• Source:JND
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WTC Final 2025: Australia's legendary pacer Mitchell Johnson came up with an interesting take after Pat Cummins-led side suffered a defeat against South Africa in the World Test Championship final at Lord's on Saturday.

South Africa scripted history as they won their maiden WTC title, becoming the third team after New Zealand and Australia to achieve it.

While Australia allowed South Africa pull off the second highest run chase at Lord's in Tests, Johnson said that the bowling ‘big four’ of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon should no longer be seen as a ‘lock’, asking the selectors to consider changing things.

He put particular focus on Hazlewood, who could only manage two wickets in the five-wicket defeat. Johnson accused the pacer of ‘prioritising’ featuring in the IPL over ‘national team preparations’ when the league resumed after a week-long break. After the IPL was stopped for a week due to India-Pakistan conflict, Hazlewood, who was playing for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru, returned home to recover from his side strain issue.

He then returned to India to re-join the RCB side for the playoffs and his side ended up lifting the IPL 2025 title.

"Our successful 'big four' bowling attack of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon can't be taken for granted as a lock going forward either," Johnson wrote in The West Australian. "We've seen concerns about Hazlewood’s fitness in recent years, and his decision to prioritise returning to the delayed Indian Premier League over his national team preparations raised eyebrows. Lyon didn’t look his best on day three either," he added.

Australia have majority of players above the age of 30 in their current Test setup. After the WTC Final defeat, skipper Cummins also hinted at a possible reset.

But Johnson wondered whether the seniors were 'sticking around' for the Ashes in the summer to get a 'send-off', and urged for chances to hungrier fringe players.

"If veteran players are sticking around just for the Ashes as a send-off, it does beg the question of whether that’s the right mindset. It's crucial that we embrace the future and build confidence in selecting our next Test players. Players on the fringe such as Sam Konstas, Josh Inglis and Scott Boland, despite being 36, have a different mentality. They're eager to prove themselves every time they get a chance," Johnson added.