Australia looking to inflict more pain on England, says Mitchell Johnson
England struggled against Mitchell Jonhson's splendid bowling performance with the latter finishing with figures of seven for 40, helping his side take a massive first-innings lead on the third day of the Adelaide Test.
- Agence France-Presse
- Updated: December 07, 2013 04:40 pm IST
Mitchell Johnson said Saturday Australia want to "cook" England a bit more in the field before going after another landslide win over England in the second Ashes Test.
Johnson, still sporting his drooping moustache, was the chief destroyer with figures of seven for 40 bringing England to their knees and leaving them facing a mounting 530-run deficit as Australia look to go two-up in the five-Test series against the Ashes holders. (Mitchell Johnson in seventh heaven)
England could not handle Johnson's sheer pace as the left-arm speedster carried on from his man-of-the-match Brisbane performance to put the tourists in trouble once again. (Scorecard)
Johnson, who said he will keep his "magical mo" for the remainder of the series, promised more pain for England on Sunday's fourth day before the home side look to finish off the tourists.
"We want to get them back out there in the field and keep cooking them a bit," Johnson told reporters.
"The runs are irrelevant at the moment, but we probably will be looking at keeping them out there for a bit longer, hopefully see Davey (Warner) get his hundred and then having a real crack and have a bit of time at them.
"You could see the amount of spin the two spinners were getting out there today and that variable bounce has definitely come in and they got the ball to reverse really early, so it's good signs for us."
Johnson, who is the undeniable man of the series so far with 16 wickets at just 8.9, said he was "in the zone" in England's feeble innings total of 172.
"The ball came out of my hand exactly the way I wanted it to," he said.
"There was a bit of talk of me not hitting the stumps at Brisbane. But I was excited about the variable bounce, the reverse swing that Adelaide provides. It was really nice today, really nice feeling. I just went hard.
"You have to enjoy these moments when they come along because they don't always happen and I'm going to enjoy it tonight."
Johnson, who was the target of the goading England travelling Barmy Army supporters group during Australia's Ashes humiliation at home three years ago, says he now feels appreciated for his bowling.
"I'm not sure the Barmy Army were clapping today. When we do go over there (England) they do really appreciate good cricket, that's how they've always been and that's how it should be in world cricket," he said.
Johnson was asked if he felt like giving England sledging protagonist Jimmy Anderson a "send off" after knocking out his middle stump for a first ball duck.
"I thought about it. I didn't need to, no. I think there's obviously a fair bit of stuff that's gone in the past," he said.
"Jimmy likes to give it. I like to give it. But I thought at the time it wasn't needed."
Johnson wreaked havoc after lunch with six for 16 off 26 balls for his ninth five-wicket haul and second in consecutive Tests. The energised 32-year-old quick is now 10th on the Australian all-time list with 221 wickets.
And Johnson said he intended to keep his moustache, at least until the end of the Ashes series next month.
"The mo is staying for the Ashes series. I had a few people today in the crowd calling for me to keep it forever but not sure my wife will be happy with that," he said.
"Some have called it a magical mo, but it's going okay at the moment. Once the series is over I'll end it."