Johnson eyes top six

Mitchell Johnson sees a day when he is good enough to bat in the top six. Johnson's batting has developed at a pace as rapid as his bowling this year and it peaked when he posted 96 not out and 123 not out during the Test series against South Africa.

If he continues his impressive output with bat and ball he could be the key man in Australia's Ashes defence. He rose to No. 8 in the order in South Africa - Brett Lee was missing with injury - and would happily slot in at six or seven if required.

"At the moment I think if I keep going the way I am and keep scoring runs you just never know," Johnson said in the Sunday Telegraph. "That's something I can work forward to. It all just depends on what the captain and the selectors want.

"I'd happily put my hand up [to bat in the top six], but I'm not going to put pressure on myself to be a batting allrounder. Bowling is still No. 1 for me so that's going to be my main goal."

Johnson's first duties in England will be in the World Twenty20 and it will be important for him to acclimatise ahead of the opening Ashes Test in July. It is 10 years since Johnson's only visit to England.

"I played a few games over there and quite enjoyed it," he said. "They're different conditions to what they are here. The English conditions favour swing bowling and the ball nipping around a bit. The ball just does a little bit more."