Mitchell Johnson tries to come up with a plan on dismissing Steve Smith.
On the first day of the Ashes, all eyes were on Steve Smith who was back in the Test format after 16 months due to a ball-tampering scandal. Needless to say, he performed excellently during the game. He helped the Aussies in the first innings by scoring 144 off 219 balls with 16 boundaries. He then scored 88 off 74 for the ninth and tenth wicket along with Peter Siddle and Nathan Lyon and helped take them to a total of 284.
Mithcell Johnson, a former Australian fast bowler, was asked about how to get Smith out. He said that “one needs to bowl to his strength, which is also an opportunity to catch the batsman napping.”
“Look it’s a pretty difficult question. I used to get frustrated bowling to him in the nets. And that’s in a net situation, not a game where he digs in even more. Just from my experience, it’s bowling very straight at the start with a hardball that’s swinging or maybe doing enough is bowling to his strength… But is also an opportunity to get him out. You have to pack the leg-side field and bowl really straight. Then you have a chance to get him out LBW or one could go across him and you could nick him off with a hardball. Easier said than done. After that, it’s about keeping it simple.”
The Ashes is one of cricket's prominent series which pits England and Australia against one another in a five-Test match series. To find out more on The Ashes and other cricket leagues, visit Betwala's page.
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