Australian pace spearhead Mitchell Johnson has claimed that their batting order got a little bit nervous through the middle period in their dramatic World Cup loss to New Zealand on Saturday at Eden Park.
New Zealand wrapped up Australia's batting line up for 151 runs in 32.2 overs before holding on for a nerve-jangling one-wicket win at a packed Eden Park on Saturday.
Players and pundits struggled to explain Australia's batting flop, with some blaming the team's lack of match practice in the two weeks since their opener against England. Skipper Michael Clarke suggested that the team had not trained hard enough on dealing with swing bowling after New Zealand's seamers cut a swath through their innings, Stuff.co.nzreported.
However, Johnson said that there was no lack of preparation. He said that he believes that they trained really well, to be honest, adding that he just believes that they were probably a little bit nervous through that middle period.
Johnson claimed that they trained and they knew what to expect, adding that they knew the ball was going to swing there. He insisted that they knew what to expect, they just didn't play their game when they got out there in the middle.
Johnson believes that the moment probably got a bit big for Australia.
Though Mitchell Starc took a brilliant 28-6 to give Australia an unlikely sniff of victory, fellow left-armer Johnson was torched by New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum early and finished wicketless for 68 runs from just six overs, the report added.
