MITCHELL JOHNSON: Ben Stokes, Joe Root need to play Ashes series of their careers after Aussie failures

Joe Root and Ben Stokes are the heartbeat of this England side, but the question is whether the heart can keep pumping under the pressure of an Australian summer.

The noise out of the England camp ahead of the Ashes series has been confident, almost defiant, but when you strip it back, a lot of their belief hinges on two men who have never quite mastered Australian conditions.

And for all the talk, neither of Root or Stokes have the record here to scare the locals just yet.

Root has been the centre of the discussion already, especially with that stat hanging over him: zero Test hundreds in Australia.

It’s not a nit-pick; it tells a story. He’s a world-class player, we know this - a generational talent for England, one of the big four.

But something changes when he’s asked to bat on Australian pitches. He’s had issues with the bounce, the pace, and the relentlessness of an attack that doesn’t give him the same freebies he picks up in England against lesser sides.

Root tends to drive with his hands away from his body, weight sitting back, and Australian quicks feast on that.

Mitchell Starc will look to swing the odd one back in, then push it across him for the big drive.

England talk a big game, and maybe they believe it. But talk doesn’t score runs or take wickets out here.

Scott Boland will attack the gap between his hands and body, just outside and around off stump, where he is unsure.

If Pat Cummins is fit later in the series, the mental pressure doubles. Even if Cummins isn’t there, Brendan Doggett, if selected, offers something Root hasn’t seen: a local quick with nothing to lose.

Then there’s the mental battle. Root has tried to neutralise the spotlight by saying it’s “not about him scoring a hundred,” it’s about a team performance. But let’s be honest: England rely on him at No.4.

Their whole batting rhythm is built around Root absorbing pressure and converting starts. If he doesn’t stand tall on these pitches, the crowd will get louder, the bowlers will tighten the screws, and all those technical habits he’s been fighting for a decade suddenly matter again. Deep down, Root wants that hundred in Australia desperately and the Aussies know that.

Stokes is the other pillar. England fans talk about him like he’s their modern Botham or Flintoff. But looking purely from an Australian perspective, his record here doesn’t match that sort of reputation.

The narrative is strong: the captaincy, the charisma, the 2019 Headingley miracle, but strip away the highlights and what stands out? His all-round influence is real, but “extraordinary” in Australia? I haven’t seen it yet.

Here, Stokes averages 28.61 with the bat and 40.94 with the ball. By way of comparison, Mitch Marsh’s numbers in England are better with both bat and ball.

And Headingley, as incredible as it was, needed its fair share of luck. You take it when it comes, of course, but that was 2019, in English conditions, with a Dukes ball.

Stokes has the backing of his team, and they clearly love the way he leads them. But leadership alone isn’t going to save him from the WACA-style bounce of Perth or a pink ball swinging under Brisbane lights.

He’ll get tested physically and mentally. If he can stand up and produce something special here, then we can start discussing him alongside the great English all-rounders. Not before.

What I can feel, and what every Aussie feels before an Ashes, is the anticipation. Even now, not being out there, I get that excitement and that Ashes energy.

But I still want Australia to win, and I believe they can. The injuries to Cummins and Josh Hazlewood complicate things, but they don’t break the Aussie chances.

If the attack holds together for the first two Tests, Perth and the pink-ball Test at the Gabba, Australia can put a serious dent in England’s confidence early.

Adelaide will be a tactical turning point, especially with the spin match-up. But Perth and Brisbane are where Australia must come hard, hit the body, hit the pitch, and dent that English confidence immediately.

England talk a big game, and maybe they believe it. But talk doesn’t score runs or take wickets out here.

This summer’s Ashes will be defined by whether Root and Stokes as skipper can finally deliver in Australia, and whether Australia’s attack, patched together or not, can take their belief apart ball by ball.

Bring on the Ashes summer, bring on the noise of the Barmy Army, and get behind the Aussies with our green and gold at the venues or by yelling at our screens from home.