Johnson revives his secret weapon

Australia middle-order batsman Adam Voges says Mitchell Johnson will play a “huge part” in the upcoming Ashes series, and this time with an extra weapon.

Johnson destroyed England 18 months ago when Alastair Cook’s men suffered a 5-0 thrashing thanks largely to the left-armer’s 37-wicket haul in a man-of-the-series performance, demoralising the tourists with searing pace, bounce and unrelenting ferocity.

The 33-year-old continued his dominance in South Africa in February 2014 on his way to claiming his second International Cricket Council Player of the Year trophy as Australia momentarily returned to the apex of the world Test team rankings.

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Johnson firing one down to Steve Smith in Cardiff // cricket.com.au

But a gruelling schedule, the tragic loss of close friend and teammate Phillip Hughes and the unavoidable comedown from a 50-0ver World Cup win has seen Johnson dip just below his fiery best in recent times.

While the speed gun recorded a lull in velocity in the 2-0 Test series sweep in the Caribbean last month, a refreshed and refocused Johnson has shifted gears since touching down in England, bowling with an extreme heat that’s only been matched by the soaring temperatures Britain has endured this month.

And it’s not just the increase in speed that’s got Voges excited about his Western Australian teammate’s prospects across the five-Test series starting in Cardiff on Wednesday.

Johnson has been bending the red Duke ball back to the right-hander to make him even more difficult to counter.

“He has got his zip back,” Voges said.

“He’s bowling fast and he’s swinging them as well which I think is the biggest thing for Mitch.

“There’s always been genuine pace but when he’s swinging the ball at that pace he’s a different proposition.

“You saw him hit Shaun (Marsh) on the hand.

“Steve Smith ended up on his backside behind the stumps at one stage.

“He’s as ready to go as he possibly can be. I’m sure he’s going to play a huge part in this series.” 

Watch: Johnson confident of Ashes success after Kent hit out

While Johnson will want to forget about his last tour in England in 2009 when his action was lost and his confidence dented, Johnson’s retribution in the latest Ashes battle has Voges believing the intimidating left-armer will pick up where he left off.

“I think Mitch will go into this series extremely confident with what he did in the last Ashes series, and so he should,” he said.

“But at the end of the day it all comes down to how we go on Wednesday when we all walk out there and get started.

“He has every reason to walk out and feel very, very confident.”