Cook knows England were outgunned by Johnson

Cricket365
November 24, 2013

Captain Alastair Cook has acknowledged a very pressing need to successfully combat Australia fast bowler Mitchell Johnson, after England slumped to a hefty 381-run defeat on day four of the first Ashes Test.

Johnson, recalled to the XI on the back of some outstanding form at domestic level this year, delivered plenty of pace and short deliveries en route to match figures of nine for 103 on Sunday. A haul of four for 61 in the first innings and five for 42 ultimately afforded the Australians a crucial one-nil lead in the five-match series.

"Obviously Johnson has bowled very well and put us under some pressure which is something that we need to work on as a side going into the Adelaide game," said Cook.

"We've faced a lot of him in the past and been successful as well. There are times when he's got on top of us and there are times when we've certainly had good times against him as well and we're going to have to look to that for stuff to build on for Adelaide."

All-rounder Johnson was also instrumental with the bat, scoring a complementary 64 to wicketkeeper-batsman's Brad Haddin's commanding 94 in the hosts' first innings. The visiting order, later, endured a string of collapses – as Johnson justified selection entirely.

"Obviously it's been a tough couple of days for us. We got ourselves in a really good position there in that first innings. Credit to the way that Haddin and Johnson played, they got Australia to a fairly competitive total but I thought it was still short of par on that wicket," added Cook.

"We got off to a reasonable start with the batting and that collapse really put us behind. You always talk about trying to not lose wickets in clusters. You talk about it a lot of the time but sometimes that doesn't really help you to do that out in the middle."

The second Test will get underway at the Adelaide Oval on 5 December. The WACA in Perth, the Melbourne Cricket Ground and Sydney Cricket Ground will host matches three, four and five respectively.

"Credit to Australia. They put us under pressure in there and we couldn't respond. This side has got plenty of character. We've fought back in the past as well. Obviously it's going to hurt us, this game. But there's plenty of character in the side and we're going to show that again," concluded Cook.