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Lack of reverse swing frustrates Johnson
Mitchell Johnson is far from happy with the little reverse swing he managed in the warm-up match against Board President's XI.
- Press Trust of India
- Updated: October 03, 2008 01:03 PM IST
Read Time: 2 min
Hyderabad:
In Australia's three-pronged pace battery, Brett Lee and Stuart Clarke pick themselves with Johnson vying with Doug Bollinger for the remaining slot. Johnson's ability to reverse swing the ball tilts the balance to some extent in his favour but the pacer said he expected the ball to do more.
"We did not get the reverse swing we were looking for," said a dejected Johnson, who scalped four Board President's XI wickets.
"We tried our best but the ball was pretty soft and we could not shine it. There was not much reverse swing out there," he said.
Overall, the track was flat and that made life difficult for the pacers, said the 26-year-old bowler.
"It was pretty flat for us. That's why I was trying to keep it as straight as possible. Key is to hit the good areas and be patient," he added.
Asked if his team was feeling the pressure as they trail Board President's XI by 264, Johnson said, "It would have been nice to get some more runs. Anyway, (Michael) Hussey and (Brad) Haddin had forged a partnership and let's see how they bat on Saturday. It would be nice for the batters to go into the Test series with some runs under the belt."
Johnson has had some interesting duel with Rahul Dravid in the past but the pacer said he would not single out anyone in the forthcoming Test series.
"To be honest, right now I'm keen to finish off this match. But yes, India has got a great line-up and I target everyone, be it Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar or (VVS) Laxman," he said.
Mitchell Johnson proved pick of the Australian bowlers but the left-arm quick is far from happy with the little reverse swing he managed in the warm-up match against Board President's XI.In Australia's three-pronged pace battery, Brett Lee and Stuart Clarke pick themselves with Johnson vying with Doug Bollinger for the remaining slot. Johnson's ability to reverse swing the ball tilts the balance to some extent in his favour but the pacer said he expected the ball to do more.
"We did not get the reverse swing we were looking for," said a dejected Johnson, who scalped four Board President's XI wickets.
"We tried our best but the ball was pretty soft and we could not shine it. There was not much reverse swing out there," he said.
Overall, the track was flat and that made life difficult for the pacers, said the 26-year-old bowler.
"It was pretty flat for us. That's why I was trying to keep it as straight as possible. Key is to hit the good areas and be patient," he added.
Asked if his team was feeling the pressure as they trail Board President's XI by 264, Johnson said, "It would have been nice to get some more runs. Anyway, (Michael) Hussey and (Brad) Haddin had forged a partnership and let's see how they bat on Saturday. It would be nice for the batters to go into the Test series with some runs under the belt."
Johnson has had some interesting duel with Rahul Dravid in the past but the pacer said he would not single out anyone in the forthcoming Test series.
"To be honest, right now I'm keen to finish off this match. But yes, India has got a great line-up and I target everyone, be it Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar or (VVS) Laxman," he said.
Topics mentioned in this article
Cricket
Mitchell Johnson
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