Mitchell Johnson might be at long odds for a Test call-up this summer but least this time he knows what he’s doing.

The left-arm quick who has taken 190 Test wickets is capable of wild variations in form, from being world cricket’s best player in 2009 to fearing a Test sacking two years later and pondering retirement.

But now at 31, the Western Australia pace spearhead says he’s matured as a player and his focus is on consistency rather than sheer speed.

“I’m not trying to bowl quick,” Johnson said after reaching speeds of 146 km/h in Wednesday’s one-dayer against Victoria at the MCG.

“I want to be able to get that shape happening like I did tonight and through the Shield game and be able to have that one or two up my sleeve where you can bowl a good bouncer or a quicker yorker, or that one on the pads swinging back in nicely.

“That’s been my goal for this summer and it seems to be working.”

Johnson’s eight Shield wickets have cost an average of 35.75 runs and he’s claimed five victims at 28.20 in three one-dayers.

On Wednesday, Johnson had two lbw appeals upheld which were overturned moments later by the third umpire.

Victoria’s Glenn Maxwell, who’s emerged in 2012 as a limited-overs international batsman, bore the brunt of Johnson’s onslaught.

“It was the fastest spell I’ve ever faced, comfortably,” Maxwell said.

“He bowled really fast and straight at our bodies. It was pretty hostile stuff.”

Maxwell rubbed salt into Johnson’s wounds by having his lbw decision overturned by the third umpire then hitting a 91-metre six over square leg in the same over.

“It’s safe to say he was frustrated,” Maxwell grinned.

“I probably pissed off the wrong person there.”

The next delivery thudded into Maxwell’s ribs, one of two chest bruises he received from Johnson in his innings of 58 not out.

“He was a lot calmer than I thought he was going to be,” Maxwell said.

“It wasn’t like he’d lost the plot and started bowling all over the place.”

Johnson is a long shot for selection for the third Test against South Africa on November 30 in Perth, where he’s taken 30 wickets in four Tests.

“I know what I’m doing. In 2009, things were going pretty well but I didn’t know why, whereas now, I actually know why it’s happening,” he said.

Johnson, who suffered a season-ending toe injury in the Johannesburg Test in November 2011, says the enforced break was an opportunity for reflection.

“I feel like I’ve matured more,” he said.

“The confidence is back, definitely. For the last 12 months of my Test career, the confidence and belief weren’t there.”