Cricket-Don't blame me for Mitchell's slump, says Johnson's mum

MELBOURNE, July 23 (Reuters) - Mitchell Johnson's mother says she is not to blame for her son's poor bowling form at the Ashes.

The 27-year-old fast bowler struggled for line and length in the second test at Lord's, prompting calls he should be dropped for the third test at Edgbaston.

Johnson's mother, Vikki Harber, had told Australian media on the eve of the series in England that her son had hardly contacted her since marrying karate champion and model Jessica Bratich.

Harber has not spoken to her son since January and said she was really upset to see him "struggling over there."

"I just hope that all the other stuff that's been going on, he might be able to just forget about it and concentrate on playing his cricket," Harber said.

"Because despite some of the stuff that's been reported, I'm not angry. I'm not upset, either.

"But there isn't a mother in Australia who ever stops worrying about her boy, no matter how old he gets -- and I don't see why I should be any different."

Harber had also delivered a broadside at Cricket Australia for allowing wives and girlfriends on the Ashes tour but not parents. Their presence would not produce the kind of "bitchiness" that might occur between girlfriends, she suggested.

Former Australian captain Kim Hughes said the pair's rift before the series may have dented the bowler's confidence.

Hughes told Australian media that his mother's comments had put extra pressure on the young quick.

"I found it incredibly surprising that his mum said what she did -- Mitchell Johnson is a pretty sensitive young man and now it looks like he is totally devoid of self-confidence," the Australian newspaper quoted Hughes as saying.

"That really added some extra pressure and he is a young man who has got other things on his mind. When you lose confidence in yourself, all of a sudden there are technical things that you lose as well." (Reporting by Ian Ransom; Editing by Peter Rutherford; To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)