Australia dumped Mitchell Johnson from their Twenty20 side for their upcoming South Africa tour after the paceman endured a poor tour in Sri Lanka.
The 29-year-old Queenslander was expensive in Australia’s 2-0 series loss to Sri Lanka and his struggles continued in the one-day and Test series wins that followed.
“Mitchell has struggled in this format of the game to date,” Andrew Hilditch, the outgoing chairman of selectors said in a statement yesterday. “Most Twenty20 internationals have been at the start of tours and Mitchell has not always been at his best in these matches.”
“Obviously Mitchell has a great skill set for Twenty20 cricket and we are sure he will put a lot of pressure on us to pick him in the future in the Twenty20 team,” the statement added.
Johnson’s omission means a recall for Doug Bollinger, who will join Brett Lee, James Pattinson and teenager Pat Cummins in the 14-man squad’s pace quartet for the two Twenty20 matches in South Africa next month.
Cummins, an 18-year-old and the youngest ever Australia player to be handed a central contract, had also forced his way into the one-day side after John Hastings was ruled out by injury.
Brad Haddin’s retirement from Twenty20 last week and an injury to stand-in Tim Paine paved the way for a promotion for Victoria State wicketkeeper-batsman Matthew Wade in the Cameron White-captained Twenty20 squad.
Mitchell Marsh, a 19-year-old all-rounder, had also been included after a solid tour for Australia in Zimbabwe, Hilditch said.
Johnson has retained his place in the Michael Clarke-led one-day squad, which will play a three-match series after the Twenty20 matches, meaning he will likely be in the frame for the following two-match Test series despite his form slump.
The swing bowler took 16 wickets at an average of 25 in Australia’s 2-1 victory over hosts South Africa in the 2009 Test series and interim coach Troy Cooley said getting the erratic bowler back into the groove was a top priority.
“I will be picking up quite quickly with [bowling coach] Craig McDermott and [Test captain] Michael Clarke on what transpired over there [in Sri Lanka] ... and make sure Mitchell Johnson is up and running,” Cooley said on Tuesday.
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