WC: Mitchell Johnson tells England to stop 'dreaming'

Perth, Feb 2: Making an impactful return in the tri-series final to send England packing, Australian pacer Mitchell Johnson said that the Eoin Morgan-led side would be "dreaming" if they believe that pressure will not be on them in their opening clash of the World Cup.

ICC World Cup Special

Returning from his month-long rest, Johnson, who took three wickets to help Australia humble England by 112 runs in the title clash yesterday, reacted to Morgan's comment of the pressure being more on the hosts when the two sides' clash on February 14.

"Every team is under pressure. It is a World Cup. I think they (England) are dreaming if they think they are not under pressure," Johnson was quoted as saying in the Sydney Morning Herald.

"It's a knockout situation and you have to win pretty much every game, that is the way I see it. We will try to win all the games we play in, there will be a little bit more pressure on us being a home World Cup but we are prepared for that," he added.

Johnson though is not concentrating his energies on only one team and said that his job is to perform against everyone. "It feels nice against any team, to be honest, when you can go out there and perform at your best and do the job that you have been put in the team for," Johnson said.

"My job is to go out there and bowl fast and be aggressive and take wickets and I felt like I was pretty close to that and that excites me. I was really looking forward to playing some cricket again, the more I play the better I feel," he said.

Johnson also believes that he can be as intimidating in the ODI format as he is in Test cricket. "I think at times, yeah, definitely using that short ball worked for me [on Sunday]," he said.

"You have to adapt. Sometimes it is not going to work as much and I have to go to plan B or keep trying. I am a fast bowler who loves to bowl fast and I don't mind bowling that short ball and that's what I have always tried to do in all forms of the game," he concluded.

PTI