The 29-year-old left-arm seamer has gone wicketless in his past three Test innings, heightening calls for his axing prior to the second Ashes Test starting in Adelaide on Friday.
But Nielsen said it was a combined lack of pressure from the Australian attack that saw them claim just 11 scalps at the Gabba in the first Test, which ended in a draw.
"He didn't have his best game, but 11 wickets in the Test match for both groups says it's hard work to me. He didn't bowl as well as he would have liked, and that's our job over the next couple of days to make sure we get him back up and going," Nielsen said.
"We all identify that he didn't have the best game. But there were times when we let it get away - not as an individual but as a bowling group - and when that happens, one guy usually gets exposed, and Mitch is the one we're talking about," Nielsen said.
"Throughout his career, he's had his ups and downs but there's not an international who hasn't gone the long-term without ups and downs. Mitch is no different. But we need to address that tomorrow morning (at training), and find way a way to attack the English team and take 20 wickets."
"There's a couple of little things we can work on, we can make sure we jump around the bowling group and each other, and make sure he's in as good a place as he can be. He's taken 160 Test wickets so he's good at this game."
No comments:
Post a Comment