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The other reason for Australian optimism was Johnson. Not part of the Test series in the UK, he came in for the one-dayers that followed. Johnson 2.0 was bowling rockets and unsettling England batters. "We spoke a lot about it," says Harris. "England knew what they were coming back against. "We went through the footage. Seeing the way he was, we knew there might be a bit of a chink in their armour and it planted a pretty big seed for us for what to expect on our wickets." Australia captain Michael Clarke knew his team were on to something. "It wouldn't surprise me in a couple of months' time to see Mitch [Johnson] being man of the series," Clarke said before the first Test. Assembling his pace attack of Johnson, Harris and Peter Siddle, Clarke tasked his pacemen with neutralising Alastair Cook, the England opener Australia could not get out three years earlier. "Michael Clarke pulled the fast bowlers aside," says Harris. "He said 'you guys are going to win this for us. We're going to target Cookie, make sure he's not getting off to a good start'. "We went through every plan we had for each batter, then Mitchell did what he did." In the first Test in Brisbane, it was Harris who sparked England's first-innings collapse from 82-2 to 136 all out. In the second innings, Johnson took five as the tourists were not only hammered, but also left in no doubt of the aggression they were up against. Facing up to Johnson, England number 11 James Anderson exchanged words with short-leg fielder George Bailey. Clarke intervened and was heard on the stump mic using an obscenity when warning Anderson to "get ready" for a broken arm. "That surprised a few of the players as well," says Harris. "Michael was vocal around the team, not necessarily to opposition players, and Jimmy got under the skin of most players at times. "We wanted to play that way. We wanted to be aggressive, but we didn't have a plan to go hard with verbal stuff. "When we heard the words Michael said we all thought 'ooohhh, that's cool'. We knew he was in it with us, but that was a little bit of a shock. It was like 'right, we're on here'." Despite leading English lambs to slaughter at the Gabbatoir and with England number three Jonathan Trott leaving the tour, Harris did not feel like Australia were "definitely on top". After all, Australia had only just notched a second Ashes Test win in 11 attempts. In the second Test in Adelaide came irrefutable evidence the Johnson juggernaut would not be stopped. A first-innings 7-40, including a burst of 5-16 in five overs, flattened England – including debutant Ben Stokes - once more. Three years on from a public humiliation, Johnson was carving his terrifying redemption, with Harris one of the few that witnessed both sides of the story. "What happened in 2010-11, it hurt him and it did get to him," says Harris. "He would say now that he was so intense, a fiery character, that everything anyone said would get to him. "He had a big break that made him realise cricket wasn't the only thing. He liked cars, he had business interests and he had a young daughter. He worked out that putting everything into cricket wasn't healthy for him. He came back refreshed. "The bowlers in 2013-14, we were really tight, and we still are. We spent a lot of time together and we didn't talk cricket all the time. When it came to the cricket stuff, we communicated so well. It was almost a team within a team. We were so focussed on what we had to do. "Sometimes I was down at fine leg and I took a couple of catches. The ball came so fast. Other times I was at mid-on, next to him, and he was determined in what he was doing. It was an amazing thing to watch."
