Johnson ready for next Ashes chapter

Mitchell Johnson's career has been a rollercoaster ride of dizzying highs and plummeting lows, much of it centred around Ashes contests.

With the Australians touching down in London at 5.50pm AEST today, the latest chapter remains to be written but Johnson is once again the centre of attention.

The left-arm firebrand wreaked havoc against England during the 2013-14 home whitewash, but it is in England where he hit his lowest ebb in 2009, and will surely have a point to prove this series.

However, amazingly, Johnson enters this series with some questioning his place in the side. It speaks volumes about the strength and depth of Australia's formidable pace battery.

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Mitch Johnson appeals at Sabina Park // Getty Images

National selector Mark Waugh conceded Johnson was under pressure from other members of the fast bowling cartel.

A cricket.com.au fan poll has so far attracted more than 11,000 votes, with less than 1 per cent advocating a line-up excluding Johnson.

Former Australia quick Jason Gillespie said the Australian team's age – 10 of the 16-man squad are above 30 – could yet count against them.

And legendary bowler Glenn McGrath said the 33-year-old Johnson must start well to excise any lingering demons from his previous tour in 2009, when was subjected to damning media critiques and even more merciless skewering from the mocking English crowds during a tour in which he sprayed the ball left and right.

Johnson entered the 2009 series with a fearsome reputation, having wreaked havoc against the South Africans home and away, taking 33 wickets in six Tests at 25.45.

Everything soon unravelled for the then 27-year-old upon arriving in England as personal issues played out in the tabloids and his on-field form suffered.

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Mitch Johnson with Ricky Ponting in 2009 // Getty Images

"At that point of the (2009) Ashes in England it was pretty bad," Johnson has previously confided in cricket.com.au. "It was really bad (in the second Test) at Lord’s. I was thinking about everything.

"My confidence had gone, I had stuff going on personally that I didn’t know how to handle, and so I just didn’t handle it through the whole series.

"To make it worse, I was thinking about my bowling technique when I was out there playing because the ball was going all over the place."

Injury and subsequent time away from the game meant Johnson missed Australia's last visit to England in 2013. His triumphant return to the Test team saw him scythe through the old enemy on home turf later that year.

A collection of thunderbolts from the 2013-14 Ashes

Older, wiser, blissfully married and with a young daughter the apple of his eye, the Johnson who lands in England today is a vastly different man than the one who visited in 2009.

"The way he bowled in the Ashes back in Australia 18 months ago was incredible and I think he worked out a lot of issues that he had and that happened between the two previous Ashes series," McGrath told cricket.com.au this week.

"He is a different bowler to what he was last time he was over in England.

"That first Test is going to be very important. If he can start well and really get the England boys jumping around and take the wickets he’s going to be hard to stop.

"But that first Test is pretty important."

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Marcus North consoles Johnson in 2009 // Getty Images

Marcus North, the former Australia batsman who played alongside Johnson in the 2009 and 2010-11 Ashes defeats, said he believed Johnson's recent form, and the strength of Australia's bowlers, meant he did not warrant selection for the opening Test in Cardiff on July 8.

"This is really harsh, but I wouldn't play Mitchell Johnson," North told UK radio station talkSPORT.

"The best three quicks are (Ryan) Harris, (Josh) Hazlewood and (Mitchell) Starc.

"You pick Starc because he bowls a fuller length and that is perfect for English conditions.

"Hazlewood will be the best-performing bowler in this Ashes series. He will take 400 Test wickets if he stays fit.

"He has performed really well on flat wickets in the recent series against the West Indies.

"Ryan Harris is a class act. He has been injured but everyone is saying he is ready for the Ashes.

"He might struggle to play more than two Tests in a row because of his body but Australia have options."

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Gillespie said the Australians' age meant the "old blokes" could be worn down and put under pressure this series.

"England should look at Australia and go: 'Hang on a minute, they’ve got a 37-year-old keeper (Brad Haddin)," Gillespie told the Mirror.

"They’ve got a 37-year-old opening batter (Chris Rogers), their captain (Michael Clarke) has got a glass back and they’ve got a fast bowler – Ryan Harris – who’s 35 years of age and who’s got a dodgy knee.

"I’d be thinking: 'Let’s keep them out in the field. Let’s get them tired, they’re old blokes. We can put these guys under pressure’."

"Australia deserve to start favourites. If they play to their potential they’re going to be very hard to beat.

"But if England have a positive attitude, they have a chance. And home advantage will be very important."