Johnson finds form

Mitchell Johnson is bowling and batting with menace - Australia is 2-0 up, winning key moments and England is wasting opportunities. Too bad it's one-day cricket and the Ashes are already gone.

Johnson marked his return to Lord's, where his bowling unravelled disastrously in July, with a match-winning display with bat and ball.

His destructive 43 off 23 balls and 2-50 was the sort of contribution Australians had been hoping to see in whites rather than in pyjamas.

So too is the performance of the rest of the side, including Brett Lee, whose Ashes campaign was cruelled by injury. Any success he has in the ensuing two weeks will be bittersweet.

Australia's failure to capture wickets when it mattered and tendency to collapse with the bat when it did was a central theme in most analyses of the Ashes.

But it has seized its moments during the opening two one-day internationals.

It held its nerve at The Oval then compounded England's woes with the bat at Lord's.

As the saying goes, 'If a tree falls in a forest and no-one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?' Likewise, if it happens in a one-dayer this far out from a World Cup does it really count?

The Australians insist they have consigned the Ashes to the past.

"We're playing a one-day series, that's all dead and buried for us," Johnson said.

In a sense this is true. Only five of its current ODI XI featured in the doomed bid to retain the urn, but unless they are robots will not have gone a day without reflecting on the Tests.

Johnson even claimed, although not very convincingly, a triumph in the one-day series would help erase part of the disappointment in losing the Ashes.

"I guess in some ways it can," he said. "I guess after the Ashes we wanted to do well this one-day series and we've started off really well."

"I think we've won the key moments during these first two one-dayers. It got a bit tight in the first one-dayer and they started off well here with the bat and we pulled them back a bit."

It's been two weeks since England captain Andrew Strauss lifted the imitation urn at The Oval but that must now seem an eternity ago.

He is again fielding enquiries about soft dismissals, an under-performing middle order and explaining why his players are again losers.

At the heart of his team's problem is the continuing trend of failing to fulfil promising starts with the bat, a habit which started during the Ashes series but was not fully punished.

Not having Kevin Pietersen in the line-up does not help but there's no point complaining about the hand one is dealt.

"You're always worried if it's a losing pattern," Strauss said.

"The other side of the coin is that they've been two very gettable targets, so that's encouraging."

"We've been in the game at the halfway point and we've at times during the batting phase we've looked like we're favourites to win both games."

The captain said he was one of several players to fall to soft and needless dismissals.

Strauss made 47 from just 53 balls but offered a simple return chance to Nathan Hauritz moments after play was stopped as a WWII Bomber flew overhead to mark the 65-year anniversary of the ground being returned to cricket by the Royal Air Force.

"From being in such a strong position it's disappointing to suddenly be down four wickets a couple of overs later, good sides won't do that very often," he said.

"It was good to see, it wasn't a distraction (though). I wouldn't use that as an excuse. It was quite a nice moment to see that Bomber come over."

Australia succeeded as England relived past glories. It could be a recurring theme in this series.