The Australian bowling attack has once again come under fire after failing to make any impression on the English batsmen in the second innings of the Gabba Test. As a result, Ryan Harris and Doug Bollinger were tonight brought into a squad of 13 for the Adelaide Test, starting on Friday.

It is the sixth Test match in a row - against the four top-ranked Test nations: England, India, South Africa and Sri Lanka - that the Australian attack has been unable to dismiss the opposition twice, a prerequisite for winning a Test. And it is the 13th time in 20 Tests since 2008 - as shown in the table below - the Australians have failed to take the required 20 wickets against the better teams.

The popgun performance on the fourth and fifth days at the Gabba has again focussed attention on the bowlers' lack of penetration over the past two years - and given rise to spirited debate about who should share duties in Adelaide, with Mitchell Johnson coming off a totally forgettable match and Bollinger and Harris now in line to replace him.

Ricky Ponting said after the match Johnson remained in a "reasonably positive" state of mind but "was not at his best". "I don't think anyone is certain (to play in Adelaide) yet," Ponting said. "The fact we have brought two fast bowlers in, I'm not sure if anyone is certain."

Johnson's bowling has been faltering for most of the winter and he was one of the players who was put on notice when the original 17-man squad was named for Brisbane. After responding with five wickets and a century for Western Australia, he suffered a quick relapse at the Gabba.

"I'm not singling one person out, because I don't think any of our bowlers were at their absolute best," Ponting said. "It's all about working in a group and working in partnerships, and I don't think we did that enough. We've got a lot of work to do as a group."

Australia now have three days to work out a plan to get their attack to fire, given that the Adelaide pitch is traditionally the most batsmen-friendly in the country. Playing back-to-back Tests is a concern for both teams, although England gained extra recovery time by having their tough bowling days on Friday and Saturday. "If we get a flat wicket in Adelaide again," Ponting said, "we have to make sure we are a whole lot better than we were in this game."

Harris convinced the selectors of his durability with four wickets in a one-day game for Queensland and six more in the Sheffield Shield fixture against Victoria that ended today. Ponting is a huge supporter, having seen Harris' tireless work during his first two Tests against New Zealand in March.

"There's a lot to like about Ryan," Ponting said. "The fact he's had great success at international cricket, he's one of the guys just meant to be playing."

Ponting has been hamstrung by his bowlers pretty much since the India series in 2008 and then the Ashes series in England last year.

Of the Aussies' five 20-wicket performances, three came against the South Africans - two in South Africa and one in Australia - when they were without their captain and batting mainstay Graeme Smith, after his arm was broken by a Johnson thunderbolt.

The only other times Australia has been able to send all 10 opposition players back to the pavilion in both innings came at Nagpur in 2008 and Leeds in 2009. In that final match, Australia won by an innings and 80 runs and levelled the series at one a piece, before England took the fifth Test after Australia's bowlers were once again unable to make much of an impression.

Johnson's position is sure to come under scrutiny for the second Test this week after failing to take a wicket in the first innings or the second. Never mind that he's the 2009 ICC player of the year. The West Australian's economy rate was also the worst of the bowlers after going for 4.5 runs per over in the first innings and close to four in the second.

Ben Hilfenhaus bowled 51 overs for the match and although he only picked up one wicket, he was serviceable - especially with the newer ball - going for three and and 2.5 runs per over in each innings.

Ponting bowled Shane Watson sparingly in both innings for mixed results, with the opening batsmen taking the solitary wicket off 25 overs for the match. He went for an average of three runs per over but provided good support for the rest of the bowlers.

In his Test debut, Xavier Doherty took two wickets in the first innings with a serviceable run rate before failing to take a wicket in the second and going for 80 runs off 26 overs.

North only bowled the one over in the first innings but was able to get Andrew Strauss's wicket in the second with a ball that deceived the England skipper with extra bounce and led to a Brad Haddin stumping.

AUSTRALIA Vs TOP 4 NATIONS

Year   Opponent      Venue      Wickets Taken   Result

2010  England       Brisbane            11               Draw

2010  India             Bangalore          13                Lost

2010  India              Mohali                19                Lost

2009  England       Cardiff                 19                Lost

2009  England        Lord's                 16                Lost

2009  England        Birmingham       10               Draw

2009  England         Leeds                 20                Won

2009  England         The Oval            19                Lost

2009  Sth Africa      Cape Town        10                Lost

2009  Sth Africa       Durban               20                Won

2009  Sth Africa       Jo'burg               20                 Won

2009  Sth Africa      Sydney               20                 Won

2008  Sth Africa      Melbourne         11                  Lost

2008  Sth Africa      Perth                   14                  Lost

2008  India               Nagpur               20                  Lost

2008  India               Delhi                   12                  Draw

2008  India               Mohali                 13                  Lost

2008  India               Bangalore          14                  Draw