Alyssa Healy takes a dig at Mitchell Johnson after he criticized Mitchell Starc

Johnson, however, made sure that things do not go out of hand.

Published - 11 Dec 2018, 11:58 IST | Updated - 11 Dec 2018, 11:58 IST

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Australia suffered a heartbreaking loss in the first Test against India. While not many had expected the hosts to give the world number one Test side a run for their money in absence of David Warner and Steve Smith, Tim Paine & Co. nearly pulled off a coup. Despite being on the back-foot for the most part of the game, the hosts gave India a mighty scare before eventually losing the game by 31 runs.

Chasing an improbable 323, Australia looked all but out of the game when they lost Paine and found themselves 7 down for 187. However, the lower-order batsmen batted out of their skin to revive Australia’s slim hopes. But their heroic effort went in vain as Australia were all out for 291.

The result, however, could have been different had their pace spearhead Mitchell Starc not looked off-colour. The left-arm pacer rarely looked at his best. In the first innings, he conceded over 3 runs per over while picking up 2 wickets. In the second, he picked up three but two of them were those of Ravi Ashwin. With Starc not doing well, India’s top-order made sure to pile up the runs which eventually made the difference.

Not surprisingly, the left-arm pacer coped criticism by a host of former players. One of them was Mitchell Johnson. The former Australia speedster slammed his ex-teammate for his body language. “I just don’t like his body language,” Johnson said to ABC radio.

“He hasn’t given a bit of a glare or puffed his chest out with a good follow through, let the batsman know he’s in the contest, that he’s going to rip the pegs out.”

Alyssa Healy not happy

The criticism, however, has not gone down well with Starc’s wife and Australia women team’s star Alyssa Healy. And she did not refrain herself from making her point clear to Johnson on Twitter.

It all began when Johnson tweeted after the game, writing, “Congratulations to India. Loved Australia’s fight to the end, need to move on quickly from this loss & prepare for Perth which is a quick turn around.”

Healy was quick to take a dig at Johnson as she tagged Starc while writing, “Will your preparation be getting grumpy?”

Johnson, however, made sure that things do not go out of hand, writing, “Love you guys.”

Congratulations to India 👏🏼 Loved Australia’s fight to the end, need to move on quickly from this loss & prepare for Perth which is a quick turn around. #testcricketisalive
— Mitchell Johnson (@MitchJohnson398) December 10, 2018