Johnson thrives in trying conditions

Mohammad Hafeez must have a masochistic streak. Why else would he have asked for a review in the first over of the series, having just had his toes compressed by a 144kph Mitchell Johnson yorker? Perhaps the pain made him delirious. Whatever the case, the ball was hitting the lower third of middle stump. It was the funniest review since Leonard Maltin wrote that Police Academy 6 was only for those who thought Police Academy 5 was robbed at Oscar time.

Amid all the talk of slow pitches in the lead-up to this series, it was easy to forget that the pitch is only relevant if you allow the ball to touch it. Yorking Hafeez was a reminder to Pakistan's batsmen that even in these conditions, things won't go all their way. Johnson can still make them uncomfortable. By the end of the day, Johnson had 3 for 22 from 20 overs, including 13 maidens. He might give Australian Treasurer Joe Hockey some advice on maintaining an economy.

Late in the day, Johnson was on the boundary and for a split second seemed to be picking his teeth after a hearty feast. In fact he was just biting off a bit of tape from his finger. But the image was an appropriate one, for the appetite he built up against England in the Ashes, and then in South Africa this year was somewhat sated. He had just completed a spell with the second new ball of three overs, three maidens, 1 for 0.

It was an outstanding effort in trying conditions. Of course, every ball was not a yorker, and Johnson had to deal with the slow surface offering him little assistance. There was some reverse swing, which started as early as the 27th over when he got one to move away and Azhar Ali's uncontrolled drive was spilled by Chris Rogers at point. It gave the bowler something to think about, and the batsmen as well.

But Pakistan handled the threat through patience. At times, extreme patience, requiring extreme patience of the Australians and the fans. Azhar faced 40 balls from Johnson, 38 of them dots. Younis Khan faced 49 Johnson deliveries, 45 of them dots. Asad Shafiq didn't score off the 16 Johnson balls he faced. They were nearly as watchful against Peter Siddle, but knew they could squeeze runs from the spinners. Nathan Lyon and Steve O'Keefe bowled obliging lines for such an approach.

Rarely did they go against their Johnson-watch, but when they did opportunities were created. Three times in four balls Johnson drew Younis into playing and missing outside off. Azhar, dropped by Rogers when he tried to drive Johnson, was caught at short cover by Alex Doolan when he later tried to force Johnson through the infield. Only three boundaries came off Johnson's bowling, two of them tickled to fine leg if he bowled too straight.

The challenge for Michael Clarke was juggling his best bowler and ensuring he didn't tire too much on a hot, but not scorching day. His 20 overs were bowled in seven spells, none longer than four overs. It allowed him to stay as fresh as he might on a day like this, and maintain his speed. He banged in the odd bouncer, including one at 148kph that Azhar got under, and he rapped him sharply on the gloves as well.

Johnson was the major threat, but Siddle made things occasionally unpleasant for the batsmen too. He roughed up Misbah-ul-Haq with a bouncer that struck him on the shoulder when he tried to duck, and like Johnson struck with the new ball in the opening overs of the day. Despite a bit of reverse swing, the new ball was clearly the most dangerous weapon the Australians had; Johnson straightened one first over with the second new ball and had Younis lbw.

"You have really got to use that new ball and make them play early on, we thought that coming over here anyway," Johnson said. "We knew we had to focus on getting the ball up there, hit guys on the pads or get nicks early on. We had been told it was a chance of swinging early here and late in the day. With the second new ball we had to get ourselves up after a pretty long day in the field."

Contradictory as it may seem, Johnson appeared tired and upbeat after play. In his own words, he left the field feeling "pretty stuffed". His left ankle threatened to go during the day when he felt some sharp pain. But it lasted a few balls and disappeared with some strapping. Australia will hope it stays away, for although spin should play a greater role in the second innings, they must first get through the remaining six Pakistan wickets. Johnson's day-one work only kept them in the contest, not on top of it.

But already Johnson has more wickets than in any of his four most recent Tests in Asian conditions. In India last year, he didn't do his homework and went wicketless in his only Test appearance, in Delhi. His Test future seemed to be in more jeopardy than Alex Trebek. What a difference a year makes.