung the ball at all since the First test against South Africa back at the end of February at the Wanderers.
Ben Hilfenhaus must have become infuriated with the state of the ball every time he followed a Johnson over. The seam remains pristine but plenty of polishing to do on the scuffed, formerly shiny surface.
Johnson’s erratics have the double whammy of decreasing the efficacy of his bowling partner, especially when it is a swing bowler reliant on hardness and shine, and allowing all the pressure off at his end.
So many eggs were plonked in the Johnson basket at tour’s start with no thought of an appropriate back up left arm swing/seam/fast bowler even though his successes had been patchy.
It is one thing to support a player and give him your (selectors, captain, coach, players’) confidence, it is another altogether to ignore his shortcomings, pretend he is a ‘swing’ bowler, not deal with all of the outside disturbing influences and simply plough ahead and cross your fingers.
There has been some culpable decision making from the Australian selectors with this touring team. Decisions that have ignored the realities of human frailty and the lessons of cricket history.
Mitchell Johnson has bowled incredibly poorly in technical terms in the first two Tests. No seam, no swing (which is what happens when the seam is tumbling like a MotoGP rider over his handlebars) but he still has taken 8 wickets at 41 because of the rare delivery on target and the pace at which he bowls.
If he was the number 3 bowler in the lineup, the stock bowler, the Max Walker to Lillee and Thommo’, that would be bearable.
If Ricky Ponting had thrown the ball to a fast bowler or Simon Katich or flummed a final wicket at Cardiff, then there would be margin for error, a time for leeway and maybe another Test match for the ailing Johnson.
That of course is not the case. Australia are one down with three to play, time enough to hang onto the laurels but there has to be a massive reality check of just who is best equipped to win a Test match against an opponent that has gone from running scared to supremely confident in the matter of two weeks.
Stuart Clark must be in the starting XI. My spies on the scene tell me there is talk that Peter Siddle could make way for big Stuart and Johnson will be retained.
Visions of deckchairs on the Titanic flash before me followed by the sight of a monolithic (cricket) ship disappearing under the icy waves.
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