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Watching Mitchell Johnson in this ODI series against England feels somewhat like watching your favourite band during a comeback tour in their twilight years.
When it all comes together, when that glimmer of ingrained magic is rediscovered, it’s as good as it always was. The memories of elation and triumph from yesteryear come flooding in, hope that maybe this is the beginning of a new chapter bubbles to the surface.
Yet there remains a lingering feeling that the end is near, that the performance is an expression of freedom now that the weight of expectation has been lifted.
Watching Johnson right now stirs up those very emotions.
In the final stages of Australia’s tour to England, Johnson is providing a reminder of why he was considered the next shining light of Australian cricket as few as five years ago.
His action looks strong, the run-up fluid, his energy at the crease immense. Regularly exceeding 90mph with shape back into the right handers, Johnson is once again possessing that lethal element of fear in his bowling.
During Sunday’s match at Old Trafford, the left-armer completed the model ODI performance. Early wickets set the tone, immediately crippling the hosts’ run chase, before pinpoint accuracy and pace pegged England back when they threatened to mount a challenge in the middle overs of their innings.
England’s apprehension against Johnson was clearly evident, as they attempted to minimise the quick’s damage while targeting the bowling of his teammates. His figures of 2-36 from 10 overs were impressive, but much like his career, could also have been so much more.
If that game in Manchester was the reminder, then the third ODI at Edgbaston was the confirmation. Although the match was eventually abandoned, his opening spell was brutal, at a pace not previously witnessed in this English summer of cricket.
He overwhelmed the domineering Kevin Pietersen, England’s master-blaster tamely popping a catch to George Bailey at square leg. That was followed by an unrelenting barrage on Jonathan Trott, rapping the prolific number three on the pads several times before cannoning a delivery into the grill of his helmet.
The energy, the precision, the fire. It becomes such a tantalising recipe when all the ingredients come together in such beautiful harmony.
After a tour which has seen a mind-numbing parade of rather tedious medium-paced bowling (Ryan Harris the exception), Johnson’s bursts of blistering speed have become the highlight of a rather sedate finale.
Which leads us to the frustration of Johnson’s tale. Instead of celebrating his ongoing brilliance in Australian colours, we’re lamenting a career that could have been.
He’s a player who was given the tick of approval by the great Dennis Lillie at just 16 years of age, a player who looked certain to carry forward the legacy of Australian fast bowling long after the departures of Glenn McGrath, Jason Gillespie and Brett Lee.
But somewhere along the line the expected ascension to greatness was halted.
Many have pointed out that Johnson’s switch of focus to cricket was later than ideal for a young player with high aspirations. Initially intent of forging a career in tennis, the Queenslander endured a series of stress fractures in his lower back resulting from a somewhat mechanical action.
That unrefined, raw action is often cited as the primary cause of his trademark spraying of both sides of the wicket. His wrist position, a long-term concern, confuses the matter further, harming his ability to garner a sense of control when rhythm remains elusive.
Yet at his best, few bowlers can compare. The sheer pace, combined with a knack for producing near-unplayable deliveries has ensured that his waywardness doesn’t detract from his threat.
In terms of pure strike power, Johnson is one of the few candidates to rival South Africa’s Dale Steyn.
Few will forget his performance against the Proteas at Perth in 2008, when he claimed a savage 8-61 in a first innings demolition of the tourists. That performance saw Johnson begin the series with an 11-wicket haul, before finishing it by shattering Graeme Smith’s hand at Sydney as he bowled his side to victory.
Impressive displays during a return series to South Africa just a couple of months later had many believing that Johnson was the man to lead Australia’s attack, to re-enforce the country’s dominance over its competition.
That saw him head to England in 2009 as Australia’s primary weapon, a reputation that clearly didn’t sit comfortably with the then 27-year-old. His horribly wonky performance at Lord’s, where he was sent to all corners by England captain Andrew Strauss, occurred on the most inopportune stage.
From that point forward, Johnson hasn’t looked capable of scaling the heights we expected of him. While there have been a handful of strong performances since (Hamilton, Mohali and Perth in 2010), it has appeared that his Lord’s embarrassment has permanently shaken not only his confidence, but his belief.
The grandest theatre in cricket was presented, and Johnson found himself shrinking under the intense gaze of millions.
Perhaps the expectation was too great, the bar had simply been set too high. Instead of embracing the weight that had been placed upon his shoulders, Johnson found himself suffocated by it. The forecast of potential transforming into unrelenting performance never came into being.
Some men simply don’t flourish in the spotlight. The incomparable careers of men such as Warne, McGrath and Ponting are not based on ability in isolation. Instead, these combative men carry an attitude that tailors their skill-sets to thrive in the harsh and gruelling world at the top.
Johnson, an incredibly shy individual on and off the field, owns a personality that isn’t particularly suited to the role of the enforcer. Perhaps it’s that contradiction between his personality and peripheral expectations that has been the handbrake on his career. Perhaps we were simply too quick to identify an unrefined talent as a world-beater in the making.
Regardless, watching Johnson this past week has been a somewhat uneasy trip down memory lane. The magic that once made cricket fans drool is undeniably still there, yet the ship of expectation has long since sailed.
Which leaves us watching a gig on that comeback tour. We’ll enjoy it and we’ll cheer, but we’ll be mourning the lack of that decisive edge, that unfulfilled craving to witness the talent thrive on a fitting stage.
The performance is there. The encapsulating drama isn’t.
Let’s hope the encore is worth the price.
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