Ashes axing helped me regain confidence for World Cup: Johnson
By ANISunday, February 27, 2011
CHENNAI - Australian fast bowler Mitchell Johnson has said that the pain of his ruthless Ashes axing has helped him regain his confidence for their World Cup campaign.
Johnson has opened Australia’s World Cup campaign with 4-19 against Zimbabwe in Ahmedabad and 4-33 against New Zealand in Nagpur.
The 29-year-old now has 36 scalps from 17 ODI matches in India at an average of 19.80.
“It was disappointing at the time, but for me it was another challenge to work very hard in the nets, to get a few little things right, work with Troy Cooley (bowling coach) and Stuart Karppinen, our fitness trainer, to get a bit of strength back,” Fox Sports quoted Johnson, as saying.
“It can be tough at times when you can’t work on certain things outside of bowling in the middle. I was able to do that (after being dropped). The one-day series in Australia I built into it. I missed the first part of it (due to a throat infection), but hopefully it’s paid off now.”
“It’s a long tournament (the World Cup), but I’m feeling confident at the moment and I want to continue to be a big part of this team,” he added.
Australia will now face Sri Lanka in Colombo on March 5. (ANI)
