Durham land Johnson

Durham have bolstered their bowling attack for this summer’s Friends Life t20 competition with the signing of Australian speed-merchant Mitchell Johnson as their second overseas player.

The 2009 ICC Cricketer of the Year will join South African all-rounder Herschelle Gibbs as the Dynamos’ overseas stars, adding some real Twenty20 pedigree to the county’s side and significantlt shortening their odds with Stan James.

Johnson has been a key part of the Australian side in all three formats of the game over the past five years, although the 30-year-old has struggled to recover from a dreadful Ashes series last year and has found his international chances dry up.

This summer is critical for Johnson to catch the eye of the Aussie selectors again, and the left-arm bowler will be looking to use his time at Durham, as well as his upcoming spell in the IPL with the Mumbai Indians, to impress the Australian management. Both competitions are covered at www.stanjames.com and it will be interesting to see how Johnson can bolster his two sides.

The Queenslander has admitted he is planning to achieve success during his time in the North East of England this summer. Johnson also revealed it had been the advice of former England adversary Paul Collingwood that convinced him to join up with the Dynamos for this summer’s Twenty20 competition.

“I’ve heard brilliant things about Durham from Paul Collingwood when he played over in Perth and I’m really excited about joining up with the squad,” he said.

“Delivering match winning contributions is important to me and that’s not just with a focus on my bowling – all round performances in t20 are really important and I want to leave at the end of July having secured our place at Finals Day!”