Mitchell Johnson: ODI decider against Pakistan a great opportunity for new players to perform under pressure

The team Australia fields at Optus Stadium on Sunday might not look much like Australia’s best team. But it might look a lot like the team we take to the next World Cup in 2027. That’s why I don’t have a huge problem with our Test players sitting out of the deciding one-day international against Pakistan. While it is disappointing for the WA cricket public that senior players Steve Smith, Travis Head, Mitch Marsh, Marnus Labuschagne, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood won’t be out there, it is a great opportunity to get some fresh faces in and put them to the test under a bit of pressure. Cooper Connolly, Josh Philippe, Xavier Bartlett and Spencer Johnson could all get their chance, while Josh Inglis will captain his country for the first time. Inglis, Glenn Maxwell and Adam Zampa will be the only members of last year’s victorious World Cup final side to play in Perth. The deciding match will be a great opportunity for the young guns to take on some pressure and try to win a series. Either way, it will help them grow. They win the series and it will give them a boost of confidence and a feeling of belonging at the level. Or they lose the series and learn valuable lessons on how to bounce back. Appointing Inglis, 29, as skipper for Sunday’s match and the Twenty20 games to follow is confirmation that the selectors see him being a big part of the Aussies’ set up. One-day cricket is a great pathway towards Test cricket. The good thing for Inglis is he has shown many different skills so far and the fact the selectors trust him in this role shows that he is firmly in their thoughts. And if he can take the white-ball captaincy, why not the vacant Test opening spot? I don’t think I would have discounted Inglis from that race so quickly, particularly if they are happy to try another non-specialist opener in Nathan McSweeney. It would have helped round out Inglis’ skills and grown his game even more, getting him some games and allowing him to feel comfortable at Test level while Alex Carey still has the gloves. Inglis is in great form with the bat and would complement Usman Khawaja nicely. Back to the one-dayers and it’s always nice to see Australia’s best team on the park. But the reality of international cricket these days is we will see more teams become specialised purely because of the amount of cricket being played. Many of Australia’s current senior players won’t make it to the next 50-over World Cup, still three years away, to defend their title. Australia’s Twenty20 side needs to become more specialised to that format and that has to be the way forward. So it’s not a bad thing that we will get to see some of the Big Bash League’s best performers against Pakistan in the three T20 games while the Test players prepare for the Border-Gavaskar series. With all the focus on the upcoming Test series against India, the one-dayers against Pakistan have been very interesting with the visitors more than competitive. Pakistan went after Australia with both ball and then bat on Friday to record a comprehensive victory despite not even bothering with a warm-up match. I don’t think Australia have necessarily taken Pakistan lightly but it is certainly rare to see the Aussies thrashed on home soil like they were in Adelaide on Friday. Most of the Australian batsmen have seen plenty of Haris Rauf in the Big Bash League but he’s simply been too good for them in the first two matches. The Aussies crashed from 2-79 to all-out for 163 after 35 overs on Friday. We all know collapses happen in cricket and are hard to stop as the batting team when an in-form bowler gets his tail up. In the end, the quicker you identify you are in a collapse the better. The key is to try to slow the game down, take a bit more time by marking your crease and not rushing about and being caught up in the moment. Having that awareness is crucial in those situations as the bowlers will want to keep the momentum going and move the game at a fast pace with their adrenaline up. Depending on where you are at in the game, you may have time to soak up a few balls or even overs with dot balls or a single here and there. Trying to rotate the strike is a good way to go about it as it takes some of that rhythm away from the bowler, especially if it is a right and left-handed batting pair. Personally, I always liked to at least get one warm-up game after landing in a new country to get a feel for the conditions, pitch, weather and so on but Pakistan showed that it’s not a necessity in today’s game. The downside to the new packed international calendar is virtually no more tour games, which were a great opportunity for domestic players from the host nation to play against international players and get an insight into what it’s like to go up against the best.