Bowling coach Craig McDermott says Mitchell Johnson threatens to be even harder to face in South Africa than he was during the Ashes.
Australian paceman Johnson returned to form in stunning fashion over summer, swinging the ball superbly and lifting his pace another notch to grab 37 wickets in the 5-0 thumping of England.
South Africa has proven a happy hunting ground for Johnson in the past and he’s already made an early impression on this tour.
McDermott, who umpired an intra-squad match in Johannesburg last week, was bedazzled by an incredible delivery that yorked Chris Rogers and cannoned into the stumps.
“At Wanderers the other day, he bowled a little bit better than he did in Australia, particularly with the late swing he’s getting here,” said McDermott ahead of the first Test in Centurion starting on Wednesday.
“The ball he bowled Chris Rogers was something I’ve very rarely seen in my 35 years of cricket.
“It was going towards leg stump and knocked over his off stump. It swung unbelievably late.
“He bowled a number of balls like that at the Wanderers the other day.
“That’s good for us. It becomes difficult for right-handers who want to leave the ball and left-handers, who think they’re going to just clip it off their pads.”
McDermott suggested Australia would continue to use Johnson in short bursts during the three-Test series in South Africa.
“That’s always been the plan with Mitchell. We wanted to use him as our shock bowler,” he said.
“You didn’t see Malcolm Marshall and those sort of blokes bowling eight or nine-over spells.
“But he’s fit enough, if he’s on a roll, to bowl seven or eight-over spells. So we’ve got the best of both worlds if it is required.
“He probably is the best fast bowler in the world at the moment.”
McDermott said keeping Johnson on track and in the form of his life was a simple case of keeping his confidence up.
“I don’t treat any of them any differently if they’re going bad or good,” he said.
Howzat
Guest
Sure they were, that's why they won 3-0 in England a few months before.
Frankie Hughes
Guest
Hardly the Poms where already on the decline.
Deccas
Guest
johnson turned an english side into a meet and pathetic one.
jameswm
Guest
yep - he has a knack of keeping it simple. Harris might not need him so much, but Siddle and Johnson certainly bowl better when he's there. And I thought he wasn't going to tour, just help for the home series. Glad that's changed.
jameswm
Guest
Clark Johnson was previously a test to test proposition. Single series is a big step forward.
Ronan O'Connell
Expert
Johnson's record against SA - 42 wickets at 29 and 512 runs at 47 - suggests the Proteas will be fearful of the damage he can do. That's without even taking into consideration the fact he just completed one of the best individual Test series in history.
Buk
Guest
Just wondering if it is just for the sake of the team, two bucks each way. Spoken in the hope that the SA batsmen read it and it gets into their heads when batting. Secondly spoken to build up the confidence of the baggy greens
Muttonman
Guest
This is true, but he hasn't been "hyped" as consistent. I also think he's a very different player to the MJ of old and will perform well, though he probably won't be quite as destructive as he was in The Ashes.
Clark
Guest
Crucial point in that statement is "single series". Johnson still hasn't proven to be consistent, we all know he is capable of being good, but also capable of being god awful.
jameswm
Guest
Yup - they hype has come from an extraordinary series, not from people talking him up. No one was talking him up before the Ashes series. The thing now is there's less that can go wrong. He doesn't overly rely on swing, and has good enough control. If he gets that late swing, he's always been nigh on unplayable. BBB, Johnson has already surpassed the hype.
Muttonman
Guest
Taking 37 wickets at an average of 13.97 and a strike rate of 30.5 in a single series isn't hype.
AlanKC
Guest
I'm glad McDermott's in SA, regardless of ego massaging or not, he gets the best out of them.
Jack
Guest
Just can't please some people.
felix
Guest
biltong I also heard he is getting all the movement posible from the ball,I wish Amla faces a lot of him,a great player of left arm pace,him bieng left handed is a bonus for the Aussie. Still better facing him than McGrath,that man was the most unplayable right handed bowler ever I'd say :-)
Frankie Hughes
Guest
It seems like the ego of our players needs continual massaging... Johnson's blown away a meek, pathetic England side and now he's Wasim Akram's reincarnation...
I hope for the sake of all Aussies that Johnson lives up. To all the hype surrounding him, otherwise there are going to be some pretty disappointed people around.