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The rebirth of Mitchell Johnson is one of Australia’s greatest sporting stories. Everywhere you read, listen, or watch, his name keeps cropping up.
And so it should.
He’s the main reason why the baggy greens have won their last six Tests by the length of the straight.
At the Gabba by 381. Adelaide by 218. WACA by 150. MCG by 8 wickets. SCG by 281. Centurion by 281 as well.
Johnson’s contribution – 49 wickets at 13.14.
Which begs the question, how do these superb figures, of 49 scalps in 12 digs, compare with Australia’s most successful pacemen?
The top 10 Australian pacemen in Test cricket history are:
Glenn McGrath – 563 wickets at 21.64.
Dennis Lillee – 355 at23.92.
Brett Lee – 310 at 30.81.
Craig McDermott – 291 at 28.63.
Jason Gillespie – 259 at 26.13.
Mitchell Johnson – 254 at 27.50.
Graham McKenzie – 246 at 29.78.
Ray Lindwall – 228 at 23,03.
Merv Hughes – 212 at 28.38.
And Jeff Thomson – 200 at 28.00.
I have taken out the best 12 innings sequence of the other nine Australians during their careers, and Johnson is by far the cheapest wicket-taker.
Johnson averages 13.14 for his most recent 12 successive Test digs.
Lindwall averaged 17.25.
Lee – 17.98.
McGrath – 18.00.
Gillespite – 18.77.
McKenzie – 19.78.
Lilllee – 20.00.
McDermott – 21.19.
Hughes – 21.41.
And Thomson – 21.83.
But Lillee pipped Johnson by a single wicket.
Lillee – 50 wickets between December 1976 to March 1977 against Pakistan (5), New Zealand (3), England (3), and West Indies (1).
Johnson – 49 wickets between November 2013 and February 2014 against England (10) and South Africa (2).
Lee – 42 wickets between December 2006 and January 2008 against England (3), Sri Lanka (4), and India (5).
McKenzie – 42 wickets between June 1964 and October 1964 against England (5), India (6), and Pakistan (1)
McDermott – 41 wickets between January 1991 and April 1991 against England (4), and West Indies (8).
Hughes – 39 wickets between November 1989 and November 1990 against New Zealand (2), Sri Lanka (3), Pakistan (5), and England (2).
Lindwall – 36 wickets between January 1952 and June 1953 against West Indies (1), South Africa (7), and England (4).
Thomson – 36 wickets between August 1977 and March 1978 against England (2), India (8), and West Indies (2).
McGrath – 36 wickets between June 1977 and November 1997 against England (11), and New Zealand (1).
Gillespie – 30 wickets between March 1997 and November 1998 against South Africa (4) and England (8).
By any standards, Mitchell Johnson has stamped himself among the all-time Australian greats, and providing he stays fit and keeps bowling with the same intensity and speed of the last six Tests, Australia will keep winning.