South African batsman Faf du Plessis has revealed that he had faced two of the most 'deadliest' balls he had ever received in Test cricket, from Australian fast bowlers Mitchell Johnson and Peter Siddle.
Du Plessis was dismissed for 3 and 18 by Johnson and Peter Siddle respectively in Centurion, and wrote with wide-eyed wonder at Johnson's 'incredible' improvements in his column for a sports website.
According to News.com.au, Du Plessis said that the first of the two 'deadliest' balls came from Johnson in the first innings and reared up at his throat, nearly 'taking his head off' in the process, while the second-innings ball from Siddle hit a crack and barely bounced, before hitting him 'plumb in front'.
Stating that he was impressed by Johnson's consistency, Siddle also said that he found out that instead of swinging the ball much, Johnson made excellent use of the Centurion Park pitch, which was offering more bounce than it usually does, and banged the ball hard around 150 kmh, which made him quite a handful.
