Mitchell Johnson may have retired from international cricket, but he leaves behind a plenty of memories. Many of us who follow Australian cricket will never forget some of the deadly spells of fast bowling by Johnson. Who can forget how he absolutely terrorized the English batsmen in the 2013-14 Ashe series with his brutal pace, sending the otherwise reliable Jonathan Trott on a panic attack and ending Kevin Pietersen’s Test career? We bring you some of the best highlights of Johnson’s career…
8 for 61, 3 for 98 v South Africa, Perth, 2008
This match will actually be remembered for South Africa’s brilliant run chase of 414 in the final innings. So Johnson’s deadly spell of 8 for 61 in the first innings gets forgotten. This was Johnson’s first great spell of fast bowling, when he justified that hype that always surrounded his presence in international cricket. He swung the ball at deadly pace and angled it across the batsmen at will. He used the bounced to deadly effect. Australia may have lost the match, but as far as Johnson was concerned, it was a sign of what was to come in the future.
4 for 25, 4 for 112, 96* v South Africa, Johannesburg, 2009
This match in Johannesburg saw Johnson at his very best, winning the match for Australia with both the bat and the ball. Johnson’s wicket taking ability came to the fore in this match and his spell of 4 for 25 in 18 overs in the first innings was sensational. He bowled with furious pace, braking Graeme Smith’s right arm. He was virtually unplayable throughout the match. His batting was delightful as well.
6 for 38, 3 for 44 v England, Perth, 2010
The 2010-11 Ashes was won by England quite famously, and Johnson wasn’t really at his best during this series. Even so, his performance in the Perth Test was fabulous. Johnson’s 6 for 38 in the first innings was described by captain Ricky Ponting as one of the greatest Ashes spells. Unfortunately, it was the only highlight of the series for Johnson. He was to become the recipient of a plenty of mockery from the England supporters during this series.
37 for 517 v England, 2013-14
5 Tests, 37 wickets, 5-0 to the home team. The 2013-14 Ashes will be remembered as the most dominating display ever by a home team in the Ashes and Johnson was at the thick of it. It is hard to believe that anybody has ever bowled as fast as Johnson did in this series. It was fast bowling at its furious best. Johnson regularly hit speeds of 150 to 155kph in this series; nobody has ever seen anything like this before. He was backed by the ever reliable Ryan Harris and Peter Siddle who held their end. Every time he came on to bowl, the crowd bayed for English blood. It was simply a breathtaking display of all out attack, the sort that has never been seen in the history of Test cricket.
7 for 68, 5 for 59 v South Africa, Centurion, 2014
Johnson proved that his Ashes performance wasn’t a flash in the pan by singlehandedly winning the series against the world’s best cricket team, South Africa. It was billed as a contest between the world’s best fast bowlers – Dale Steyn and Mitchell Johnson. In that case, Johnson won the content hands down. He was fast and lethal, bowling regularly at 150kph. It was only AB de Villiers who could stand up to his bowling making a brilliant 91, but even he couldn’t save the match for South Africa. By now it was clear that Mitchell Johnson was one of the greatest fast bowlers to have played Test cricket.
