World's best undone by Mitch

Much has been made of England’s plight in the wake of their latest capitulation on the final day of the second Test match against India at Lord’s.

After all, it was exactly 12 months earlier at the same venue that Alastair Cook’s men had handed Australia their sixth consecutive Test loss en route to a 3-0 Ashes victory.

So, what’s changed since?

Is it an over-reliance on scientific analysis? Maybe it’s too much kale? Not enough KP?

Or maybe, just maybe, it’s The Mitch Effect.

And it’s not just the Old Enemy that are suffering. South Africa have already lost their No.1 title as a result of it and it’s only a matter of time until other teams around the world are faced with the increasing threat.

In that Lord’s Ashes Test last year, Australia played James Pattinson, Ryan Harris and Peter Siddle as the three frontline quicks with Mitchell Starc and Jackson Bird watching on from the players’ viewing area.

That’s right, Johnson wasn’t considered in Australia’s top five fast bowlers for that series.

Fast forward a few months and it’s the morning of November 22, day two of the Commonwealth Bank Ashes Series.

Aussie cricket fans made their way to the Gabba or sat in front of their televisions feeling cautiously optimistic after Johnson and Brad Haddin had managed to conjure some respectability with a 114-run partnership for the seventh wicket on the previous day.

But the optimism didn’t extend anywhere close to what was about to unfold.

The bowling performance by the hosts on that day, led by Johnson, won’t soon be forgotten as England lost 7-28 on their way to a meagre total of 136 in response to Australia’s 295.

It was an advantage that the hosts never relinquished.

Australia assistant coach Craig McDermott pinpoints that day as the pivotal moment for the team that marched to a whitewash.

“I think that from the first bouncer (Mitch) bowled in the first Test match the English looked very uneasy against short-pitched bowling,” McDermott told cricket.com.au.

 “Particularly with Mitchell Johnson bowling 150kph and coming over the wicket to right-handers, which they had quite a lot of, that made it pretty difficult for them.

 “Also on top of that, when he bowled full he had a very good shape, he was swinging the ball.

 “Our attack last year was second-to-none.”

Planning is one thing, McDermott says, but you need the skillset to be able to complete the job.

 “I think we used it quite well last year, but we had three guys bowl pretty quick,” said McDermott, who finished his 71-Test career with 291 wickets.

 “A bowling attack has to have not only the pace, but also to be able to execute it properly.

 “I’m sure that different teams around the world, if their bowling attacks are fast enough, are probably looking at similar tactics.”

Australian great Mike Hussey agreed, adding that any weakness a team shows will be exploited by their opponents.

 “That’s the thing about international cricket, there’s nowhere to hide,” he told cricket.com.au.

 “If you show that you are uncomfortable against something like that, then the word’s going to get around very quickly and you’re going to be exposed to it.”

Based on India’s performance during the week, a team more renowned for spin than pace, it seems Australia have kick-started a trend that shows no signs of abating.

Short-pitched bowling is hardly a new phenomenon, but McDermott’s comments ensure batsmen and helmet manufacturers will be kept on their toes for years to come.

 “Most other countries might have a crack at it, but with Ryan Harris, Mitchell Johnson, Peter Siddle and James Pattinson and the likes of Mitchell Starc having a crack as well, they’re all up around the 140s and 150s so certainly our bowling attack going forward will probably look at doing similar things,” he said.

While the Australia bowlers, particularly Johnson, had so much success with the bouncer during the summer, McDermott dismissed any suggestion that there had been a major shift in his ‘pitch it up and get it swinging’ mantra.

 “(My philosophy) hasn’t really changed to be honest,” he continued.

 “I think you’ll find most of our wickets came from full balls last year, so it’s a matter of using the short-pitched bowling to mix the batsman’s footwork up and sometimes you get them out with the short ball as well.

 “Whether it’s around the wicket or Mitchell Johnson bowling wide of the crease to get the ball into the ribs and then put one across and get a nick, it’s all part and parcel of the way in which you play the game and the way in which you plan tactics against other teams.”

It’s not hard to feel a sense of the pride that ‘Billy’ evokes when speaking about his fast bowlers, but he was equally effusive when it came to discussing the role that Michael Clarke plays in executing the team’s plans out in the middle.

 “(Michael) is a brilliant tactician himself and a great captain that supports the way in which we’ve gone about things as a team,” McDermott said.

 “Same with Brad Haddin as vice-captain. If you’ve got everyone on the same paddock as far as your process goes, it makes it a hell of a lot easier.”

With Australia, and now India, showing how effective the short-ball can be in the modern game, McDermott believes his side is well equipped to handle a potential dose of their own medicine.

 “As an assistant coach, that’s something that Boof (Darren Lehmann) and I will talk about,” he added.

 “Michael Clarke got worked over pretty well by Morne Morkel in the Test matches over in South Africa and stood up to the test.

 “Our blokes played pretty well against that sort of short-pitched bowling.

 “I’m sure they’re working on that leading into the Pakistan series and also the Indian series here, but I’m pretty sure we’ll be able to dish it out a little better than we get.”

Hussey, a veteran of 79 Tests, faced his fair share of sweet chin music throughout his career, but he doesn’t believe there is a single magical cure for The Mitch Effect.

 “It’s pretty hard to take someone like Mitchell Johnson on when he’s bowling at 150-odd kilometres an hour straight at your head,” he laughed.

 “It’s a very individual thing, how you play it best.

“Some guys like to duck and weave and get out of the way, other guys like to take it on and try to put the pressure back on the bowlers.

 “I don’t think there’s a one-rule-for-all, I think you’ve got to figure out how you want to handle it best yourself.”

Australia’s next Test assignment features another challenge for a side determined to stay in the No.1 spot, and that’s the spin-friendly pitches of the UAE against Pakistan.

A challenge McDermott’s men are more than ready to embrace.

 “I don’t think they can be any flatter or any more docile than the Adelaide pitch was last year against England in the Ashes series,” he said.

 “You still have to bowl bouncers to try and get batsmen to think that they can’t just lob on to the front foot.”

As for England, their fans might be getting ready for the Test at the Rose Bowl on Sunday with a similar feeling of cautious optimism as those Aussie fans at the start of the Gabba Test last November.

 ‘I’m hopeful that the only way is up from here.’

However, with another Ashes series around the corner it’s important to remember that 12 months is an incredibly long time in cricket.

Just ask Mitchell Johnson.