Mo-ing ’em down

MITCHELL Johnson says he never doubted his ability to bounce back from injury and an on-field career lowpoint to spearhead Australia’s Ashes revival.

Johnson was last night basking in the glory of his first-innings haul of 7/40 that steamrolled England for 172 on day three of the second Test at the Adelaide Oval.

The left-armer’s searing pace and unplayable swing that rocked England captain Alastair Cook late on day two and obliterated the visitors’ middle and lower order yesterday delivered the best single-innings figures in 84 years of Ashes Tests in Adelaide.

The 32-year-old was a spectator for Australia’s failed Ashes bid this winter, but already this series has a stunning 16 wickets at 8.94.

While many had written him off as a Test bowler, Johnson said he knew he could still perform at the top level.

‘‘I didn’t doubt that I could get back into the test team or the Australian team,’’ Johnson said.

‘‘I knew that if I worked hard and gave myself every chance (I could come back). Even with my toe injury I made sure I did everything right, whereas in the past when I first had my stress fractures, being young I rushed back. I took my time with this and really just worked on the things I needed to work on.

‘‘ I met some really good people along the way, but having that belief in myself has been the biggest thing.

‘‘I was definitely nervous before this series, I hadn’t played a Test match in a long while and what England have done to us in the past couple of Ashes series was definitely on my mind but I was able to put that aside and just go out there and bowl the way I wanted to bowl. ‘‘I didn’t have any doubts.’’ Yesterday’s defining performance sparked fresh calls from fans for Johnson to keep the moustache he grew for Movember, but he said the fuzz would only last as long as this Test summer.

‘‘I’ve had few people down at fine leg calling for me to keep it forever, but I’m not sure the wife would be happy with that,’’ he said. ‘‘Some have called it a magical mo. It’s going OK at the moment but I think once the series is over I’ll end it.’’