Mitchell Johnson’s thunderbolts in 1st Ashes Test

The left-arm speedster Mitchell Johnson was the difference between the sides with his intimidatory bowling and he finished with nine match wickets for 103, as well as hitting 64 in Australia's first innings. Johnson regularly clocked up speeds of almost 150 km/h (93 mph) and often hurled down short-pitched deliveries which unsettled the England batsmen...

The left-arm speedster Mitchell Johnson was the difference between the sides with his intimidatory bowling and he finished with nine match wickets for 103, as well as hitting 64 in Australia's first innings.

Johnson regularly clocked up speeds of almost 150 km/h (93 mph) and often hurled down short-pitched deliveries which unsettled the England batsmen on the bouncy Gabba pitch.

Johnson said, "I like bowling short, especially at the Gabba. I think when you've got conditions like that, personally I like bowling the short ball and I think it worked very well," he said.

"I think you can get inside a batsman's head. It could be a very different wicket down in Adelaide [second Test], but out there [Gabba] it was definitely going through nicely. I'll keep doing it. It's working."

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