Johnson “just degrees” away from becoming match winner again: Queensland coach

SYDNEY - Australian pacer Mitchell Johnson’s slinging action is off by “just a matter of degrees” and it will not require major changes to again become a match-winner during the Ashes series, according to Queensland bowling coach Joe Dawes.

Dawes, a former Bulls teammate of Johnson, said the left-arm pacer needed to work on his wrist placement in order to have the right seam position to find the swing that made him such a devastating bowler in South Africa early last year.

“It’s just his release and his wrist position is slightly off where he would want it to be and the ball is not coming out well, which happens to everyone some stage or another,” The Sydney Morning Herald quoted Dawes, as saying.

“It’ll come out and he’ll remember one of his little cues, or execute well and all of a sudden the ball will come out sailing nicely for him. He’s still bowling with pretty good pace, the timing of it all seems pretty good,” he said.

“He’s probably just not quite nailing that release and that seam position to get that swing which he had for a period of time in that South African series,” Dawes said.

Dawes, who was a senior Queensland bowler when Johnson resumed his first-class career in 2004-05 after a back injury, said the 29-year-old had enjoyed too much success with his unorthodox action to make drastic changes.

“You don’t want to mess too much with something that works. He’s [had] a long time now where he’s been injury-free, a long time where he’s built himself quite a successful international career with his action. It’ll just be that, like everyone, you’ll have a period of time when you’re slightly off the boil,” Dawes said.

“It is only a matter of degrees and that comes with spending time in the nets and in the game to do his cues and flags to get it back to where he wants to be,” he added. (ANI)