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Mitchell Johnson: England have serious issues to deal with before Ashes

Last time England travelled Down Under to play the Ashes, they were ripped apart by a handlebar-moustached Mitchell Johnson.

Mitchell Johnson terrified the Englishmen in the Ashes 2013-14 © Getty Images
Mitchell Johnson terrified the Englishmen in the Ashes 2013-14 © Getty Images

Last time England travelled Down Under to play the Ashes, they were ripped apart by a handlebar-moustached Mitchell Johnson. Australia won 5-0. England reclaimed the urn in 2015 and now months ahead of the Ashes 2017-18, the mind games have already begun. Johnson, who is now a retired cricketer, has claimed that Australia have good chance of reclaiming the urn as the English side have been inconsistent in their approach and have struggled to get their combination right. ALSO READ: Pay dispute will not improve relationship between CA and Australian cricketers, says Mitchell Johnson

England were humiliated by South Africa in the second Test that ended earlier this week. England’s 340-run defeat saw them bat less than 100 overs in the entire Test. This is their sixth loss in their last 8 Tests. Taking a dig at the shambolic show by the Englishmen, Johnson told cricket.com.au, “It’s only one game, but it’s the way they got beaten. They have a few issues coming to Australia. Australia are a huge chance. They probably haven’t got that consistency at the moment; they’ve changed their team a little bit so they’re trying to find the right squad. It’s getting close to an Ashes series so you want to try and lock that in, and it’s going to be hard for them now because they’ve just been beaten.”

Gary Ballance at centre of criticism

Gary Ballance has been widely criticised for his poor shows on comeback. The southpaw who has been in rich form for Yorkshire has failed to replicate his county cricket riches at the highest level. Johnson too hit out at the Zimbabawean-born cricketer and added, “England have Gary Ballance at No.3. When you’re a No.3 you’re meant to be one of the best players in the team, if not the best. I don’t think he is. If you’re a bowler and you see Gary Ballance at No.3 you actually get a lot of confidence from that, so I think Australia will have a lot of confidence. They have got some good batters, Joe Root has been scoring a lot of runs and Alastair Cook is starting to find some form again. “It’ll be a great series but there are some scars there as well.”

Johnson may well have spoken about the issues in England cricket but the pay dispute in Australia has not been resolved and there looms a dark cloud of uncertainty over the Ashes. The first Test is scheduled to start on November 23 at The Gabba in Brisbane.

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