One of the most fearsome fast bowlers ever, Mitchell Johnson turns 39 on Monday (November 2), and wishes are pouring in for him from all around the world. Hailing from Queensland, the former Australian speedster used to instil fear in batsman’s mind with his sheer pace and ability to extract bounce off the surface. Be it Test, ODIs, or T20s, the left-arm pacer backed himself to take wickets regardless of the situations. Unlike majority of the fast bowlers, Johnson, instead of losing pace, became even more lethal in the latter part of his career. Below, we’ll revisit some of his best spells. Mitchell Johnson, Former Australian Pacer Elected Marylebone Cricket Club Honorary Life Member.

When Glenn McGrath and Jason Gillespie were in the fag end of their career, Australia needed someone who could carry forward the legacy alongside Brett Lee. Their quest eventually ended with Johnson’s international debut in December 2005.  Although the left-arm pacer burst onto the scenes with his raw pace, he often faced criticism for his waywardness. Nevertheless, he aged like fine wine and emerged as a nightmare for the opposition batting line-up. Coming to his numbers, Johnson scalped 313, 239 and 38 wickets in 73 Tests, 153 ODIs and 30 T20Is respectively. As the Aussie talisman turns a year older, let’s revisit some of his stellar bowling performances. Mitchell Johnson Revives Old Rivalry With Virat Kohli.

5/26 vs India in 2007

Johnson was on full song during the fifth ODI of Australia’s 2007 tour of India. MS Dhoni’s decision of batting first in Vadodara proved to be disastrous as Johnson jolted the home team’s batting line-up with his splendid spell. The likes of Yuvraj Singh and Dhoni looked clueless against Johnson’s thunderbolts as the Men in Blue got bundled out for mere 148 runs. Australia didn’t break a sweat while chasing the total and registered a nine-wicket triumph.

6/31 vs Sri Lanka in 2011

Batting first in the first ODI of Australia’s tour of Sri Lanka, the home side aggregated 54 runs for the opening wicket and were eyeing a significant total. However, Johnson had different ideas as he produced a scintillating spell. The speedster ran through Sri Lanka’s middle order and recorded a six-wicket haul. As a result, Sri Lanka got packed for 191 runs and eventually lost the game by seven wickets.

4/61 & 5/42 vs England in 2013

Johnson literally got under the skin of England batsmen with his vicious deliveries during the 2013-14 Ashes down under. In the first match only, he put on a bowling exhibition in Brisbane and scalped nine wickets. He dismissed four batsmen in England’s first innings and followed it up by the five-for in the last innings of the match. Riding on his stellar performance, Australia won the game by 381 runs.

7/40 vs England in 2013

Another Mitchell Johnson special in 2013-14 Ashes was witnessed during the second Test in Adelaide. On a track where Australia declared at 570/9 while batting first, England’s batting line-up fell like a pack of cards. Johnson was the wreaker in chief as he registered a seven-wicket haul in England’s first innings. The visitors couldn’t make any sort of comeback as Australia recorded a 2018-run triumph.

7/68 & 5/59 vs South Africa in 2014

The mighty Proteas batting line-up looked utterly clueless against Johnson’s fiery deliveries in the first Test of Australia’s 2014 Tour of South Africa. After the visitors posted 397 runs while batting first, Johnson unleashed absolute mayhem and took seven wickets in South Africa’s first innings. Continuing his stellar form, the left-arm pacer took another five-for in last innings as the visitors won the contest by 281 runs.

Johnson bid farewell to international cricket in November 2015 and gave a breather to many batsmen around the world. Post-retirement, the talisman served as a commentator and gave his voices in many matches.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 02, 2020 08:00 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).