A cautious "Welcome Back Mitch"

He'll revert to type. Played at his favourite deck in Perth and then had a few lankans jumping about who were poor in those aspects. Still bowls too round arm...

Amen or people can learn to be grateful and appreciate the efforts being put in by all as Australian cricket will look to continue development and nurture our future stars into greats of the game. Before we know it, with a bit of Patience, Australia will be number 1 again soon.

Pj, Completely agree. One thing I believe Ricky Ponting lacked in his later career was a sense of direction. There were times when Johnson would bowl at one end and another bowler at the other end and yet persist with the same routine until the bowlers were bowled into the ground. Clarke on the other hand (albeit with the aid of a rotation policy) has nurtured the players coming in. it seems he has the same direction punter had when he took over Waugh. Hopefully pup doesn't become stagnate so quick and recognises when something is working and when it isn't. Johnson is not being over worked either which aids his aggression and consistency i.e. the current form and reminiscent days of the South Africa tour where he broke a fair bit of bones there.

TheGenuineTailender, Don't know if you have realised but this is part and parcel of any sport let a lone cricket. Johnson whether consistent or not need no judgement for the efforts put in to at least be provided with another shot.. Plenty former greats have been dropped throughout their career only to bounce back. Current crop - Michael Clarke, Hughes, Johnson. Clarke and Johnson might I add are doing a fine job.

Andrew Sutherland "No, the reason I didn’t want Mitchell Guy Johnson to return is because of what he does when he isn’t playing extremely well i.e. playing extraordinarily badly." When a player isn't performing to the required standard or performing at the level that sprung them to these heights then how else would they be performing besides bad or in your words "extraordinarily badly." I feel as though your last two lines It pains me to say it but: “Welcome back Mitch!” & PS  You better not be up to your old tricks. Just gives you the itching feeling you may be provided with the opportunity you are waiting for - Mitchell Johnsonto fail. Would it be fair to say your thoughts may lead you to believe 'an old dog can't learn new tricks?'

well if he keeps going at 140 kph in the line of the body and continues to freak people out then all is well. His accuracy is much improved and he has come back well from injury. The genuine allrounder talk is a bit over the top. He's a front line bowler who's a very good number 8.

Of course he'll be plane for those two, why else would they drop Starc for him? They are trying him out with the Ashes in mind. Let's see what happens in Sydney and the one dayers, if he continues in this vain, then that's fine. But we have seen what his worst is and that's why you see people on here doubting whether he can maintain this type of form, especially against decent teams in trying conditions, so far he's had two good bouncy pitches, SA won easily in Perth and SL were poor. I think the real problem is not MJ but the fact it seems that he's come straight back in with very little cricket behind him, there doesn't seem to be a need for him to prove he can be consistent, he just gets a go because he was ICC cricketer of the year three years ago, as mentioned we've seen his worst and it can lose games in a session.

Is he Bayman going to set up camp behind the Ladies again?

Bayman, I don't disagree with any of that, for what it's worth, but it still amazes me that this type of thinking became so entrenched. Writing off someone with that many Test wickets and only just 30 was a extraordinarily massive assumption. And again, I say this not because I think he shouldn't have been dropped - of course he should've - just that the rush to condemn and consign to the history books looked like the F3 after Christmas.. On another note, I'll be keeping an eye out for dodgy-looking book-sellers at a certain cricket ground on Thursday!!

I don't subscribe to the golden child theories Jason, so it was definitely about Johnson's ability and talent, but mainly because he's a professional sportsman. He had his innevitable form crisis, but like any pro worth his salt, the desire to get back and prove all the critics wrong would've been a major driver for him. He had all but 200 Test wickets to his name, there was never any question about whether he belonged at that level. Instead, that crisis of form was what many, many a mind allowed to become the judgement of his career to that point, and the "never to play again" and "I was hoping he wouldn’t return" didn't just become popular, they became the expectation..

Brett, To be fair I suspect most people vaguely expected Cummins, Pattinson, Harris, Hifenhaus, Starc, Hazlewood to come on and not be injured and/or rotated quite so much. If even half of that lot were always available to help Siddle I'm pretty sure we wouldn't be seeing much of Johnson now. Having said that, if Johnson could bowl all the time like he bowled to Dean Elgar for those four balls in Perth, not to mention his banging the fingers in Melbourne, he would not have been getting as much criticism as he has been. Likewise, if he could bat more often as he did in Melbourne then nobody would have been as harsh as they have been in their assessment of Johnno. It seems, according to some, Johnson is a "confidence player". I'm just not sure how anyone gets to play forty odd Tests and not think they deserve to be there. It defies logic. He's a talent but he's tried his best to waste it as often as not. Johnson at his best is an asset. He has more Test wickets than Alan Davidson, Jeff Thomson and most other bowlers who have represented Australia in a Test match. Still, however, we think he's probably under-achieved given his talent to be a match winner. Most of us remember those times when he was simply abysmal and seemed to have no idea how to change that situation.

Are you saying that because you thought he was good enough to get back? Or because you thought he was a golden child and would get back regardless of form?

It never ceases to amaze me that people genuinely believed (or convinced thmselves that) Johnson would never play for Australia again after being dropped...

The Oz yesterday said Cummins has been all but ruled out of the Indian tour, my guess is he would be doubtful for the Ashes with no cricket under his belt. Johnson just needs to keep performing and he will go to England.

Rabbitz, at various stages throughout players careers they have been dropped for not performing..our current captain is a prime example. Clearly you can't look past that can you? Although Sri Lanka are not a number 1 nation you still need to preform and Johnson did this better than any other player in the boxing day match. Thank God you are not a selector.

Thought he was 2009 ICC world cricketer of the year. Could be wrong but that doesn't sound too inconsistent too me. Yes his form over the following years has been poor and he paid the price for that. He's not the only player to fall from grace and then come back and perform well. If all our bowlers are fit he won't be in the picture. I can't see why people think that he will be an automatic selection.

John is that you? Or is it Andrew? Consistency is the key and Johnson, M does not have it. The rest of the squad are forced to carry him for long periods and that is bad for overall team performance. He has been given many many chances in the past, all with the same outcome.

It would be a bigger crime if Watson went to England as a batsman ...

It seems very hard for some people to give credit where it's due. All very well to laugh at their past failings but so difficult to give them a bit of warranted praise when they succeed. Johnson's effort in Perth against the Worlds best team was good. Steyn is the best fast bowler in the world so it's no surprise that his performance was better. Johnson then went through the Sri Lankan side and won the MOM. But apparently he was just lucky. Do you really think he is on the plane to India or England? I don't . He came in to fill a void and succeeded. But there are quite a few in front of him in the queue to get on the plane.(provided they are fit). And now that everyone is going ape over Jackson Bird it will be even harder. Sri Lanka are an average side, but still Johnson's performance was first class. He did take 6 of the 17 wickets to fall. I know nothing of his mental state etc. like a lot of other contributors do,but he seems to be going well at the moment. Who knows, he could be abissmal in his next test and then all his detractors can have a field day. Until that happens, just give him the credit he is due. Even if it hurts.

Welcome back? Not from me. We now will have to put up with crap bowling from him for the next 2 years, while he "re-finds himself".