Mitchell Johnson retires: Where does he rank among Australia’s pace pantheon?

Mitchell Johnson retires with 313 Test wickets, and is Australia's fourth-highest wicket-taker both in Test cricket and across formats.

Batsmen the world over awoke to some wonderful news: they would never again have to face Mitchell Johnson in an international match. The Australian fast bowler announced that the second Test against New Zealand would be his final international appearance. Johnson retires with 239 One-Day International (ODI) wickets and 38 Twenty20 International (T20I) wickets. He has 313 Test wickets, and bows out as Australia’s fourth-highest wicket-taker, both in Test cricket and across formats. Australia have been blessed with some of the games most revered fast bowlers. Players like Charlie Turner, Fred Spofforth, Alan Davidson, Ray Lindwall, Keith Miller, Dennis Lillee, Jeff Thomson, Merv Hughes, Craig McDermott, Glenn McGrath, Jason Gillespie, and Brett Lee were some of the most potent pacers of their respective eras. Only McGrath and Lillee are ahead of Johnson in terms of wickets taken, but where does Johnson rank in Australia’s pace pantheon? FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: Australia vs New Zealand, 2nd Test match at Perth

It should be kept in mind that while he was an unstoppable force of nature in bouncy tracks at home, he was often made to look pedestrian on surfaces that did not suit his bowling. Consequently, his numbers in Australia and South Africa make for wonderful viewing, but the corresponding numbers in India or England are extremely disappointing. Johnson’s Test average of 28.40 is good without being great, but his strike rate of 51.1 is phenomenal. The wayward bowling resulted in him sometimes going for a few runs, but he was always a wicket-taker. READ: Mitchell Johnson retires as one of Australia’s greatest tearaways

Let us look at Australia’s best pacers in terms of average, with a minimum cut-off of 100 wickets:

Johnson does not feature anywhere in the top 10 Australian bowlers of all time in terms of bowling average. He is No. 17 on the list, behind the likes of George Giffen, Terry Alderman, Max Walker, Jeff Thomson, Merv Hughes, and Rodney Hogg. If he manages to take a bunch of wickets in his final innings he might improve his average enough to break into the top 15, but it is highly unlikely he will manage to reach the top 10. READ: Johnson shows signs of effectiveness on docile tracks

However, the relatively high average is to be expected from Johnson, whose USP was never economy. At his pace accuracy and control were sometimes an issue. However, his strike rate makes up for the disappointing average. Let us look at Australia’s best pacers in terms of strike rate, with a minimum cut-off of 100 wickets:

There is very little separating Turner, Johnson, and McGrath. A good or terrible spell would change things, but as things stand, Johnson at No. 2 on the list of Australian pacers with the best strike rate, behind only Ryan Harris. READ: Is strike rate more important than bowling average?

Johnson’s greatest moment in international cricket was perhaps his performance that helped Australia whitewash England in the 2013-14 Ashes. Given the significance of The Ashes, it only makes sense to look at where he lies in terms of Australian bowlers in The Ashes. Let us look at Australia’s best pacers in The Ashes in terms of average, with a minimum cut-off of 50 wickets:

Once again, Johnson fails to make it to the top 10 in terms of average. But once again, his strike rate more than makes up for that. Let us look at Australia’s best pacers in terms of strike rate, with a minimum cut-off of 100 wickets: READ: Mitchell Johnson brings back the art of Fast Bowling

Johnson’s Ashes strike rate of 43.2 makes him the most lethal Australian pacer with at least 50 Ashes wickets, outstripping Harris, McDermott, McGrath, Hogg, and the rest. Johnson bows out as one of Australia’s most potent wicket-takers, and one of their finest bowlers at home. COMPLETE COVERAGE: Mitchell Johnson retires

(Shiamak Unwalla, a reporter with CricketCountry, is a self-confessed Sci-Fi geek who loves cricket more than cricketers. His Twitter handle is @ShiamakUnwalla)