Lost in the embarrassing batting capitulation by the Australians at the Gabba on Friday were the curious tactics implemented by captain Michael Clarke.
Defending an underwhelming total of 74, Australia needed nothing short of a miracle to secure victory.
Despite losing Mahela Jayawardene in the first over, Sri Lanka were well on track at 1/33 with the run rate irrelevant in such a minuscule chase.
Enter Mitchell Johnson who appeared “in the mood” and in the space of six deliveries, had ripped out three wickets and given Australia a sniff.
Come the tea break the Sri Lankans had consolidated slightly to be 4/48, with only 27 needed to secure a 2-1 advantage in the series.
At this stage Johnson had completed three overs for a return of 3/11. This would remain his match figures, as Johnson was not called upon after the 30-minute interval.
Instead Clarke opted for his new-ball pairing of Clint McKay and Mitchell Starc, in addition to Moises Henriques.
Why Johnson was not used upon the resumption of tea is bemusing, bizarre and downright baffling.
Why is the most experienced bowler in terms of games and wickets, who is additionally a proven, albeit inconsistent match-winner, not implemented when quick wickets are a necessity?
Not for a minute am I suggesting we would have won if Johnson continued bowling, but surely Australia’s sixth highest ODI wicket-taker gets a trundle when the game is on the line.
Australia did manage a further two wickets as Sri Lanka limped over the line, but the final wicket of the match came with just four runs required.
In the after-match press conference Clarke was quizzed on Johnson’s absence following the tea break.
“I thought Mitchell Starc with a little bit more height, I was going to start with him then bring Johnson back on,” he said.
“But Starcy got a couple of wickets, and that’s just the way it panned out.”
Yes Starc did get “a couple of wickets”, the second of which was Jeevan Mendis who fell with the score at 71, and the Sri Lankans just a boundary from victory.
Even so, Starc is merely one option, the game of cricket enables two bowlers to operate simultaneously.
McKay and even Henriques, with just one international wicket to his name, were picked ahead of Johnson.
Clarke has been an excellent leader, executing tactical nous not seen since Mark Taylor. However this uncanny strategy is an aberration in an aggression at all costs captaincy methodology.
Gavin Fernie
Guest
You AUSTRALIANS are unbelievably harsh in your judgement of Michael Clarke as a one day skipper. One day cricket is nothing more than a lottery at best and a rapidly dying form of the great game of cricket as it once was,Class players like Clarke should be reserved for real cricket, test cricket and a return to proper Shield cricket, leaving the one day trash and the baseball bullshit of KFC and T20 Tonk and Run rubbish to the lesser cricketers. Clarke is sheer class and is wasted on the 'idiots shorter form of the game'.There should be a three tier ranking of all top cricketers; test and real cricketers. one day slashers and T20 CLOWNS as bad baseballers, appeasing the idiot crowds who mostly cannot even spell the word cricket. Thank the cricket gods for the real game;test cricket; and halleujah for the idiots who bring the money in watching T20. Their blind ignorance and stupidity in cricketing terms might just preserve the real game for my lifetime
Praveen
Guest
Khawja should have played the SCG test
Brendon
Guest
I'd love to believe the Australian way still exists in professional sport, but let's face it, this whole Australian summer has been about preparing for series to come, hence the decision to bowl Moses, in fact that's why he got a gig in the first place. It saddens me to say that this is the way it is going to be from now on, prepare for the tours that make money and.use the teams we deem less valuable in monetary terms to practise for the big dollar series. You're right Johnson should have come on, so why didn't he? Because this series is of little to no value compared to the Ashes series and the world cup that Australia will be hosting $$$$$$$$$$ I hate it but yet, I keep watching because I'm addicted to cricket. Totally jaded, I'd genuinely love someone to come up with a compelling argument which can prove that I'm wrong........Please, prove me wrong.
Keagan Ryan
Roar Guru
I'll admit it's clutching at straws to suggest we were a chance at all of sneaking victory. But surely the Australian way of not laying down and fighting till the end ensures the situation was not the time nor place for 'experimenting'. I.e. bowling Henriques. I actually like Henriques and hope he's successful, but with the match and series at stake, Johnson surely had to be first cab off the rank after tea.
Keagan Ryan
Roar Guru
This isn't about the "We love Mitchell Johnson" fan club. Simply questioning why he wasn't used when we had a chance, albeit unlikely. Personally I just can't fathom why he didn't bowl after tea
Brendon
Guest
Only 38 to win......that's over
polly
Guest
It was simply an extension of the rotation policy, a minor rotation within the game in line with the major rotation between games.We don't want anyone to get tired, just as we don't want anyone to get injured. Clarke was simply following the new corporate policy of pre-emptive rotation, which I see in the match currently underway, that even the umpires are now part of the scheme. Warner looked a bit sweaty, so give him out & let him have a rest ! Henriques ? don't want to wear him out before he even starts so he can have an early mark too. I now find myself making facetious comments about the goings on of Australian cricket twice within a few days. It's time for me to be rotated before I become completely dis-illusioned & find something else to do.
Keagan Ryan
Roar Guru
Surely at 4/37 the game is not exactly over?
Cameron
Roar Guru
Hook, line and sinker!
Brendon
Guest
There's no mystery here, Clarke knew the game was going to be a short one and wanted to see what Henriques could do under some type of pressure. What's the point of bowling one of your main bowlers when its already over?
Brendon
Guest
It's the one day game, not the tests, pretty simple answer to that one.
Rabbitz
Roar Guru
To be honest I have just grown tired of debating the fanbois. Johnson took three Sri Lankan wickets, big deal. First up it is Sri Lanka and at the time they were intent on batting themselves into oblivion. When the going gets tough and Johnson doesn't dog it, then you might have a case. But by all means continue your bromance, just leave me out of it.
DubbleBubble
Guest
Well put.
John Berry Hobbs
Guest
Johnson's hasn't yet shown anyone who is boss. He is the same bowler. On quick, bouncy wickets he can look lethal. On slower wickets, his inconsistency in line and length do not serve him at all well. Especially against truly world class lineups. And I know which type of wicket I don't expect to see in either India or England.
Lindommer
Guest
Do you throw the ball to your bowlers during the fierce heat of a boiling hot day, or do you ask them to perform the same task in the relative cool of that evening? If I was a fast bowler and my captain chose to bowl after winning the toss on a hot day he'd cop a scorching blast from me!
Matt F
Roar Guru
Well his shield record at the time wasn't exactly amazing (think he was averaging just under 30 with the ball) so there were always going to be questions about how much he had actually improved. It wasn't a bad record but it was well below the likes of Bird, Cutting, Faulkner, Butterworth etc. It wouldn't have been the first time selectors pick players on reputation instead of Shield form and had it completely backfire on them (Phil Hughes in the 2010-11 Ashes comes to mind.) Now of course there have been people that continue to write him off and will continue to do so even if he picks up man of the series against India and England x2 and is named in the ICC Test XI for 2013. I'm not defending them, that's their issue. I'll admit that I didn't think he could get back to his best but I'm always open to be proven wrong. He's been quite good in tests since his return and he'd probably be on the plane to England if I was picking the squad. He wouldn't be in my starting XI yet but he'd be in the squad. That doesn't change the fact that it's going to take a little bit longer than 3 tests for him to prove consistency. I'm not saying that he will fail, not at all, I'm just saying that 3 tests (2 against a fairly average test side) aren't enough to prove consistency and I'm not going to be proclaiming him as the greatest bowler of all time just yet I've always defended him as an ODI bowler though so his decent form this ODI series hasn't surprised me. As I said before, his ODI performances have always been of a hgh level, even when his test performances were not. I've also always held the belief that a players performances in one format is only relevant to that specific format and doesn't nescesarily carry over to other formats. He hasn't done much wrong since his return though
Cameron
Roar Guru
Matt f if it's to early to judge why did everyone judge when he came back? Hmm.
Cameron
Roar Guru
Phil, oh i'm just wondering where the knockers are? . Ill be the first to admit he needs to be dropped, but that's whenit is required. people already wrote him off prior to bring selected this summer. And at the moment I would be more concerned with bash or crash Warner, inconsistent wade and no middle order Hussey. Aussie batting line up looking bad! But I don't think a knee jerk reaction is required.
Matt F
Roar Guru
Let's calm down a little bit. He's always been a good one day bowler. Even when his test career was in the toilet from 2010-2011 he was performing strongly in ODI's. It's not uncommon for a player to be performing poorly in tests and well in ODI's or T20's at the same time. That's not to say that MJ has been poor in tests since his return but he's played 3 matches. 1 was outstanding and the other two were OK. The big question mark over him has been consistency so it's too early to judge him either way yet. As Phil says lets see how he does against India in India and against England over the next 12 months before praising him as the messiah
Col
Guest
Ah Mitchell Johnson....Australia's version of Andy Caddick..... Potential stewards enquiry into this game.....