‘Big call’ by Australians to drop Johnson: Strauss

ADELAIDE - The ommission of Australian pacer Mitchell Johnson from the second Ashes Test squad has surprised England skipper Andrew Strauss, who feels it is a “big call” by the baggy greens.

Out-of-form speedster Johnson went wicketless in the first Test, finishing with the figures of 0-170 and resulted in the hosts retaining Ryan Harris and Doug Bollinger in the 13-member squad for the second Test in Adelaide.

“Mitchell has been a very good performer for Australia over a number of years, and has been spearheading their attack - so it’s quite a big call for them to leave him out,” said Strauss.

“But it’s not something that concerns us. We’ve got to be ready for whoever might take his place and make sure we’ve got plans in place to counteract them.”