Mitchell Johnson has made a career out of casting unplayable spells on opposition batsmen, then following up with overs that have more extras than the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
It’s these contrasting performances which earn him the descriptor that all erratic cricketers earn – X-Factor, which seems to mean little more than unreliable.
At the Gabba, Johnson delivered one of his very best performances, answering his many critics whose pre-game shouts were turned into post-game whimpers.
Short, fast and taking wickets, Mitch tore through the English batting order, the new handlebars he was sporting no doubt helping him keep his line under control.
Yet scepticism still surrounds Johnson. Has he genuinely turned a corner in his career?
There is no denying the Gabba pitch is suited perfectly to Johnson, complementing him with its sharp bounce akin to his other favourite hunting ground, the WACA.
In fact, of Johnson’s five career-best bowling performances, four out of five have come on the bouncy pitches of Brisbane or Perth. Almost 30 percent of his 200-plus Test wickets have come at these cities and their trademark venues.
Next stop for the Johnson Express to roll into is Adelaide and it’s freshly rolled out drop-in pitch.
Adelaide Oval has always been regarded as favouring batsmen and with this drop-in pitch not looking likely to offer much to the fast bowlers, it is the acid test for Mitchell Johnson.
Another trivial title imposed on unreliable players is ‘confidence’ players.
Playing poorly? Oh, he’s just a confidence player.
All I hear when I hear that term is inconsistent. Every player in the world is a confidence player.
I’m sure that buzzword was never applied to Jonathan Trott, but after his sad exit from this series due to stress-related illness (for which I wish him a swift victory), it’s pretty clear confidence was a big part of his game.
Supporters will wax lyrical about Johnson needing to ‘have his head right’ to unleash his most devastating bowling. Well, after a game like that at the Gabba, it’s obvious he’ll be buzzing with confidence.
The question is, when the wickets don’t tumble as easily as they did in Brisbane, will he be able to carry the heavyweight of his handlebars? Or will he let his head drop and return to his shell?
Mitch prepared a nice bed for his critics to lie in after his stand-out performance in the first Test, now it’s up to him to put them to sleep once and for all with another solid outing in Adelaide.
Do you think he’ll do it? The jury is out for me at the moment. He bowled excellently in Brisbane – now the ball’s back in his court to try and do it all again.
Follow Pat on Twitter @The_Hoss12
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