England batsman Ian Bell challenged Mitchell Johnson to prove his startling 6-38 was not a wind-assisted accident by bowling Australia to victory in the fourth innings of the third Ashes Test at the WACA ground.
The tourists’ first significant reverse since the third day of the first Test at the Gabba was driven by Johnson’s wondrous spell of swing and high pace, a sight to strike terror into England as much as it heartened a previously flagging Australia.
However Bell said Johnson had done no more than to show he can occasionally be dangerous, and wondered aloud at his chances of repeating the dose in Melbourne, Sydney or even the second innings of this match.
“It’s one innings, and knowing John Inverarity who’s played here for years swing bowling is a massive part here with the breeze,” Bell said after making 53 out of England’s 187.
“So it’s one Test match here at the WACA, I don’t know what the MCG does or the SCG but it’s one innings of bowling.
“I know we’ve got to come out and bat a lot better than we did first innings, but the same for Mitch he’s got to back it up second innings as well.”
Bell denied England had begun to think of Ashes victory after a dominant first day of the match, perhaps blurring their focus as Johnson found his range.
“I certainly don’t think we went home last night thinking we were going to win but we certainly were excited about what today probably had to offer scoring big runs which we have done through the series,” he said.
“So it’s disappointing looking back that we haven’t batted as well as we could’ve done today, but there’s still a lot to play for, if we can come back tomorrow morning and take some wickets early on it’ll be a fantastic Test match.
“Credit has to go to Mitch, I think he swung the ball and had that control, he went at two an over through his spell, so that’s very good bowling at the highest level, and credit to him for doing what he did.
“When you get in on these wickets you need to make them pay but if you get out early I think you can understand that.
“It generally swung I think which was a bit of a difference over the other two, consistent swing for all their bowlers which helped them, but no difference in terms of aggression.
“I think it was exactly the same but the ball moved around in the air a little bit more.”
Build your own fantasy cricket team and put it to the test with Draftstars daily fantasy competitions. Pick your match, pick your team and watch the points roll in to take out cash prizes on each match. What are you really gambling with? Set a deposit limit.
After posting 92 with the bat, the RCB star was having an equally brilliant day in the field.
The RCB opener posted a man-of-the-match 92 off 47, as his side defeated Punjab Kings by 60 runs.
The opener scored a man-of-the-match 89 off 30, in the 10-wicket win against Lucknow Super Giants that came off just 9.4 overs.
Nathan Lyon believes Australia would have won the 2023 Ashes series 4-0 if he hadn't broken down with injury. But the veteran spinner says…
The recent announcement of Australia’s T20 World Cup squad took me back to the 1983 ODI World Cup campaign - one of our great…
