Ready to handle extra pressures that come with all-rounder status: Johnson

Leicester (UK), June 16 (ANI): Australian pacer Mitchell Johnson has said that he is ready to being compared with England's Andrew Flintoff, and added that he is ready to handle the extra pressures that come with his burgeoning reputation as the team's key all-rounder.

Johnson is already being written up in the England press as the man most likely to decide the series - from either team, reports the Sydney Morning Herald.

"I guess to be put in the same sort of bracket as those guys is pretty exciting for me, because I never would have thought I would be," Johnson said.

"I think maybe once you keep hearing that name, all-rounder, all the time, it might put a bit more pressure on me, but I think the type of person I am I probably don't let it get to me too much. I just try and keep everything really simple with my batting and bowling and I'll be doing the same thing over here, just trying to improve and do the best I can for the team," he added.

After 21 Tests, Johnson averages 34.70 with the bat and 28.01 with the ball, while Flintoff averages 31.69 with the bat and 32.07 with the ball after 75 matches.

"He has been screaming out to be the leader of the attack, he's made a Test hundred and a Test 90 in his most recent series," declared coach Tim Nielsen.

"With his skill set and what he does, he will go a long way to deciding the series, there's no doubt about that." (ANI)