Calcutta: Mitchell Johnson getting Jonny Bairstow and Ben Stokes out with a couple of snorters at Edgbaston were reminiscent of the scars he had inflicted on England during the previous Ashes series. 

Now why he did not carry on with the short stuff was because the matter of runs leaking at the other end had crossed his mind. However, with Australia trailing 1-2 in the ongoing Ashes, Johnson is unlikely to hold anything back.

“I guess from my point of view, I was just trying to really dry up the runs and I probably just lost that bit of aggression,” a cricket-specific website quoted Johnson as saying. “I don’t read into it too much to be honest. But I think because the ball has been swinging over here a lot more, I feel like I’m trying to get the ball up there a lot more often anyway. 

“I feel like I’ve bowled a lot fuller this trip. I’ve been really happy with the way I’ve bowled, generally. There’s been a few spells here and there. I probably didn’t start too well last Test match. You probably try a bit too hard when there’s a small total there to defend. 

“Generally, I feel like I’ve bowled quite well so far this tour. I’ve swung the ball consistently. At Lord’s, I felt like I used the short ball when it was time to use it. I feel like I’ve become a smarter bowler and I feel like I’ve found a bit more consistency.”

Johnson was certainly building up to an aggressive spell on the third and final day of the Edgbaston Test. But by the time Michael Clarke brought him in, England needed only 74 more runs.

“I thought to myself I was really keen to get the new ball, but whatever is best for the team in those situations, I’m happy with it. Something that I’ve become better at is not to become frustrated in those situations where sometimes I feel like I might be better suited in a situation like that. 

“But I have full trust in those guys — (Mitchell) Starc and (Josh) Hazlewood — to do the job, while I’m always prepared to bowl in any position. I think that’s something I’ve adapted very well to in my Test cricket now,” he said.
The coming Test at Trent Bridge is most likely the last chance for more than half of the present squad to win an Ashes series away from home. Therefore, Johnson and his teammates know they need to get things right this time around. 

“I just think our consistency as a whole has just been off. Time is running out for us,” Johnson said. “I didn’t think we bowled particularly well up front in Birmingham. I think we could have done a lot better with the newer ball. It was a bit like Cardiff, where we didn’t play our cricket in partnerships, batting and bowling.

“The way we’ve been playing Test cricket for the last 12-18 months has been really good. It has been that consistent cricket. But being here in these conditions and in an Ashes series, we’ve got some guys that are probably feeling the pressure a little bit. I know what it’s like when you first come over and experience it, so I think the guys have handled it really well.

“Especially a loss like we had in the last Test, I think we’ve all handed it really well. We were disappointed as a team and a group, but we were able to move on and we left a day early to get here and train, get used to the conditions. I think that’s what we have done really well. We’ve been able to move on from losses like that and hopefully learn from them… And come out here and win this Test match because if we don’t, we are in big trouble.”

Johnson, meanwhile, said he quite enjoyed the taunts of England supporters on the field. But he does not want a repeat of one instance away from cricket where he was confronted while walking with his family, during the Cardiff Test. 

“I have got it walking down the street in the past and it’s happened in Cardiff as well. I’m all for it when it’s in a game, but I think when you’re walking with your family in the street, it’s a bit overboard.

“People are pretty passionate about their cricket and when they’re doing well. So, I guess you’ve got to understand it from that point of view. But I’d prefer when it’s out in the middle that the crowd are right behind their team and giving it to me on the field. I think that’s fair game,” he said.