After their batting disappointment, Australia dialled M for McGrath and Mitchell as their weapon. McGrath set it up and Mitchell had scalped the who’s who of Indian batting line-up. Right-handers Dravid and Tendulkar beaten by precise away moment and then he moved the ball in the opposite direction to dismiss left-hander Pathan and Yuvraj Singh. Pathan was foxed by the drift in air while Yuvraj the bounce.

It was these skills that made Aussie great Dennis Lillee give a famous line about a 17-year-old Johnson: He is a once in a generation bowler. And it was comments like these and his steady climb through grade cricket that had the chairman of selectors Andrew Hilditch say today that they had “an eye on the boy for the last five years.’’

In those five years he has represented the country at under-19 and A level. Just last year he toured Bangladesh with the main team and there he had a chance of meeting Wasim Akram, who had a brief talk on reverse swing.

On the back of a brilliant domestic season, he was considered for the DLF Cup and Champions Trophy. But the absence of a knee-jerk selection policy saw decision-makers resist the temptation of drafting him early despite Lillee’s “once in a generation” praise being intact.

Both Hildtich and Ponting insist that they never thought of retaining Johnson despite their Fab Four against India. With names like Stuart Clarke, Nathan Bracken, Shane Watson here and Shaun Tait at home, the selectors can afford not to be reactionary. But Mitchell’s timely delivery on the rainy day wouldn’t be forgotten.