Johnson blast West Indies
Cricinfo staff
26-Sep-2009
Mitchell Johnson acknowledges the applause for his half-century • Getty Images
A spicy Wanderers pitch and some hearty late-order striking from Mitchell Johnson added heat to what could easily have been a one-sided contest between Australia and the second-string West Indies side.
Johnson's unbeaten 73 from 47 balls put Australia back on course for a match-winning total of 275 for 8 after a superb spell from Nikita Miller threatened to upset the defending champions.
Johnson was the only Australian batsman besides Ricky Ponting (79) who appeared comfortable on the cracking surface. His fierce, clean hitting brought back memories of his highly entertaining 96 in the Test against South Africa at the same venue this year, when he sent several Paul Harris deliveries into the stands.
This time, he had the benefit of gaps in the outfield as Australia took the batting Powerplay from the start of the 45th over and added an incredible 69 in those five overs.
Johnson cleared the boundary three times and finished with his highest ODI score, and as he and Brett Lee posted a 70-run stand they would also have been raring to bowl on the difficult pitch.
Johnson then bowled economically and effected a direct hit to get Andre Fletcher for 54, after he had threatened to keep West Indies in the hunt.