Published: Nov 18, 2015, 06:47 AM (IST)
Edited: Nov 18, 2015, 11:08 AM (IST)
Mitchell Johnson bowed out of his international career with 590 wickets from 256 games for Australia when he made his final appearance for his country on Tuesday at Perth during Day 5 of the second Test of the ongoing three-match Test series. The visitors were chasing 321 on the final day. The match ended in a draw with Johnson bagging two wickets as New Zealand finished at 104 for 2 in 28 overs. Johnson became the sixth Australian to retire in the recent months after Michael Clarke, Chris Rogers, Ryan Harris, Brad Haddin and Shane Watson, although Watson will continue to play in the limited-overs (and is supposedly eyeing a comeback to the Test side). READ: Mitchell Johnson retires as one of Australia’s greatest tearaways
Johnson’s four-wicket-haul on debut against Sri Lanka in 2007 was just the beginning of the making of one of Australia’s greatest pacers. His best-ever Test spell was in 2008 against South Africa at Perth. However, his 8 for 61 was not good enough to give Australia a victory. Johnson was lucky to make a vital contribution during the knockout stages of 2015 ICC World Cup even when he was not at his peak in the shorter formats during the end of his career. He claimed the wickets of Kane Williamson, Daniel Vettori and Matt Henry in the final as the hosts restricted their neighbours to 183 and eventually Australia lifted the trophy for the fifth time.
South Africa vs Australia, 1st Test at Perth (2008):
Johnson waited for a year for his best Test spell. He bagged 8 for 61 wickets in the first innings in order to bowl out the Proteas for 281 after Australia had posted 375 in the first innings. Neil McKenzie, Jacques Kallis, AB de Villiers and JP Duminy were the specialists in his 8 dismissals. He removed Kallis, de Villiers and Duminy in 3 consecutive overs, and suddenly South Africa were reduced to 256 for 9 after being 234 for 4. He went on to claim 6 wickets in the span of 22 runs.
In reply to South Africa’s 281, Australia were bundled out for 319 and the hosts had to chase down 414 runs with more than a day left. Centuries from Graeme Smith and de Villiers helped the Proteas to defeat Australia by 6 wickets. READ: Mitchell Johnson retires: Where does he rank among Australia’s pace pantheon?
Australia vs England, 3rd Test at Perth (2010):
It was a terrific match for Johnson in terms of an all-round performance. With Australia batting first, he scored a superb 117-ball 62. It was crucial in Australia’s first innings total of 268. He followed that his spell of 17.3 overs where he claimed 6 for 38. Although he failed to repeat the same batting effort in the next innings, he had the same impact with the ball.
Chasing 391, England were bundled out for a mere 123 as Johnson bagged 3 more wickets. The likes of Andrew Strauss, Jonathan Trott and Graeme Swann were his victims in the final innings and eventually Australia sealed the match by 267 runs.
Australia vs England, 2nd Test at Adelaide (2013):
The 2013-14 Ashes will always be remembered as the fantastic comeback made by Johnson’s. He bagged 37 wickets from 5 Tests, 8 of which came at Adelaide Oval. His 7 for 40 in 17.2 overs restricted the English side to just 173 runs in reply to Australia’s first innings total of 570. Johnson shattered England’s line-up when he removed 5 batsmen with the visitors scoring just 18 runs.
England scored 173, and Australia set them a massive 531 with two days left in the match. Although Johnson bagged just one wicket in the final innings, his seven scalps had set the tone for Australia’s 218-run win in the second Test.
South Africa vs Australia, 1st Test at Centurion (2014):
After the excellent 2013-14 Ashes victory Down Under, Australia continued to impress. Their next assignment was when they flew to South Africa for a three-Test series. Johnson once again had a bulk of wickets to his name which was a major reason behind Australia’s 2-1 victory.
South Africa was bowled out for 206 after the visitors posted 397 in their first innings. Of those 10 wickets, 7 went to Johnson’s account. The visitors declared at 290 in the second innings. With more than a day left in the match, Johnson once again delivered an excellent spell where he removed 5 South African batsmen thereby leading Australia to a 281-run victory in the match. READ: Mitchell Johnson retires: A quiet end to a fine career
New Zealand vs Australia, 2nd Test at Hamilton (2010):
Australia faced a poor start to the match when Tim Southee and Daniel Vettori restricted them to 231 in the first innings, and Australia conceded a 33-run lead. While Johnson claimed 4 Kiwi wickets wickets, the other scalps were shared between Doug Bollinger and Ryan Harris.
Australia declared at 511 in the second innings, thereby leaving New Zealand to chase down 479. Then Johnson ran through the Black Caps’ batting line-up. The figures of 6 for 73 remained his fifth-best Test figures.
Sri Lanka vs Australia, 1st ODI at Pallekele (2010):
Johnson’s best spell came after five years since his debut for Australia. His 6 for 31 in 10 overs restricted Sri Lanka to 191 in a mere 41.1 overs. His dismissals included big names, like Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene and Angelo Mathews. The Australians needed just 38.1 overs to chase down Sri Lanka’s target. Half-centuries from Shane Watson, Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke finished the job for Australia.
India vs Australia, 5th ODI at Vadodara (2007):
Johnson’s 5 wickets in his spell of 10 overs helped Australia bowl out India for a paltry 148. He removed the likes of Yuvraj Singh, Robin Uthappa, MS Dhoni and Irfan Pathan before Murali Karthik became his fifth victim for the day. The visitors required just 25.5 overs to chase down India’s target having lost just one wicket. Australia won the 7-match ODI series 4-2 with the opening match being washed-out.
Australia vs India, DLF Cup (2006):
It was the third ODI of the DLF Cup where Australia batted first and posted a total of 244. In reply to that, India went 5-down with just 35 on board, 4 of which fell to Johnson, who conceded a mere 11 from 4 overs. Had the match was not washed out, a victory for Australia was most likely written.
West Indies vs Australia, 5th ODI at Warner Park (2008):
Johnson’s five-wicket haul led Australia to a 169-run victory in the final ODI against West Indies, resulting in a 5-0 whitewash. Johnson started with Chris Gayle in the second over. He went on to wipe out the second half of the West Indies’ side when the hosts were chasing Australia’s first innings total of 341. He bagged 5 wickets from 7.5 overs at an economy of 3.70.
Australia vs New Zealand, ICC World Cup 2015 Final (2015):
Though Johnson was not at his peak during the big event, he managed to make a vital contribution with three important wickets in the final, restricting Black Caps to 183. Australia eventually defeated them by 7 wickets with 101 balls remaining. Johnson’s wickets included Kane Williamson, Daniel Vettori and tail-ender Matt Henry.
(Sakshi Gupta, a reporter with CricketCountry, is a sports fanatic whose mantra in life is “do only what you enjoy.” Her Twitter handle is @sakshi2929)
