ASHES: Forget Johnson, Hilfenhaus must play

Mitchell Johnson’s waywardness could promptly erase the edge Australia’s attack gained over key English batsmen in the recent Ashes if he plays at Brisbane.

Conversely, reliable and miserly swing merchant Ben Hilfenhaus is tailor-made to implement the disciplined, calculated approach which saw the Aussie bowlers cow English stars Alastair Cook, Jonathan Trott and Matt Prior.

Australia limited the output of that gifted and experienced trio through clinical execution of specific, intelligent strategies.

Having been rested from the next round of Sheffield Shield matches, Johnson and Hilfenhaus are manifestly competing to partner Ryan Harris and Peter Siddle in the Ashes opener.

The fickle left-armer Johnson appears to be the frontrunner due to supposedly rejuvenated efforts in the recent one-day series in England and India.

Apparently he represented a new-and-improved version of the player who had been exciting then disappointing, then exciting then disappointing since debuting for Australia in 2005.

Yet the only thing different about Johnson’s efforts was an extra five kilometres of pace.

Undoubtedly, he has been bowling quicker than perhaps at any point in his career.

In India, he operated consistently in excess of 145kmh and topped out at 153kmh.

A master of the short ball, he intimidated several English and Indian batsmen during the two ODI series, most notably England’s Test number three Trott.

The extreme pace and venomous lift he showcased even on docile pitches, combined with his customary late swing of the white ball, created an enthralling spectacle.

It did, however, also flatter to deceive somewhat.

Over his recent nine ODIs against England and India, Johnson snared 12 wickets at an average of 32.

Granted, the Indian series was marked by benign decks and extreme high scoring.

But even taking that into account, his efforts were merely good rather than brilliant, as has been the impression given by sections of the Australian cricket community.

Johnson has long been a fine ODI bowler so it should have shocked no one that he produced some terrific spells in those matches.

He is, after all, a man with 207 wickets at 25 in ODIs, which places him in the top ten Australian limited-overs bowlers of all time.

Johnson has rarely had problems bowling well with the white ball, which consistently swings for him, making the West Australian a far more consistent and lethal prospect.

But there was nothing fresh or miraculous about the way in which he performed once he returned to red-ball cricket last week.

Matched against South Australia’s poor batting line-up, he netted match figures of 5-162 while operating with impressive pace but all-too-familiar inaccuracy.

His first delivery of that Sheffield Shield encounter landed on the very edge of the pitch while his second was lucky also not to be called a wide.

Johnson leaked an extraordinary 4.3 runs per over in that match.

By comparison the three other best-credentialed quicks who played in that game, Chadd Sayers, Joe Mennie and Michael Hogan, conceded just 2.1rpo, 2.1rpo and 2.4rpo respectively.

The argument in favour of Johnson is that he offers an intimidating and threatening strike weapon.

Yet by donating easy runs and releasing pressure he makes it significantly harder for his fellow bowlers to be effective.

The success of the Australian attack in the recent Ashes was founded upon discipline.

Ryan Harris, Peter Siddle, Shane Watson and Nathan Lyon choked the English run rate and more often than not successfully adhered to thoughtful tactics designed for each batsman.

Combined, that quartet gave up just 2.7 runs per over.

Such frugal, consistent offerings also earned New Zealand’s quicks some success against the English batsmen in the five Tests they played in the lead up to the recent Ashes.

Why then would Australia deviate from this proven strategy against the English batsmen by selecting Johnson who not only cannot execute it himself but through his waywardness will reduce the impact of his fellow bowlers who can?

If they are to again shackle many of the English batsmen this summer, the Aussies must bowl in partnerships as they often did in England.

Hilfenhaus, since debuting in February 2009, has been one of most difficult pacemen to score from in Test cricket.

His career economy rate of 2.78rpo is second only to South Africa’s gun seamer Vernon Philander among quicks to have taken more than 50 wickets in that period.

Hilfenhaus obviously has a chequered history in Ashes series.

He was the leading wicket taker on either side in the 2009 contest, snaring 22 wickets at 27.

When England toured Australia in 2010-11 he was a different player – down on pace, confidence and late swing.

The Tasmanian rarely troubled the English batsmen, finishing with seven wickets at 59 over four Tests in a terribly disappointing display.

Despite his struggles he still did not gift the marauding Poms quick runs, giving up just 2.62 runs per over.

In the wake of his surprisingly lacklustre series it was revealed Hilfenhaus had been suffering from knee tendonitis and a rib problem which had adversely altered his action and robbed him of speed, bounce and his trademark delayed swerve.

He returned to the Apple Isle and underwent an intensive re-modelling of his action with then Tasmanian bowling coach Ali de Winter.

In an insightful piece in The Australian newspaper in late 2011, de Winter described the changes made which have since resulted in Hilfenhaus taking 44 wickets at 21 in his past ten Tests.

“He was releasing the ball from in front of the umpire’s face and swinging the ball from in front of the umpire so the good players were just letting it go all the time, because they knew the ball was swinging out of his hand,” de Winter said.

“He wasn’t able to bowl at the stumps or the batter to make them play. They were leaving him too often.

“We moved his body position back toward a proper target line, we got his feet aligned so he wasn’t jumping in toward the stumps and we kept it pretty simple for him.

“It wasn’t rocket science, it was just about alignment and biomechanics. He is now in the position when he lands at the crease where his body is moving toward the target, whereas before he was moving more to fine leg. It’s made a considerable difference in a pretty short time.”

Since this remedial work with de Winter, Hilfenhaus has enjoyed consistent returns at Test and first-class level.

He suffered a series-ending side strain in the first Test against Sri Lanka at Hobart late last year.

Despite a convincing return to Shield ranks, he was then bizarrely overlooked for the tour of England.

In the first two matches of the current Shield season Hilfenhaus has bowled solidly, albeit without luck.

His return of 5-174 in those outings is not compelling. But those who have taken the time to watch him bowl will have noted that he appears in fine rhythm.

He has regularly hurried opposition batsman and, from what can be ascertained via the admittedly grainy Cricket Australia video streams, is swinging the ball later rather than straight from the hand.

The right armer had well and truly earned his placed in the Test line-up prior to breaking down against Sri Lanka.

With injuries to James Pattinson, Mitchell Starc and Jackson Bird depriving Australia of choice, Hilfenhaus is clearly the most dependable option for the Gabba, where the swing-friendly conditions suit him perfectly.