Australia's axing of Mitchell Johnson ahead of second Ashes Test indicates lack of stability which is good for the visitors, says England skipper Andrew Strauss
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Ashes: England wary of Australia
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Australia's axing of Mitchell Johnson ahead of second Ashes Test indicates lack of stability which is good for the visitors, says England skipper Andrew Strauss
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| High hopes: England skipper Andrew Strauss |
Johnson's figures of none for 170 in the high-scoring stalemate at the Gabba convinced Australia's selectors he needs a break, and his place seems set to be taken by fellow left-arm pace bowler Doug Bollinger.
England skipper Andrew Strauss seemed confident yet wary of his Aussie opponents.
"Mitchell's been a very good performer for Australia over a number of years and has been spearheading their attack, so it's quite a big call for them to leave him out," Strauss said.
"My experience playing in international cricket is a lack of stability is not a good thing ... when you're not sure what your best eleven is, it means people are generally a bit concerned about their place in the side.
"So, in that sense, it's a good thing for us, but we have to be slightly wary of the guys who they now have in their squad.
"They're good performers, they've had a lot of success in Test cricket, so it's not like they dragging someone from obscurity, we have to be good enough to contend with them," added Strauss.
Meanwhile, Australia captain Ricky Ponting has tipped an outright result in Adelaide.
According to Ponting history dictated that Adelaide would be likely to produce a 1-0 advantage to one of the teams.
Ponting said: "If you look at the history of Test cricket here in Australia there are a lot of result games. I don't see anything different in the wickets around the country that would indicate that it's going to be any harder to take 20 wickets."
Ponting added Adelaide was a bat first place.
"It's not very often you come to Adelaide and it's not a bat-first pitch. It does look particularly good.u00a0 I'd be surprised if whoever wins the toss doesn't bat first.
"If you look through the history of games here you need to be making big first-innings scores, it's generally a pretty good place to bat."
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