While player of the match Mitchell Johnson was his team’s trump card in the series opener, Australian coach Darren Lehmann acknowledged that Johnson’s effectiveness was heightened by the quality of the bowlers who supported him.

Ryan Harris (five wickets), Nathan Lyon (four) and Peter Siddle (two) all conceded runs at less than three per over across both England innings at the Gabba which gave Johnson a licence for full-throttle attack.

For that reason, the Australians will be keeping a close eye on the pace bowlers’ workloads in Adelaide and Perth – with only three days’ rest between those matches – to ensure the balance that worked so clinically in Brisbane is maintained.

Lehmann has already identified the likelihood of all-rounder Shane Watson being fully fit and able to shoulder more of the bowling burden in coming weeks as a crucial part of that plan.

Watson’s recent hamstring injury meant he was restricted to just two overs of very gentle medium pace in Brisbane, although the fact that neither over yielded a run underscored his value with the ball.

“All (the bowlers) played their part (in Brisbane) and were impressive as a bowling unit,” Lehmann said. “So we add Shane Watson to that in the next Test match, bowling some more overs.

“But we were lucky enough to get away in this (first) Test match with not bowling so many overs, so that’s a pleasing thing.”

The recently-laid drop-in wicket at Adelaide Oval has shown a worrying unwillingness to break up and offer assistance to bowlers as matches progress, and even Monday’s final session of the South Australia-Tasmania Bupa Sheffield Shield match saw the West End Redbacks scoring at more than four and a half runs per over in pursuit of an unlikely last-gasp win.

Similarly, the Perth pitch that once held terrors for batsmen has become increasingly benign and it is likely bowlers from the rival Ashes camps will be called on to toil in long and repeated spells.

“I think the next two Test matches are going to be tough on the bowlers, there’s no doubt about it. Especially Adelaide being generally a pretty good batting wicket and it looks like the WACA’s a pretty good wicket as well,” Australian captain Michael Clarke said after the Brisbane victory.

“Fortunately there’s a break from now until then, so the guys have got a few days to freshen up.”

Clarke’s concern will be shared in the England camp, given the heavy reliance they now place on the wicket-taking capabilities of new-ball pair James Anderson and Stuart Broad.

The Australians showed in Brisbane they are prepared to hit off-spinner Graeme Swann out of the attack at every opportunity, and the England selectors will be hoping all-rounder Tim Bresnan can prove his fitness for Adelaide to boost their bowling stocks.

Despite facing pitches that are unlikely to offer similar pace and bounce to the Gabba strip which accounted for numerous England wickets as their batsmen struggled to cope with deliveries rearing above waist height, Lehmann believes Johnson still has the capacity to rattle the tourists in coming Tests.

“Yes he can, on any pitch when you’ve got that speed and velocity,” Lehmann said.

“He bowled beautifully, he had aggression, he had bounce, he had confidence coming in to the match so I was really impressed with what he did on the ground and the way he’s been off the ground.

“He’s going to be occasionally wayward, but you accept that with Mitchell Johnson. I think that’s the key, you don’t worry about that.

“You know that when he’s good, he’s good and exciting like he was this (first) Test match.”