If you think Johnson was a real nightmare, these two are even nastier!

SMITH FIRES ASHES WARNING TO ENGLAND...

‘Cummins and Starc are so scary ... even in the nets ’

Steve Smith has delivered a chilling message to england’s batsmen: if you think mitchell Johnson was nasty four years ago, good luck against mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins in the next few weeks.

With the Australians fixated on Johnson’s performance in 2013-14, their only Ashes win in the last five series, Smith insisted his current crop of fast bowlers were even more of a handful.

‘it’s exciting seeing them in the nets,’ said Australia’s captain. ‘i look back to when Johnson was in the nets, and these guys are just as nasty — if not more nasty.

‘A couple of net sessions against Cummins and Starc have been quite scary. that’s really exciting for us.’

Starc’s left-arm swing, the brute pace of Cummins and the unerring accuracy of Josh hazlewood will present Joe Root’s england with a three-pronged problem as they look to retain the Ashes urn. But Root continued to take Australia’s barbs in his stride. ‘they’re three very talented cricketers,’ he said. ‘they’ve done some good stuff for Australia in the past but for all three it’s their first Ashes series in Australia. i’m sure they’ll be feeling the heat.

‘there’s been a lot of noise and comparisons made about them, and they’ve now got to try to replicate that. A lot of the guys have played against these fellas before and know what they’re going to bring to the table.’

Starc’s Ashes record is a far-from-scary 29 wickets at 31 apiece. hazlewood was underwhelming on his first tour of england in 2015, while Cummins is yet to play in the Ashes. All three are injury-prone.

equally, it’s easy to forget that the world’s No1 bowler right now is england’s Jimmy Anderson, who bowled beautifully during the home summer.

the trick for Smith, though, will be to get the best out of his fast bowlers in an attack lacking an all-rounder capable of filling in for ten or 12 overs a day.

Asked whether he would use Starc in short bursts, as michael Clarke did with Johnson, Smith said: ‘in an ideal world, yeah, that’ll be how i’d like to use him.

‘Back then we had the luxury of someone like Shane Watson, who bowled 15 overs in an innings and kept things really tight. he gave those guys that extra rest, so Johnson could come on and do what he did.

‘We’ve only got four frontline bowlers. At times, i’ll try to use them in shorter spells, but they’re also comfortable bowling a little bit longer. Some love to keep on bowling and can be quicker at the back end of their spells.’

meanwhile, Root was the latest englishman to react with bemusement at Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon’s comments this week, when he accused former england wicketkeeper matt Prior of wanting to leave the 2013-14 tour early. Lyon also suggested he was keen to end the careers of his opponents — Root included.

‘that’s not how i’d want my players to go about things,’ said captain Root, ‘but that’s up to him to come out and say that. it’s slightly out of character. i know Nathan from playing club cricket. it doesn’t seem very real.’

Would Root encourage his players to let Lyon know what they thought of his remarks?

‘We need to go about things the way that suits us best,’ he said. ‘everyone has their own way of doing things. if they feel they need to have a word, i’m all for them doing what makes them feel comfortable out in the middle.’