Can Johnson maintain his form and bowl the Aussies to victory?

Despite the fact that England are still the side that is firmly in control of the current Ashes 2010 series, the return to form (and to the series) of Mitchell Johnson is something that will have the England batsmen worrying about how they can fight off a bowler who ripped them to shreds during their first innings.

However, whilst they will certainly be worrying about just how good Mitchell Johnson can be, they will also be aware that the Ashes odds on him improving are just as likely as the ones that suggest he will go on and do a Peter Siddle and have a moment of magic and then flop back to looking like a bowler who cannot seem to get a wicket for love nor money and, in the process, become a man who cannot stop himself from giving away runs to England’s batsmen.

Whilst Johnson is perhaps slightly less likely to do this than England would like in an ideal world, the fact is that whether he returns to form or not will be a decisive factor in deciding if England are going to end this series still in possession of the Ashes. Should Johnson show that he is back in the game, then the momentum that had been in England’s favour will rapidly starting heading back to an Australian side which is desperately seeking to avoid the ignominy of being the first Australian side to lose possession of the Ashes on home soil for the first time since the 1980s.

Whatever the outcome, the fact is that this is turning out to be one of the most exciting Ashes series on Australian soil for a long, long time.