Australia recorded a five-wicket defeat against South Africa in the World Test Championship final (WTC) at Lord's. This saw them fail to capitalize on their chance of becoming the first-ever side to win two WTC titles. It was quite a disappointing display from the Aussies who got outclassed by the Proteas in both the batting and bowling departments during the match.
Johnson believes that Australia's bowling quartet cannot be taken for granted
Following the defeat, former Australia pacer Mitchell Johnson has urged the selectors to drop someone from the bowling 'big four' - Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon. Johnson stated that the quartet cannot be taken for granted going forward into the new WTC cycle.
"Our successful 'big four' bowling attack of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon can't be taken for granted as a lock going forward either," Johnson wrote in his column for The West Australian.
Johnson especially lashed out at Hazlewood for giving priority to the IPL over the WTC final. Notably, the pacer was only able to take two wickets in the match for the Baggy Greens and didn't prove to be much of a threat for the South Africa batters.
"We've seen concerns about Hazlewood's fitness in recent years, and his decision to prioritise returning to the delayed Indian Premier League over his national team preparations raised eyebrows. Lyon didn't look his best on day three either," Johnson added.
The former left-arm seamer also criticized both Marnus Labuschagne and Cameron Green for their poor batting displays in the final. He also questioned both the batters' spots in the batting order and added that they aren't suited for their respective positions.
"It's obvious Green didn't perform well - out for 4 and 0 and facing just five balls for the match. And the way he got out to Kagiso Rabada in both innings highlights that he might not be suited for that position. But the real issue stems from Marnus Labuschagne's poor form, similar to what we saw with Steve Smith moving up to open when he was struggling a bit. I'm just not a fan of these batting reshuffles to cover for lack of form. With the West Indies tour and then the Ashes coming up this summer, Australia will need to settle on not only two openers but also find a reliable No.3," he further added.
Australia will now be embarking on a tour to the Caribbean where they will be facing off against the West Indies for a three-match Test series and a five-match T20I series. The gruelling tour is set to commence from June 25.