Johnson axed from Australian Ashes team

Paceman Mitchell Johnson has been dropped from the Australian team for Friday's second Ashes Test against England at the Adelaide Oval.Australian captain Ricky Ponting said on Thursday a final eleven would be decided before the start of play, but confirmed Johnson had been omitted from the 12-man squad.Fast bowlers Doug Bollinger and Ryan Harris, who were added to the squad after last Monday's drawn Gabba Test, are vying for places in the team.

Australia won the toss and chose to bat on the opening day of the second Ashes Test against England at the Adelaide Oval on Friday.Australia have made two changes from the drawn Gabba opener with pacemen Doug Bollinger and Ryan Harris coming in for Mitchell Johnson and Ben Hilfenhaus, while England are unchanged.Johnson, Australia's leading active wicket-taker with 166 wickets in 39 Tests, was left out because captain Ricky Ponting said it was felt he was down on form and out of rhythm after going wicketless for 170 runs in the Brisbane Test.

Australian skipper Ricky Ponting said Monday it was "absolutely possible" that his team could regain the Ashes with a 5-0 sweep against England later this year.Ponting, who lost the Ashes for a second time as captain in the 2-1 series defeat in England last year, said the Australians had learnt from their mistakes and were a better side than the last Ashes contest.Australia have slipped to fourth, narrowly ahead of England, in the Test rankings after their 1-1 drawn Test series against sixth-ranked Pakistan in England last month.

Australian captain Ricky Ponting will miss next week's fifth Ashes Test against England after X-rays revealed further damage to a broken finger suffered earlier in the series, officials said on Thursday.Vice-captain Michael Clarke is expected to lead Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Monday, with the team to be announced later Thursday.England retained the Ashes with a crushing innings and 157-run win in the fourth Melbourne Test Wednesday, and are chasing their first series win in Australia in 24 years in the Sydney Test.

Australia will be heading into the fourth Ashes Test on Boxing Day with renewed confidence after their 267-run win over England in Perth but the win can't hide the lingering frailties of their top order.The low-scoring nature of the WACA match, along with the dynamic bowling of Mitchell Johnson, meant the failures of recalled pair Phil Hughes and Steven Smith, and captain and vice-captain Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke, went unpunished.But the fact remains Australia are likely to take four players into the crucial MCG clash who are badly out of form with the bat.

England backed up a sensational three-wicket start inspired by James Anderson to bowl out Australia for 245 on an extraordinary opening day of the second Ashes Test at the Adelaide Oval on Friday.Australia got off to their worst Test start in 60 years at two for three in the opening three overs and then lost their last five wickets for 38 to hand England the inside running on a crucial early victory in the series.It was a horror performance by Australia, coming off the drawn first Gabba Test and needing to finish ahead of holders England to reclaim the Ashes.

Michael Clarke will captain Australia for the first time and Usman Khawaja will make an historic debut in next week's final Ashes Test in the absence of injured skipper Ricky Ponting.Clarke was promoted on Thursday from vice-captain to lead the team after Ponting was ruled out with a fractured little finger.Clarke will also captain Australia in the limited overs and Twenty20 matches against England following the Test series, with Cameron White his deputy.

The Ashes was delicately poised on Friday after Mitchell Johnson single-handedly lifted Australia back into contention with an inspired display of fast bowling on the second day of the third Test.Derided in Brisbane and then dropped for Adelaide, Johnson (6-38) evoked memories of local fast bowling legend Dennis Lillee as he sliced through the England top order, with the tourists dismissed for 187.