Mitchell Johnson
MG Johnson is an Australian cricketer whose primary competition across a 300-match career is the One-Day International. He has taken 637 wickets at a bowling average of 26.87 with an economy of 4.1 across all formats, whilst also accumulating 3,273 runs at 19.37 with the bat. His most recent matches are a run of IPL and BBL appearances in early 2018, where wickets were harder to come by than across the peak of his international record. The headline numbers across ODIs and Tests place Johnson firmly among the higher-volume wicket-takers in Australian cricket.

2026 Season Context
Current team & role
Punjab Kings · All-Rounder
Recent form
Johnson's 10 most recent appearances are all T20 fixtures, split between the Big Bash League and the IPL in early 2018, and his bowling returns across those outings were modest: no five-for hauls, and
Strongest format
One-Day International — Johnson's primary competition is the ODI, where he has played 146 matches, taken 226 wickets at a bowling average of 25.62 and maintained a strike rat
Career stats overview
73 Test · 146 ODI · 81 T20I appearances — spanning 2009 to present.
Test
73 matches
Where his legacy was forged — the format that rewards patience and precision.
ODI
146 matches
The middle-overs architect — a decade of white-ball consistency.
T20I
81 matches
Brief but impactful — quality over volume in the shortest format.
Format-aware deep dive
Where he dominates
Home record
Average 21.4 on Indian soil — better than any active spinner of the era.
Fourth-innings force
A third of his Test wickets come on day five, when bowlers decide outcomes.
Lower-order resilience
At No.7 his average beats every Indian specialist in that slot since 2015.
Elite opposition
Combined record vs Australia, England, New Zealand and South Africa.
Consistency
Third-most by any Indian bowler since his Test debut.
WTC presence
In the conversation every cycle. Central to this India red-ball side.
Career threads
Beyond the numbers
637 wickets across 300 career matches
Johnson has been one of the more prolific wicket-takers in international and franchise cricket, amassing 637 dismissals at a bowling average of 26.87 across all formats. His economy of 4.1 across the full career speaks to consistent containment alongside those wickets.
313 Test wickets at 28.41. The red-ball backbone
Across 73 Test matches Johnson claimed 313 wickets at 28.41 with an economy of 3.33 per over. That haul places his Test record as the centrepiece of a long international career with Australia Cricket.
135 wickets against England across 35 matches
Johnson's record against England stands out across the head-to-head splits: 135 wickets in 35 matches at an economy of 4.02. That volume and consistency against one of cricket's most prominent opponents is a defining feature of his career ledger.
72 wickets at the WACA. Strongest home venue
The Western Australia Cricket Association Ground is Johnson's most productive single venue. In 17 matches there he has taken 72 wickets at an economy of 4.0, comfortably his highest wicket tally at any one ground.
T20I bowling average of 20.11. Sharpest across formats
In 27 T20 Internationals Johnson averages 20.11 with the ball, the best bowling average across any of his four format breakdowns. His economy of 7.2 in that format is competitive for the shortest game.
Head-to-head
Vs opponents
Career totals broken down by the teams MG Johnson has faced most often, heat-scaled by output.
England
- Matches
- 35
- Runs
- 745
- Wickets
- 135
India
- Matches
- 31
- Runs
- 551
- Wickets
- 96
South Africa
- Matches
- 28
- Runs
- 712
- Wickets
- 91
Pakistan
- Matches
- 19
- Runs
- 271
- Wickets
- 42
Sri Lanka
- Matches
- 19
- Runs
- 260
- Wickets
- 57
West Indies
- Matches
- 18
- Runs
- 277
- Wickets
- 59
New Zealand
- Matches
- 15
- Runs
- 177
- Wickets
- 72
Chennai Super Kings
- Matches
- 5
- Runs
- 20
- Wickets
- 9
Grounds played at
Home & away grounds
The venues where MG Johnson has turned out most often.
Western Australia Cricket Association Ground
- Matches
- 17
- Runs
- 383
- Wickets
- 72
Melbourne Cricket Ground
- Matches
- 15
- Runs
- 269
- Wickets
- 55
Sydney Cricket Ground
- Matches
- 15
- Runs
- 355
- Wickets
- 37
The Gabba, Brisbane
- Matches
- 10
- Runs
- 270
- Wickets
- 43
Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
- Matches
- 8
- Runs
- 56
- Wickets
- 22
Adelaide Oval
- Matches
- 7
- Runs
- 57
- Wickets
- 44
Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali
- Matches
- 7
- Runs
- 109
- Wickets
- 21
Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi
- Matches
- 6
- Runs
- 49
- Wickets
- 5
Official profile
Elsewhere on the web
ESPNcricinfo
MG Johnson's profile
Historical aggregates derived from Cricsheet (cricsheet.org) under ODC-BY licence. 2001/02–2026 IPL seasons. Batting average uses dismissals as the denominator; bowler wickets are credited only for bowler-kind dismissals (bowled, caught, lbw, caught-and-bowled, stumped, hit wicket). Venue and opposition splits are rebuilt after every ingest from the Cricsheet archive.
Photo credits (1)
- Mitchell Johnson — photo by YellowMonkey/Blnguyen, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source