<p class="title">Australia's "scary" fast bowlers are "more nasty" than Mitchell Johnson, skipper Steve Smith said on Wednesday, echoing repeated warnings to England ahead of the opening Ashes Test in Brisbane.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Much mention has been made of the aggressive Johnson's devastating bowling in the 2013-2014 Ashes, when he took 37 wickets in Australia's 5-0 series whitewash.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Smith, who has personal experience of facing current quicks Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins in the nets, warned England to expect another white-knuckle ride on a pace-friendly Gabba pitch.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"It's been exciting watching them bowl in the nets, I think back to 2013 when Mitchell (Johnson) was bowling in the nets, these guys are just as nasty, if not more nasty to be honest," Smith told reporters on Wednesday.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"A couple of net sessions I have had against Cummins and Starc have been quite scary, so that is really exciting for us."</p>.<p class="bodytext">Smith, who has the task of rotating his front-line bowlers to keep them fresh, says Starc, Cummins and Josh Hazlewood have been building up to the Gabba opener for some time and are raring to go.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"The bowlers have certainly been looking forward to this series," Smith said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"It's no real secret that the three we have got in this Test match have been on the radar for a very long time, they've been working up toward this.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"They are here now, they're fresh, they're bowling fast and I think it is a really exciting time for this team."</p>.<p class="bodytext">Off-spinner Nathan Lyon, who provoked a storm when he said Australia were out to "end careers" for England players, will be a key man to relieve the pace trio and allow them some rest.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I always like having the (all-rounder) option but with England having a lot of left-handers Nathan Lyon is going to be an important bowler for us," Smith said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"He's been bowling particularly well and he's probably been bowling as well as I have seen him bowl."</p>.<p class="bodytext">Smith, who has been urged to bowl more of his part-time leg-spinners during the series, said he was also prepared to trundle down some overs to help out.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"They're actually coming out pretty well, but hopefully I'm not needed too often but if I am I'll definitely bowl myself," he said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"Obviously, if I need to bowl myself a little bit to give those guys a bit more of a rest so that they can come on and have that quick burst then that's where we'll have to go.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"But they (pacemen) are quite comfortable bowling reasonably long spells and keeping their pace up so that is really good for us."</p>.<p class="bodytext">Australia: David Warner, Cameron Bancroft, Usman Khawaja, Steve Smith (captain), Peter Handscomb, Shaun Marsh, Tim Paine, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon.</p>
<p class="title">Australia's "scary" fast bowlers are "more nasty" than Mitchell Johnson, skipper Steve Smith said on Wednesday, echoing repeated warnings to England ahead of the opening Ashes Test in Brisbane.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Much mention has been made of the aggressive Johnson's devastating bowling in the 2013-2014 Ashes, when he took 37 wickets in Australia's 5-0 series whitewash.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Smith, who has personal experience of facing current quicks Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins in the nets, warned England to expect another white-knuckle ride on a pace-friendly Gabba pitch.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"It's been exciting watching them bowl in the nets, I think back to 2013 when Mitchell (Johnson) was bowling in the nets, these guys are just as nasty, if not more nasty to be honest," Smith told reporters on Wednesday.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"A couple of net sessions I have had against Cummins and Starc have been quite scary, so that is really exciting for us."</p>.<p class="bodytext">Smith, who has the task of rotating his front-line bowlers to keep them fresh, says Starc, Cummins and Josh Hazlewood have been building up to the Gabba opener for some time and are raring to go.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"The bowlers have certainly been looking forward to this series," Smith said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"It's no real secret that the three we have got in this Test match have been on the radar for a very long time, they've been working up toward this.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"They are here now, they're fresh, they're bowling fast and I think it is a really exciting time for this team."</p>.<p class="bodytext">Off-spinner Nathan Lyon, who provoked a storm when he said Australia were out to "end careers" for England players, will be a key man to relieve the pace trio and allow them some rest.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I always like having the (all-rounder) option but with England having a lot of left-handers Nathan Lyon is going to be an important bowler for us," Smith said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"He's been bowling particularly well and he's probably been bowling as well as I have seen him bowl."</p>.<p class="bodytext">Smith, who has been urged to bowl more of his part-time leg-spinners during the series, said he was also prepared to trundle down some overs to help out.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"They're actually coming out pretty well, but hopefully I'm not needed too often but if I am I'll definitely bowl myself," he said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"Obviously, if I need to bowl myself a little bit to give those guys a bit more of a rest so that they can come on and have that quick burst then that's where we'll have to go.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"But they (pacemen) are quite comfortable bowling reasonably long spells and keeping their pace up so that is really good for us."</p>.<p class="bodytext">Australia: David Warner, Cameron Bancroft, Usman Khawaja, Steve Smith (captain), Peter Handscomb, Shaun Marsh, Tim Paine, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon.</p>