Mitchell Johnson has a laugh at England's form ahead of the Ashes

Team England’s dismal performance against the South African is a worrying sign for the team ahead of the all important Ashes tour. After a brilliant start under new captain Joe Root, the team failed miserably in the second Test against South Africa. They looked like a bunch of struggling with composure and consistency and according to former Aussie skipper Mitchell Johnson, Australia can capitalise on the opportunity.

The 340 run defeat to the Proteas marked the 7^th defeat in 10 Test matches for the Three Lions. With the Ashes scheduled to kick off in the month of November later this year, Mitchell Johnson pointed out that the humiliation in the second Test is a huge blow to England’s preparation for the real deal.

“It’s only one game, but it’s the way they got beaten,” Johnson told Australian media in Sydney on Wednesday.

“They’ve got a few issues coming to Australia. Australia are a huge chance.

“(England) 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,” said Johnson.

“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.

“It’ll be a great series but there are some scars there as well.” added the quickie.

Johnson scripted the 2013/14 Ashes story brilliantly by picking up 37 wickets at an average of 13.97 in the tournament. He also bagged the Man of the Series award for his magical display with the ball.

On bowling to Gary Ballance:

Johnson, a retired international, also mentioned that he would love to bowl at England number 3 Gary Ballance who has not been able to cross 34 runs in his past 11 innings.

“When you’re a number three you’re meant to be one of the best players in the team, if not the best. I don’t think he is,” Mitchell said.

“If you’re a bowler and you see Gary Ballance at number three you actually get a lot of confidence from that, so I think Australia will have a lot of confidence.” said the bowler.