How Shane Watson can mend Mitchell Johnson’s shattered relationship with Australian cricket

There may be only one man to solve the drama between Mitch Johnson and his former teammates, but what are Johnson’s next moves ahead of a potential Perth showdown?

It’s time for Shane Watson to have one last review.

Not for a ball hitting his front pad but of the shattered relationship between Mitchell Johnson and the Australian cricket team.

Watson, Johnson’s great old mate and a man of few enemies, looms as the most logical peacemaker if that is possible in a frosty stand-off that is colder that a polar bear’s paw.

Johnson is likely to bump into his former teammates in some form next week when he commentates for Triple M in the first Test against Pakistan in Perth.

The very sight of them together would be front-page news no matter whether it was peace, war or something in between.

It leaves Johnson with two clear options.

After setting his course as a no-holds-barred media commentator who labelled Pat Cummins gutless and called for David Warner’s sacking, Johnson might decide that it would be hypocritical of him to start making peace with Warner and company.

After all, barring one jarring sentence about Sandpapergate, he stood by his words in his latest volcanic column in The West Australian.

He knew what he was saying. If you have no regrets, it’s hard to say “sorry’’ without growing a Pinocchio-sized nose.

Cricket commentary over the years has had many notable voices – including Richie Benaud, Geoff Boycott, Peter Roebuck and Mike Atherton – who deliberately kept a distance from the dressing room because they wanted to commentate without fear of being compromised.

Even Shane Warne, as fearless as they come, said he felt more comfortable talking about players when he was not part of their life and avoided becoming too close to them.

So it may be that Johnson will simply keep his distance from the players and keep firing the bullets.

Mitchell Johnson (2L) and Shane Watson (2R) celebrate winning the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup. Picture: Phil Hillyard

Flame-throwing and bread-breaking don’t normally go together.

Johnson’s other option is to try to mend fences and this is where Watson, who was born five months before Johnson in 1981, could help.

Watson is well respected by most of the current side who either played with him or saw him compile an underrated career for Australia in a tough era in which he was one of the world’s best white-ball players.

As a longtime friend of Johnson’s and fellow Homeworkgate victim, he is well up to playing the role of Switzerland in the latest dispute.

Last season in Perth, the cameras were on former Australian coach Justin Langer when he appeared in commentary duties after being squeezed out of the Australian job.

The players may have been the cause of his demise but superficially, at least, things went well when he greeted them with a series of handshakes and hugs.

Don’t hold your breath for that to happen this time. These wounds seem deeper. It is no certainty they will ever heal.

Originally published as How Shane Watson can mend Mitchell Johnson’s shattered relationship with Australian cricket