Ashes 2019: Mitchell Johnson wants Mitchell Starc to replace James Pattinson for Lord’s Test

Australia must be oozing with confidence after conquering England in the Edgbaston Test by 251 runs. The fact that Tim Paine & Co. secured the victory after trailing by 90 runs in the first innings would’ve given them a lot of positivity. Despite the win, Mitchell Johnson, the former Aussie speedster, wants a change in the lineup for the second Test at the Lord’s, starting August 14.

He wants Mitchell Starc to play the game instead of James Pattinson due to the advantage the left-arm pacers get at the Home of Cricket because of the slope. The latter made a comeback into the national team after a long gap and looked good, though he could pick up only a couple of wickets.

A left-hand bowler would be ideal

“I’d go for Starc and probably have Pattinson out. It’s hard to change a winning side but I’d like to see Starc still come charging in. The slope comes into it, big time. Left-armer, a bit of a different angle. We saw in the last Test the [Australian pacers] coming around the wicket a fair bit … I’m not too sure about that,” Johnson was quoted as saying in cricket.com.au.

“Someone’s got to stay over and one around to left-hand batters. So maybe a left-hand bowler would be ideal,” Johnson, who has 313 wickets under his belt in Test cricket, added while highlighting the significance of a left-arm pacer.

During the World Cup, the left-arm pacers, especially the likes of Mustafizur Rahman, Trent Boult, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Starc himself, had a significant amount of success at the Lord’s. Hence, Johnson’s suggestion to bring in Starc can’t be completely dismissed out of the sight.

Pat Cummins is in his own little world

Johnson also wants Josh Hazlewood to feature in the next encounter. However, he also said that dropping Peter Siddle won’t be fair after how he bowled in Birmingham. Siddle also did his bit with the bat, scoring 44 in the first innings during an 88-run partnership with Steve Smith. Meanwhile, Johnson doesn’t wish for any sort of tampering with Pat Cummins’ position in the lineup.

“As much as I want to see [Josh] Hazlewood go well you can’t drop Sidds [Siddle]. He’s been really useful and especially on the slope I think he’d be very good and he just backed up [Nathan] Lyon really well. And [Pat] Cummins is in his own little world, just leave him be,” he added.

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