Share

Johnson happy to be aggressor

Dubai - Fiery paceman Mitchell Johnson Saturday said he was happy to be the aggressor in his team's attack which contributed successfully in the one-day series win over Pakistan in United Arab Emirates.

The 32-year-old left-armer bowled with venom and guile to take six wickets in the two games, 3-24 in the 93-run win in Sharjah and 3-40 in a five-wicket win in Dubai which gave Australia a 2-0 unbeatable lead in the three-match series.

He recovered in time from a rib injury sustained on the tour of Zimbabwe in August and will also be the spearhead for Australia's attack in the two Test series against Pakistan which follows the one-day internationals.

Johnson, who took 37 wickets in Australia's remarkable Ashes turn-around of a 5-0 bashing of England last year, said he is gaining more confidence.

"I am there to be the aggressor and still try and bowl and hit the wicket hard and bowl those bouncers as well," said Johnson.

"I am just getting my confidence back and things are going the way I wanted to go at the moment, the rhythm and speed is pretty good."

It was Johnson who helped Australia stage a comeback after Pakistan put on a 126-run opening stand on Friday, dismissing Sarfraz Ahmed (65), Umar Akmal (five) and Shahid Afridi (two) to trigger a middle-order collapse which saw Pakistan derailing from 126-1 to 215 all out.

"On these wickets things don't change, we had to give fuller deliveries and we got fuller there after and once we started to put them under real pressure we got a few quick wickets and the game changed a bit," said Johnson of Pakistan's innings in the second one-day match.

Johnson said his team will go for another win in the final one-day in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.

"We want to win three nil and that is our goal now. We have won the series and that is the way we are and we want to keep going and keep playing good cricket because we've got the World Cup coming next year and so we have to keep being at our best," said the paceman.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
How much would you be prepared to pay for a ticket to watch the Springboks play against the All Blacks at Ellis Park or Cape Town Stadium this year?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
R0 - R200
32% - 1843 votes
R200 - R500
32% - 1810 votes
R500 - R800
19% - 1100 votes
R800 - R1500
8% - 470 votes
R1500 - R2500
3% - 193 votes
I'd pay anything! It's the Boks v All Blacks!
5% - 261 votes
Vote
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE