PERTH: Nathan Lyon’s wish to see the end of some England
careers after another Ashes whitewash could easily come true if the
tourists’ struggling senior players fail to lift quickly, former
Australia paceman Mitchell Johnson has said.
Johnson
captured 37 wickets in the 5-0 sweep of Alastair Cook’s England in
2013-14 which sparked the exits of a number of senior players and staff.
England spinner Graeme Swann promptly retired after the
third Test of that ill-fated series, while batsmen Michael Carberry and
Kevin Pietersen were never seen again in Test whites.
With
Joe Root’s team having given back the urn and 3-0 down heading to the
fourth Test in Melbourne, Johnson said selectors should make hard
decisions now rather than wait until the end of the series.
“Going to the next Test I think England will have to
think about changes,” the 36-year-old said after training with Big Bash
side Perth Scorchers at the WACA Ground.
“I’m not sure if Stuart Broad is up to it at the moment. There will be some question marks around him, as a senior player.
“Alastair
Cook is someone who I think has been thinking about retirement. I just
wonder now with the scoreline being 3-0 whether that will take a bit of
pressure off him and he’ll just go out there and score runs. I’m not
sure. I think the scars are there from the last series.”
Cook,
who will be 33 when the Boxing Day Test starts, scored 766 runs in
England’s 2010-11 triumph Down Under but struggled with the bat as
captain during the 2013-14 series.
He has managed only 83 runs in the current campaign at a paltry average of 13.83.
Broad
has only five wickets from the three matches at 61.80 runs apiece and
came off his worst ever Test figures in the third match at the WACA.
With
England’s lack of pace exposed on Australian wickets, Johnson doubted
they could win in Melbourne or Sydney without a genuine quick, and urged
selectors to recall seamer Mark Wood.
“I look forward
to him playing if he gets the opportunity, they should pick him even if
he’s slightly underdone,” Johnson said of 10-Test Wood, who recovered
from an ankle injury to bowl in the tour match in Perth.
“From a pace point of view, someone bowling over 140-145 (km/hour) can definitely change the game.”
Root,
meanwhile, was a ‘great’ player that had failed to stand up for his
team with the bat while being saddled with a series of off-field
distractions, said Johnson.
The left-armer recalled his
own wayward bowling during the 2009 Ashes in England when tabloids were
awash with reports of a rift with his mother.
He felt
England’s boozy indiscretions during the current tour had probably taken
a similar toll on their skipper’s on-field performance.
“For
me ‘09 was a struggle when you have off-field things happening,
personal things that have happened and they’re out in the public,” he
said. “Because it’s the Ashes you’re definitely under the microscope a
lot more. He’ll learn and he’ll definitely get better.”
Johnson
was naturally more generous in his praise of the home side and their
captain, with Steve Smith leading brilliantly with a double-century in
Perth and 426 runs for the series.
The Ashes had been
disappointing from a ‘fan’s point of view’ but that was of little
concern to Johnson, who enjoyed a number of fiery on-field exchanges
with England players during his international days.
“As an ex-player, I’d love to see a 5-0 [whitewash], I’m not really that fussed on what happens out in the middle.
“I don’t like seeing close games when it’s against England; I just want to see them get thumped.”