Siddle, Johnson say Pietersen hiding bad form by bad-mouthing Australia

BRISBANE - Fast bowlers Mitchell Johnson and Peter Siddle have accused Kevin Pietersen of trying to cover up his own poor form by bad-mouthing Australia.

Johnson also claimed that England skipper Andrew Strauss has a major weakness going into the first Ashes Test - a struggle to deal with bouncers.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, both fiery pacers have identified Pietersen and Strauss as Australia’s top targets for the Ashes series.

The SMH quoted Siddle as saying: ”He (Pietersen) is the one coming out and saying all that stuff to cover his back for the last 18 months. He is talking about cracks, but I think he’s talking up a bit of a challenge, he likes that type of thing, that’s what gets him going. There’s a lot of work for him to do to get back to his best.”

”I don’t think we’re the ones on the back foot there. He is trying to start something [because] he trying to cover something up himself,” Siddle added.

Siddle also dismissed England’s impressive tour form - two wins and a draw from three games - as irrelevant, and rejected the notion they had improved since beating Australia 2-1.

“They (England) talk about how we’re struggling but they haven’t improved much either,” he said.

”You don’t have to read too much into the games they’ve played here, it’s a whole new start on Thursday. No matter what they’ve done, it can all change in the first hour. That’s the plan for us: really attack them with either bat or ball, really put the pressure on them in that first session,” he added.

Siddle is favoured to get the final pace bowling spot ahead of Doug Bollinger, despite not having played a Test since January. (ANI)