You are the much-heralded leader of the new-look Australian bowling attack but things are not going to plan – England have smashed you for 331 runs in the process of taking a 1-0 lead in the Ashes and there is speculation you could be dropped. If ever Mitchell Johnson could use some kind words from his mother it is now, but unfortunately the pair are only communicating through the media.
Following on from his mother Vikki Harber's claims that the pace bowler's karate champion and model fiancée, Jessica Bratich, had stolen him away from her, Johnson did what any red-blooded male would do – he spoke to a women's lifestyle magazine.
"The message I want to say is hopefully things can work out and be resolved. It probably might seem, at this time, like things have been distracting me," the 27-year-old told Women's Day magazine. "I was a bit disappointed with what has been going on, but I don't let things like that distract me. Otherwise, you are thinking about what's going on when you are in the field and you can't focus.
"There are probably a lot of people with personal problems and I suppose it's just one of those things. It is sad, and hopefully it will get better," added Johnson, who has taken eight wickets in the first two Tests.
Johnson's personal problems became profoundly public on the eve of the Cardiff Test when his mother told the Herald Sun newspaper in Australia that her once close relationship with her son had deteriorated since he started going out with Bratich – and subsequently told a TV show his fiancée was more interested in money than her son's career.
Harber said their once close relationship was sundered when her son moved to Perth to live with his fiancée, who he intends to marry next May during a beachside ceremony in Western Australia, and even though Johnson has not been in contact with his mother since January, he hopes that she will be there.
"She's my mum, so she's done things for me, and you want family to be there at your wedding. You want everyone to be together," said Johnson.
Bratich has also spoken about the episode, saying there is no sense in holding a grudge. "Yes, of course, you have to forgive. You can't go through your whole life holding grudges against people," she said, adding that it was wrong of her mother-in-law-to-be to suggest she is only interested in fame and self-promotion.
"Being called a Wag is such a stereotype, but I don't think there is anything I can do to make some people think otherwise. You know, I have my own online jewellery business, I teach karate, I have a degree. It doesn't matter what I have done with my life, people will still say, 'She's a bimbo'."
In hindsight the photoshoot she did for lads mag Ralph, in which she appeared in a bikini and discussed sex-before-cricket, probably did not help that stereotype.
"The shoot is going to pay for my karate career. I don't get paid to do karate and, as my dad pointed out, bikinis were invented in the 50s – it's no big deal," she argued.
Prior to her son's interview with Women's Day, Harber recently returned to the Australian press to express her love for her son and, helpfully during an Ashes series, speak of his sensitive nature.
"To see him struggling over there really upsets me. Yes, Mitchell is a fairly sensitive individual, and it's hard to say what impact this has had on him. [But] to suggest I'm responsible for Australia losing the Ashes series, that's just ridiculous."