‘Good depth of Oz fast bowlers’ will keep ‘out-of-form’ Johnson on his toes: Fleming

Sydney: Australian left-arm fast bowler Mitchell Johnson will struggle to keep his place in the national team if he fails to perform on the upcoming tour of South Africa, according to former fast bowler Damien Fleming.

Johnson, who was dropped during the Ashes series earlier this year, collected just six wickets at an average of 52.16 in the recent three-match Test series against Sri Lanka, and was outperformed by Ryan Harris, Trent Copeland and Shane Watson. “There is pressure on for spots and that’s what happens to good teams. I’d say he’d play the first Test against South Africa, but I’d say he’d want to be getting wickets there because if Ryan Harris is fit, Siddle has just had a good Test (in Colombo) and Copeland will be pretty handy in those conditions,” Fleming told Fox Sports. “And obviously Dougie Bollinger bowled so well in the one-day series, so he’s an option as well. Certainly (Johnson) would be wanting to be performing near the top going into this South African series. Otherwise there is a good depth of fast bowlers around,” he added. Australia sealed the three-Test match series in Sri Lanka 1-0 on Tuesday, and will now tour South Africa to play two Twenty20s, three ODIs and a two-match Test series. ANI