Australia’s Mitchell Johnson to play aggressively at Ashes opening Test.
Australia’s left-arm paceman Mitchel Johnson told the press that he will play aggressively, and warns England to stay on its guard at this Thursday’s Ashes opening Test in Brisbane.
"I think I'm finally happy with where I am with my bowling, just running in and bowling fast," Johnson told BBC Sport. "That will be my role - be the aggressive type."
The paceman has the highest stats of any fast paced bowler in international cricket and the pressure is on as he gets ready to play England on Wednesday. Famous for his perilous swing, Johnson is a player
that England will have to watch out for.
"Last time I came out of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Africa-c757 bowling really well. There was a lot of talk about me, and maybe I thought it was just going to happen in that series,” he told the BBC. “This time I've really worked
hard. We talk about the pressure on us, but there's a lot of pressure on them as well."
Johnson took 10 Wickets over http://www.senore.com/Cricket/New-Zealand-c754 in Hamilton this spring, which won him the man-of-the-match award. He came out of the summer season with 41 test wickets, averaging 25. However in his recent bout
with http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758 he went for a total of 1-128 over the three matches, and went back to Perth, where he intended to work on his form.
He then proceeded to bowl 11 wides in 10 overs, "Sometimes you start thinking about too many different things, and you've got to go back and keep it simple," he told BBC. "I now know what it's like to
be around Ashes series. Today's really exciting for me; it's about harnessing that energy.”
England has been at the Gabba in Brisbane practicing for the match since Tuesday, and while they admit that it should be a tough match, the players attest that they are both mentally and physically prepared
for Australia. Tuesday’s first practice consisted of an hour doing fielding work followed by two in the nets.
The positive mood in the England camp is tangible and opener Alastair Cook was dismissive of Johnson's tough talk. He said that for himself and the England captain Andrew Strauss, it is important to set
the mood and keep spirits up, as the English team acclimatizes its self to the tropical Australian weather and prepared for the Wednesday match.
"He loves that - he's a fighter. As captain you get targeted like that but he's handled that really well over the last 18 months," Cook said of the England captain.
Considering his own track record in Australia, Cook is confident that this time England will not suffer the humiliating whitewash that it did in its last http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 Test. "As a team we feel in a good place.
As a side we've got 11 players who can win games. What's happened is that over the last 12 months everyone has stood up and been counted, and we'll need that."
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