Mercurial paceman Mitchell Johnson found his inswinging form to help Australia skittle England for 187 and wrest back the initiative on a topsy-turvy second day in the third Ashes Test in Perth on Friday.
The reaction has exposed a split between current players, who have been silent on his departure, and several former teammates who have fiercely defended Langer.
Left-arm pacer Mitchell Johnson on Tuesday returned to the 13-member Australian squad while Shane Watson and Doug Bollinger were rested for the last two One-Day Internationals against Pakistan in Perth.
A day after expressing his displeasure at Australia's on-field banter, India vice-captain Virat Kohli once again had a go at Mitchell Johnson and apparently said something to the home team's pace spearhead as he was walking off after being dismissed.
Cricket Australia on Wednesday said fast bowler Mitchell Johnson will not immediately join Kings XI Punjab in India for the Oppo Champions League Twenty20 due to a rib injury.
Indian cricket has produced a generational superstar in Yashasvi Jaiswal and will remain in good health even when Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma decide to call time on their careers, said former Australia World Cup winner Darren Lehmann.
Retired pace spearhead Mitchell Johnson has slammed the Australian team culture under former captain Michael Clarke and coach Mickey Arthur as fractured and "toxic", saying the dynamics changed when Ricky Ponting retired. In his newly-released autobiography 'Resilient', Johnson suggested things were so bad that some teammates did not want to play, with cracks emerging after veteran Ponting called it quits in late 2012. "The dynamics definitely changed. It became more groups in the team. It wasn't a team. There was different little factions going on and it was very toxic," Johnson told Fox Sports News late Thursday.
The murky saga of bookies making approaches to cricketers widened with revelations that two more Australians, fast bowlers Brett Lee and Mitchell Johnson, had confronted an alleged Indian bookmaker during the Ashes in England last year.
The two Aussie players allegedly incited the crowd during the seventh ODI in Mumbai on Wednesday.
For someone who has experienced the dizziest of heights and endured the bleakest of lows in a topsy-turvy career, Mitchell Johnson's ability to torture England for a second straight Ashes Test propelled the paceman to a higher plain on Saturday.
Australia pace bowler Mitchell Johnson's wayward first Ashes Test performance in Brisbane has placed him squarely in the firing line for media and fan criticism as his dented side prepare for the second match in Adelaide on Friday.
Former Australia skipper Kim Hughes has slammed selectors for being 'too precious' with Australia's bowlers and said resting dropped paceman Mitchell Johnson before a likely recall for the third Ashes Test would be lunacy.
The left-arm pacer is expected to join Peter Siddle and Ryan Harris in the Australian attack for the first Test against England starting at Gabba on November 21 after missing out on the Ashes tour of England earlier this year.
Mitchell Johnson bowled Australia to a comprehensive 281-run victory over South Africa after taking his match haul to 12 wickets on the fourth day of the first Test at Super Sport Park on Saturday.
Australia paceman Mitchell Johnson again found the WACA a happy hunting ground to inspire the hosts to a 57-run victory and a 6-1 series hammering of England in the seventh and final One-Day International on Sunday.
Mumbai Indians fast bowler Mitchell Johnson has credited his side's 41-run victory over Pune Warriors, to the 54-run opening stand between skipper Ricky Ponting and Sachin Tendulkar.
The last time an Ashes in Australia started away from the Gabba was in 1982 when the historic foes drew at the WACA in Perth.
Australian paceman Mitchell Johnson was ruled of the ODI series England due to an elbow infection and has been replaced by teen fast bowler Josh Hazlewood.
Australian pace spearhead Mitchell Johnson is set to return from his month-long rest period and the tri-series final against England will be his first competitive match since the Boxing Day Test against India.
Australia fast bowler Mitchell Johnson has the ability to bounce back quickly after his disappointing performance in the second test loss to England, coach Tim Nielsen said on Tuesday.
Mitchell Johnson still has a future in Test cricket and the 30-year-old could be in line for a recall, Australia's new fast-bowling coach has said.
Australia's stunning turnaround from Ashes joke to juggernaut in a few months has been the culmination of good, hard grind and paceman Mitchell Johnson finding himself in a supportive attack, according to captain Michael Clarke.
Mitchell Johnson grabbed a career-best 6-31 and Shane Watson smashed a brisk 69 to guide Australia to a seven-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the first One-dayer in Pallekele.
Australia have resisted the temptation to go with four seamers for this week's first Test against Sri Lanka on what is expected to be a lively wicket at the Bellerive Oval.
The Delhi Capitals will be looking to improve their batting performance in the middle overs when they face a struggling Kolkata Knight Riders in their Indian Premier League match on Tuesday.
A toe injury that kept Mitchell Johnson out of cricket for the entire Australian summer might have saved his career, the paceman said on Friday.
Sri Lanka's bruised batsmen might care to disagree, but Mitchell Johnson cares about the well-being of his victims off the pitch, according to Australia captain Michael Clarke.
Skipper Steve Smith scored a controlled 133, Mitchell Johnson a game-changing 88 and Australia's tail wagged vigorously as the hosts barged their way back into the second Test against India on day three in Brisbane on Friday.
As the Australian bowlers worked on adjustments to catch up Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma, pacer Mitchell Johnson has been identified as the front man to prepare the ball to extract reverse-swing early in the game.
Australia's young skipper Steve Smith has warned India that any plans of sledging Mitchell Johnson in the future are likely to backfire just as they did in the second Test that ended in Brisbane on Saturday.
A rejuvenated Mitchell Johnson needs only one victim to become Australia's third-highest Test wicket-taker but will hope for a bigger haul at his home ground in Perth, where New Zealand will be fighting to keep the three-match series alive.
Seamer Mitchell Johnson claimed his first five-wicket haul in one-day internationals as Australia scored a crushing nine-wicket victory over India in the fifth one-dayer in Vadodara.
Australian skipper Michael Clarke is backing left-arm fast bowler Mitchell Johnson's selection for the South Africa tour saying that he remains an integral part of the Test side despite his dreadful form in recent months.
Struggling Mitchell Johnson has found much needed support from teammate and stumper Brad Haddin, who reckons that the Australian paceman was still making an impact in their Ashes defence.
The 28-year-old Queenslander's manager Sam Halvorsen said Johnson, who would have been one of the most sought-after names at the January 19 auction, is likely to give the third edition of the tournament a miss. The decision could cost him US $200,000. Halvorsen said apart from keeping himself fresh for national duty, Johnson's decision to skip the March 12 to April 25 tournament has been influenced by the newly-laid rules of the auction process.
Australian left-arm fast bowler Mitchell Johnson admitted that a bitter row with his mother led to his meltdown during this year's Ashes, which Australia lost.
Australia's long search for a matchwinning all-rounder to counter the feats of England's Andrew Flintoff may finally be over.
It's probably going to be fiery again but we want to play the best cricket we can.
With pride hurt and the series on the line, Australia are desperate to snatch a victory in the third Test against India, which commences at Mohali on Thursday. But they will miss the services of Shane Watson and Mitchell Johnson who were stars of the 2010 Mohali Test.
Pacer Mitchell Johnson returns to the Australian team after a fortnight's rest for the third one-dayer against South Africa at the SCG on Friday. Johnson, who was rested after the 1-2 Test series loss against the Proteas, replaces Ben Hilfenhaus in the 12-man squad for the third match of the five-game series, which is locked 1-1.
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