18 Dec 2010

Johnson blasts England batsmen off WACA pitch

5:42 pm on 18 December 2010

Mercurial paceman Mitchell Johnson rediscovered his lost form to help Australia skittle England for 187 and wrest back the initiative on a pulsating second day of the third Ashes cricket Test in Perth.

Swinging the ball into the right-handers at high pace, Johnson smashed through England's top order before cleaning up the tail to finish with 38 for six in a brilliant return after he was dropped for the second Test in Adelaide.

At the close Australia were 119 for three in their second innings, with an overall lead of 200 after Johnson and co. reminded the tourists the Ashes isn't theirs just yet.

The hosts are battling to level the five-Test series and prevent the tourists from becoming the first English team to claim the Ashes on Australian soil in 24 years.

Johnson says proving he still has what it takes to be a force in Ashes cricket wasn't a motivating factor in his standout performance, he's just happy to be playing again and says he has nothing to prove to anyone but himself.

England lead the five-match series 1-0.