Johnson 'keen' for Big Bash deal with Perth

Mitchell Johnson has declared himself "keen" to play for the Perth Scorchers in this summer's KFC Big Bash League, but the lethal left-arm speedster has not signed on the dotted line just yet.

Johnson retired from Test cricket at the WACA last summer with 311 Test wickets to his name, and had a below par Indian Premier League, playing just three of 14 games for his Mohali-based franchise Kings XI Punjab.

But he says time on the sidelines – and some conversations with Scorchers coach Justin Langer – has helped him rediscover the "fire in the belly".

"I'm probably leaning towards playing at this point in time but I've got to go and make a decision," Johnson said today on Fox Sports News.

"It's something that I'm thinking about at the moment, where I want to go with my cricket, whether I want to play the T20 circuit or not.

"(The Big Bash is) a pretty awesome tournament, a lot of the boys talk about how much fun they have and the ratings for it have been huge."

Johnson returned to Perth from the IPL in May to devote time to his wife Jessica and their newly arrived son Leo (a brother for three-year-old Rubika) as well as work on his autobiography that is scheduled for release in November and expand his involvement with the micro-brewery in which he has invested.

He sat down with cricket.com.au and stressed he was in no rush to make a decision on where he next plays and indicated that wherever it might be, he’s looking to be involved as potentially more of a batting allrounder than an outright strike bowler.

Possibly exploring further the variations he has developed when bowling on batsman-friendly pitches in India, and revisiting the ambition from earlier in his ODI career to bat closer to the top than the tail.

"The way Justin has put it to me in the conversations we've had is he wants me to go out there and have some fun.

"So that takes a lot of pressure off me. I've been so used to being the No.1 strike bowler for so many years, it definitely puts pressure on you to perform.

"He wants me to go and be with the boys, enjoy the atmosphere of the dressing room, train with the boys and help out.

"That's the big thing I'm looking forward to, being involved with the young guys coming through."

Johnson's ties with Perth, where he lives with wife Jessica and children, will be a blow to the Brisbane Heat, who had been hoping to reconnect with the Queensland-born quick.

Johnson had been on the Heat's books for three seasons, but did not play a match in Heat teal.

And Johnson said the prospect of working closely with Perth's talented young left-armers Joel Paris and Jason Behrendorff was a particular lure as he look towards future opportunities in coaching and mentoring.

"I see myself more doing more of the mentoring role," Johnson said.

"Maybe coaching a bit more like what Dennis Lillee did, in that you come in for a week here or there, come into certain teams or work with individual players.

"I feel that's probably more suited to me than a big team-based (role)."