Kent v Australia: Live coverage of day two of first Ashes tour match in Canterbury

A FIRED up Mitchell Johnson bowling against an English county side was always going to be a bit of a mismatch. It proved that way.

CANTERBURY, ENGLAND - JUNE 26: Mitchell Johnson of Australia bowls during day two of the tour match between Kent and Australia at The Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence on June 26, 2015 in Canterbury, England. (Photo by Charlie Crowhurst/Getty Images)

MITCHELL Johnson is officially back and alarm bells are ringing for England.

It took just six balls in the tour match against Kent for him to deliver the eerily familiar thud into the pads that will have Alastair Cook and company wondering why they aren’t being offered more to step into the ring with their tormentor again.

Just when the old enemy might have started to convince themselves the unstoppable force who obliterated them last Ashes had come back to the field, Johnson reintroduced himself as Australia’s spearhead with a ferocious and tireless three-wicket haul, which included a clinical lbw in the very first over.

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Mitchell Johnson of Australia bowls in the tour match against Kent.

Johnson’s place in the first Test side may never have been under threat but the depth in Australia’s bowling arsenal had some suggesting he might be more support act than leading man this Ashes series.

Former Ashes Test batsman and Kent stalwart Rob Key was blown away by Johnson’s power and suggested England’s stars ought to be seeking an urgent pay rise as they prepare to jet off for their camp in Spain.

“For a large part of that I thought, ‘There’s no way I get paid enough to be facing him’. And I do alright for myself, don’t get me wrong,” said Key.

“He is a different level.

“The pace he has, he gets the odd one to swing. It doesn’t matter which pitch you are on, that bloke is a serious bowler. He can intimidate you but he can also move the ball around a little bit, he’s tough.

“I think if he wasn’t playing there would be a lot of batters quite happy. We’ve seen it in the Ashes back home, he’s just quick and he’s something different to everyone else.

“For the first bit out there, you had to kind of remember what you used to do against bowlers like that. He’s a proper, proper bowler.”

Steven Smith of Australia hits out during his century against Kent.

Everything England didn’t want to see heading into a return bout with Johnson was summed up in the very first over.

Johnson launched into his Ashes campaign with five consecutive dots, before closing out an emphatic opening statement with a perfectly executed dead-eye lbw bowled at almost unplayable speed.

Kent’s Daniel Bell-Drummond was far from the first Englishman to fall to the Johnson sucker punch, and two weeks out from the first Test, Australia will now grow in confidence that he won’t be the last.

They weren’t dropping like ten pins as they did for Johnson at the Gabba when he launched his superhuman Ashes haul of 37 wickets at 13.97.

But on a slow and flat wicket, Kent still felt the wrath of England’s bogeyman as they finished 5-203 at stumps on day two of the tour game in Canterbury, with Australia leading by 304 runs.

Earlier, Australia declared at 8-507 with Steve Smith starring with a brilliant 111 retired out.

But all the focus was on the bowlers, with Australia’s all-star pace cartel jostling for spots ahead of the first Test in Cardiff.

Smith noticed a lift in Johnson’s intensity.

“It looked like he stepped it up today,” Smith said.

“I am not sure if it was faster than he has been bowling but it certainly looked like he had great rhythm.”

Ryan Harris went wicketless with figures of 0-39 from 11 overs and Darren Lehmann’s suggestion that the war horse Queenslander might be a little short of match practice, rang true.

At this early stage an unchanged attack of Johnson, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood looms for the first Test, unless Harris can bounce back – which of course he is more than capable of doing.

The most impressive aspect of Johnson’s (3-42 from 13) bowling against Kent was the intent.

As if motivated by question marks raised over his drop in pace in the West Indies, Johnson roared out of the blocks like a man possessed.

He was the only Australian to find pace in the pitch, and he had Kent’s batsmen scrambling early.

Despite the arduous conditions for fast bowlers, Johnson’s pace and starch didn’t drop off as he came back for his second, third and fourth spells.

Key carved out an outstanding 87 to frustrate the Australians, before Johnson responded with back-to-back wickets to close out the day.

Harris was frustrated he didn’t get an lbw shout of his own to go his way in his sixth over.

The next over another big nick went through the slips, but there was no luck for the 35-year-old.

However, selectors know that above all his other attributes, Harris is a quintessential big match player – who could be trusted to lift for the first Test of an Ashes.

Peter Siddle bowled soundly for figures of 1-32 from 11 and spinner Fawad Ahmed picked up the wicket of Key.

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