Johnson defends selection of debutant Peter George for Bangalore Test

SYDNEY - Australia’s main attack bowler Mitchell Johnson has defended debutant Peter George who was at the receiving end of Sachin Tendulkar in the Bangalore Test.

George went wicketless over his first two days in the field at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, having been tasked largely with bowling short at Indian opener Murali Vijay.

Skipper Ricky Ponting used George in five-over spells but did not lean on him as heavily as Johnson or Ben Hilfenhaus.

Former spinner Stuart MacGill had criticised George’s selection in such demanding conditions, but Johnson firmly backed his selection.

“He enjoyed it and I think he did a really good job. He stuck to the plans out there, he had to bowl a lot of short stuff to Vijay and it takes a lot out of you coming into your first Test when you have to do something like that and he did a really good job I think,” The Sydney Morning Herald quoted Johnson, as saying.

Johnson spent time at mid off or mid on alongside George, to calm the nerves of the debutant bowler with fewer than 20 first-class matches behind him.

“He was obviously pretty nervous in his first spell, I don’t think he really took a breath after he first got out there, but he was quite nervous as you are when you first play for your country, and I was at mid on, mid off trying to get him through that,” Johnson said.

“It’s a pretty big occasion, a pretty big crowd out there and quite loud, and bowling against Tendulkar I tried to just get a smile out of him,” he said. (ANI)