Don't ditch Mitch, or life from pitch

In the Sydney Morning Herald, Stuart Clark analyses the problems with Mitchell Johnson, who is in danger of being dropped for the second Test.

I can recall talking to him during a practice match at Northampton in 2009 where he was trying to regain some confidence but the self-doubt was consuming him. Only wickets will banish the demons from within. I am not sure leaving Mitch out of the Adelaide Test is the best option at present, but I can guarantee you that a selector coming out and stating that he is on borrowed time will help.

Stephen Brenkley writes in the Independent that the best thing for the series, though not necessarily the most likely, would be a spicy pitch in Adelaide.

The last thing Test cricket needs in a world of Twenty20 is a series of draws that are virtually pre-determined. The Adelaide Oval, where the second Test starts on Friday, has a reputation for being flat rivalled only by X Factor participants.

And Simon Barnes of the Times casts his mind back to Adelaide four years ago, where England lost the Test despite posting 6 for 551 in the first innings.

I remember the England supporters walking silently through the Adelaide streets. I snatched a solitary meal between bouts of frenzied writing, the other restaurant tables full of England followers managing the occasional hoarse and reluctant guffaw. I remember queueing for the plane the next morning; all the English journos had the thousand-yard stare of Vietnam vets. It was as if we had witnessed the most horrific car accident.