Cricket: Axed Johnson still leader of attack

ADELAIDE - Mitchell Johnson has been jettisoned from the Australian test team - but not his off-field role as the leader of the pace pack.

After the national selectors reluctantly dropped Johnson for the second Ashes test at Adelaide Oval following a dire return of 0-170 at the Gabba, he surprised everyone by choosing to face the world himself, to talk about the decision and its implications.

This is the sort of leadership Johnson has been developing a knack for off the field, as he works with a team of bowlers able to call on far less experience than his 39 tests.

His task now is to replicate that kind of attitude in his bowling, to finally emerge from the haze of inconsistency inherent in the method he has developed with Australian bowling coach Troy Cooley.

Unlike the 2009 Lord's test, there are fewer questions now about Johnson's mind than there are of his technique.

"We spoke not long ago about just making sure I get my bowling where I need to get it, because mentally I feel fine," Johnson said yesterday.

"Throughout that [Brisbane] test match I had a couple of frustrating moments but mentally I felt fine, whereas in the past if I didn't get any wickets or struggled through a test match I probably had my head down and was yelling into my hat a lot.

"I think throughout that test match I handled it pretty well, but I probably just need to keep working on my bowling, make sure I'm feeling strong with my bowling and getting everything together I guess, so that's part of what we're doing."

Australian coach Tim Nielsen explained why Johnson would be kept with the squad rather than sent home to Western Australia.

"We really feel it's important for Mitch to stay with the team, for two reasons. One is that he is an integral part of our bowling group and while he's not playing he can still play a big role for the other guys in supporting them," said Nielsen.

"And secondly he'll work closely with Troy [Cooley] ... there's a big difference between playing at state level and playing at international level, and we need to try to get Mitchell's game and mind back into a place that's going to allow him to play his best.

"In the short term it's not about him playing more cricket, it's about fixing up the way he's going about to give him more chance of playing well for Australia."

Captain Ricky Ponting said the Johnson of 2010 was far better equipped to handle the adversity of losing his place than the shy Queenslander of four years ago.

"Mitch coming into the side as a relatively youngish sort of guy, as far as cricket's concerned, he's had his ups and downs in the past couple of years," he said.

"I've seen him really get the better of a lot of those things that he's had to face over the last few years, which is a great sign."

Questions may need to be asked about Cooley's effectiveness, given that Johnson has spiralled so far away from his best under his mentor's watch.

"They spend that much time together it's unbelievable, they're always continually talking about things and working on things," said Ponting.

"With Mitch, he's got a pretty complicated bowling action and he has to work on things daily to make sure he's keeping things in check.

"It's not as if there are things that haven't been spoken about."

- AAP