Bailey lauds returning Johnson

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George Bailey heaped praise on Mitchell Johnson after the fast bowler returned to action with an impressive 3-27 in Australia's 112-run tri-nations series final triumph.

On a day that was soured slightly by an injury scare for James Faulkner, Johnson - playing in his first game of the year - proved England's tormentor-in-chief once more as he took full advantage of the quick WACA wicket.

Bailey said: "[It's] always lovely to have him in the team and backing up some wonderful fast bowling throughout the series from [Pat] Cummins, [Mitchell] Starc and [Josh] Hazlewood, so we have a nice little quartet there at the moment."

Glenn Maxwell played a key role, his 95 with the bat followed up with bowling figures of 4-46 to earn him man of the match, while Mitchell Marsh scored 60.

"That's really promising to see Maxi and Mitch Marsh rein in their natural games to get the partnership going and get themselves back into a position where they could launch again," he said of the duo's 141-run pairing.

England skipper Eoin Morgan, meanwhile, was left to rue a poor batting display, but he considers the result part of his side's learning curve.

"Our batting let us down," he conceded. "We keep grafting and learning as we go along. For the three, four weeks that we've been here we have made huge strides from where we were before that and huge credit goes to some guys' individual performances that they have put in have lead us to this final.

"To earn a place in the final we've played some good cricket. Although today will be hard to take, the test will be how we come back from it."

Faulkner was forced from the field during his third over, with Cricket Australia later confirming that he was suffering from soreness in his side.

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