English batsman throws down the gauntlet to Mitchell Johnson before the second Ashes Test at Adelaide
Joe Root can hardly wait for the “fun” to start again when he faces Mitchell Johnson in the second Ashes Test at Adelaide.u00a0Root was one of very few in the England ranks who emerged with any credit from the wreckage of their defeat in Brisbane in the first Test.
England’s Joe Root. Pics/Getty Images
ADVERTISEMENT
The smiling 22-year-old demonstrated technique and temperament to withstand Johnson’s 90mph-plus barrage, while others wilted as England added 179 all out to 136.u00a0Root could do little about England’s descent to a hapless 381-run hammering as Johnson ruled the Gabba.
For his trouble, he was rewarded with only an unbeaten 26. But he left Brisbane unbowed, and with reputation enhanced as he presented a straight bat and a sunny disposition.
The Johnson bouncers, literal and figurative, just kept coming in a match which ended in controversy as James Anderson and home captain Michael Clarke — subsequently fined by the International Cricket Council — made their rumoured mutual antipathy abundantly clear.
Root will be returning to familiar territory this week, having attended the Darren Lehmann academy in Adelaide and played club cricket for Prospect here alongside Nathan Lyon during England’s last tour Down Under.
Mitchell Johnson (left) has words with Joe Root during the first Test
It is uncanny that the two former team-mates will, three years on, be in Ashes opposition at the Adelaide Oval on Thursday. Yet Root appears most excited about facing Johnson again — an alarming prospect for most, but not so the young Yorkshireman.
Asked if Johnson is the quickest bowler he has taken guard to, his face positively lit up.u00a0“Probably, close to it,” he said. “It’s great — that’s why you play Test cricket, to get in confrontations and battles like that and try to be successful in those situations.
“Bring it on, on Thursday. It should be good fun. I’m really looking forward to it.”u00a0Root will not be dodging the verbals either. It’s Ashes cricket; it’s hard cricket,” he said.
“Guys are out there to win, and it’s all part of the game. Whether you like it or not, you have to deal with it on the field and find your own way to cope with it. If the ICC want to step in when they think things have gone too far, that’s up to them.
But all we can do is control what we’re doing, and try to win the game for our country.u00a0“I enjoy being out there, and the battles you get are all part of the game.”u00a0
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
