Johnson, Starc must curb aggression: Taylor

Former Test captain Mark Taylor says Mitchell Johnson and Mitchell Starc will need to curb their attacking enthusiasm if they're both picked for the first Commonwealth Bank Test against New Zealand.

Starc and Johnson, the two wicket-taking linchpins of Australia's bowling attack, have shown the benefits during this month's Matador BBQs One-Day Cup of a rare break from the game, bowling with considerable pace and movement in an impressive tune-up ahead of the first Test against the Black Caps in a fortnight.

While the left-armers are two of the most feared bowlers in the world, Taylor has repeated his belief that he would find it hard to pick both in the same side if they are to concede runs at the rate they did at times during the Ashes.

Starc (18 wickets at 30) and Johnson (15 wickets at 35) both bowled some destructive spells during the series, but also conceded runs at a high rate, particularly in Australia's defeats at Cardiff, Edgbaston and Trent Bridge.

Their economy rates mirrored Australia's success in the UK; Starc conceded 4.37 runs an over and Johnson 4.21  in the three Tests Australia lost, compared to 3.01 and 3.07 respectively in victories at Lord's and The Oval.

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Michael Clarke and Johnson in England // Getty Images

Taylor first questioned the wisdom of picking the two left-armers in the same side during the fifth Test and he repeated his concerns when speaking to cricket.com.au on Wednesday.

He also quashed media reports that he'd called for Johnson to retire and dismissed the suggestion that he, as a Cricket Australia director, or anyone else at CA had influence over Australia's four-man selection panel.

"As I was then and as I'm speaking now, I'm speaking as a cricket commentator," he said. "That's my role first and foremost when we're at the ground.

"This idea that there's discussion in CA's offices (about Johnson and Starc), that's totally irrelevant.

"It doesn't matter what people in the CA offices think. It matters what the four selectors think. That's the only office you've got to worry about.

"What I said at the time, and I stick with it, is I would find it hard as a selector to pick them (Johnson and Starc) both in the team if they both bowled the same way they did in the Ashes series.

"They both at times picked up wickets but they were also going at four-and-a-half, five and sometimes six an over. And from a captaincy point of view it makes it almost impossible, as we saw in the Ashes series, to apply pressure if you have two bowlers who are in a way similar.

"There are some things that make them dissimilar, but there are similarities in the way they bowl.

"If they both want to be attacking left-arm bowlers who are just purely looking for wickets and going and five and six an over, it's very hard to pick both of them." 

WATCH: Starc's incredible Matador Cup 

In picking his prospective Test side two months ago for the series against New Zealand, Taylor chose 25-year-old Starc over 33-year-old Johnson with a view to the future.

After an eight-year Test career that's yielded over 300 Test wickets, principally through pace and aggression, Taylor believes Johnson would find it more difficult than Starc to repress his instinct to attack.

He added that the two left-armers weren't alone in allowing England's batsmen too much freedom to score during the Ashes, with rookie quick Josh Hazlewood also conceding 3.67 runs an over throughout the series. 

"I'm not sure if it's Mitchell Johnson who can change because that's the way he's always been," Taylor said. "He's a deck-hitting bowler, aggressive, intimidating type of bowler.

"Whereas I think Mitchell Starc, particularly with the new ball, tends to get the ball up there and swing it a bit more.

"But the bottom line is they'd both have to bowl better than that.

"To be a good bowling unit you obviously need good individuals but you also have to bowl well as a group. One thing Australia had a real problem with in the Ashes was maintaining pressure.

"And you could say the same thing about Josh Hazlewood, who struggled at times to keep the runs down.

"It wasn't until Peter Siddle came in for the last Test and bowled stump to stump, line and length and made it difficult to score that Australia kept the run rate down and picked up wickets.

"It's amazing how those two often go hand in hand."