The Ashes 2015: Australia bowlers must prove worth in cricket’s toughest conditions

IF Australia is to score its first win on UK soil since 2001, Mitchell Johnson and his band of bowlers must prove they are the best attack in the world.

CHELMSFORD, ENGLAND - JULY 02: Mitchell Starc of Australia bowls during day two of the tour match between Essex and Australia at The Ford County Ground on July 2, 2015 in Chelmsford, England. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

ONE bad day out for the world’s best bowling attack in a tour match in Chelmsford, is no reason to panic.

Particularly when left-arm destroyer Mitchell Starc comes back 24 hours later and finishes with brilliant figures of 6-51.

But getting belted around the park for a couple of sessions by the battlers from Essex still served as a sobering wake-up call that World Cup domination and 5-0 Ashes whitewashes back home count for little in England.

One stat matters – Australia haven’t won on UK soil since 2001 for a reason – and some good sides have tried.

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Mitchell Johnson had a series to forget in 2009.

The selectors wouldn’t swap Mitchell Johnson, Starc and Josh Hazlewood for anybody, and why should they?

After all Starc and all-rounder hopeful Mitchell Marsh responded well with the ball on day three to get Australia back on top in the four day fixture.

But for all their success and domination in recent times, the fact is Johnson and Starc have struggled here on the big occasions in the past and Hazlewood is on his Ashes debut.

Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad, might be slowing, but they know these conditions like the back of their hand and that’s why these Ashes might not be as one-sided as critics are predicting.

There is nothing to suggest the cream won’t rise for Australia again, but who would have thought it’s the much-vaunted Aussie quicks that might have it all to prove.

Johnson was outstanding in the opening tour match against Kent, and has been rested from facing Essex.

His pace was extreme and his aggression constant – and he’s maintained that form in the nets, even smashing Shaun Marsh on the knuckles.

Essex batsmen belted Nathan Lyon on day two of the tour match.

But although it’s painful to do so, Johnson has been watching back tapes from his forgettable tour of 2009 to remain vigilant about how badly it can go pear-shaped in the trickiest conditions in the world.

Johnson was so erratic last time he was here, he wasn’t considered for the most recent Ashes tour of 2013.

Starc was his replacement on that occasion, and never played consecutive Tests – dropped for the second at Lord’s and the fourth at Durham.

The menacing left-armer has gone to a new level of consistency and class since then, but day two here was a reality check.

Day three though, was a reminder how lethal Starc can be when he attacks the stumps.

However, no matter how in control you might feel– England can bring you undone.

Originally published as The Ashes 2015: Australia bowlers must prove worth in cricket’s toughest conditions