Johnson needs careful management - Ponting - Sport in brief

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Although Johnson claimed his 100th Test wicket in the 115-run defeat in the second Test at Lord's and also struck a half-century in vain on the final day, his match figures of three for 200 are a concern for the tourists.

Troy Cooley, England's bowling coach in their 2005 Ashes campaign, will spend time addressing the problems of the 27-year-old, and captain Ricky Ponting said: "Troy is obviously working really closely with him. What you don't want to do with youngish blokes - Mitch is still pretty new to the game and pretty new to fast-bowling really - is fill his head full with too much."

He added: "We have to be careful of the way we manage him over the next little bit. He's up for the challenge.

"He's continually trying to make himself better in all aspects of his game. He'll continue to do that this week."

With Brett Lee still struggling to get fit from a side strain, and looking unlikely to be in contention for the tour match against Northamptonshire starting on Friday, the Australians will have to decide whether Johnson is pitched in to match action or given time off away from the game.

From a team perspective, Ponting will speak to selector Jamie Cox in the next 24 hours about the series position and forthcoming match in Birmingham but does not anticipate "drastic changes".

"It was only a week ago that we dominated the Test match as well," said Ponting, referring to the draw in Cardiff. "We shouldn't forget that, and it's important that all the players don't forget that."