Australia are hopeful that Mitchell Johnson's swing will help them retain the Ashes © Getty Images Enlarge
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It was swing that turned Mitchell Johnson from a good bowler to a menacing one in South Africa and the early signs are positive that he can find movement in England. Johnson has been practicing with Duke balls in Leicester and has already found threatening late curve.

"What we've noticed is we have used the same ball for two long sessions now and we're still getting the ball to swing, so that's a good sign," Johnson told the Age. "It's good to see the ball swinging around."

As much as his new-found inswing to the right-handers, it was Johnson's all-round game that made him such an asset in South Africa. He began the series with a highly entertaining unbeaten 96 at the Wanderers and finished with his first Test century in Cape Town and now finds himself being mentioned in the same breath as the allrounder Andrew Flintoff, who destroyed Australia in 2005.

"To be put in the same sort of bracket as those guys is pretty exciting for me, because I never would have thought I would be," Johnson said. "I think maybe once you keep hearing that name, allrounder, all the time, it might put a bit more pressure on me, but I think the type of person I am I probably don't let it get to me too much. I just try and keep everything really simple."

Australia's coach Tim Nielsen believes Johnson will go a long way to deciding the series and, although nobody in the Australian camp has specifically said it, he is the only fast man guaranteed a start in the first Test. Peter Siddle would be unlucky to miss out after impressing against South Africa at home and away, while Ben Hilfenhaus is an incumbent and will swing the ball.

That leaves Brett Lee and Stuart Clark as the old warriors trying to fight their way back into the line-up after injury lay-offs and they have two warm-up games to push their cases. Clark flew out from Sydney to join the squad on Monday and he believes the selectors will make their call only after the tour matches.

"I'm not sure they'll go down the path of blokes getting rewarded for wickets," Clark said in the Sydney Morning Herald. "It will be about displaying certain qualities of your bowling style, which is going to be important come the Test matches.

"If I bowl well and don't get any wickets that probably won't rule me out. There will be a real understanding of what's happening. We all want to get wickets; someone will get wickets and someone won't. Given that you're bowling well, I think you're just as good a chance as anyone."

Adding to the selection quandary is the expectation that the pitch for the first Test in Cardiff will offer spin, enhancing Nathan Hauritz's chances of taking one of the available bowling slots. However, Clark was not convinced that a turning surface would hurt the hopes of the seamers.

"I'm very hesitant to start jumping at shadows there, whether the wicket is going to be turning or not," he said. "It's been like that in county games, but I've also played county games at Lord's where the wicket's spun, and last time it seamed around everywhere as well. We'll see when we get to Cardiff, but if they take three quicks then, yes, it will be tougher because someone's going to have to miss out."