A fast-bowling high against South Africa

Mitchell Johnson's match haul of 12 for 127 are the best by a fast bowler against South Africa since their readmission into Test cricket

S Rajesh

15-Feb-2014

Mitchell Johnson continued his blistering form, South Africa v Australia, 1st Test, Centurion, 2nd day, February 13, 2014

The margin of victory - 281 runs - is Australia's second-best in terms of runs against South Africa. The best is 530 runs way back in 1911.

The defeat is South Africa's second in 19 Tests in Centurion, and their first in a proper, two-innings Test: their previous defeat had been against England in 2000, in a Test in which both teams had forfeited an innings each.

Before this Test, South Africa had a 14-1 win-loss record at this venue. Not only was this their best venue, it was the most dominant that any team had been at any venue in Test history; the next best were Pakistan in Karachi, where they had won 21 Tests and lost twice. Before this Test, South Africa had averaged 43.15 with the bat and 24.19 with the ball at SuperSport Park; in this game, they averaged 20.30 with the bat, and 49.07 with the ball.

South Africa's batting average of 20.30 in this Test is easily their lowest in Centurion, and their sixth-lowest in a home Test since their readmission. In matches when they've won the toss during this period, this is their third-lowest. The lowest is 17.30, against India in the Boxing Day Test of 2010, when they were bowled out for 131 and 215.

Australia's emphatic victory was almost entirely due to Mitchell Johnson, whose match figures of 12 for 127 are his best, and the third time he has taken ten or more in a Test. His second-best match haul is also against South Africa - 11 for 159 in Perth - but Australia had lost that Test by six wickets. Since the beginning of the 2013-14 Ashes series, Johnson has taken 49 wickets in six Tests at an average of 13.14. The fewest wickets he has taken in a Test during this period is six.

Johnson's match haul of 12 for 127 is the best by a fast bowler against South Africa since their readmission into Test cricket. The previous best was Matthew Hoggard's 12 for 205 in Johannesburg in 2005. Among all bowlers during this period, only Muttiah Muralitharan has better figures - 13 for 171 in Galle in 2000. Shane Warne took 12 for 128 in Sydney in 1994.

Among Australian bowlers, only Clarrie Grimmett has taken more wickets in a Test against South Africa. He took more than 12 twice - 13 for 173 in Durban in 1936, and 14 for 199 in Adelaide in 1932.

Johnson's 12-wicket match haul is the first by a fast bowler in a Test in more than eight years: the last time it happened was in September 2005, when Irfan Pathan took 12 for 126 against Zimbabwe in Harare. The last Australian fast bowler to achieve this feat was Bruce Reid, who also took 12 for 126, against India in Melbourne in 1991.

Against South Africa's top six batsmen, Johnson took eight wickets conceding 101 runs, an average of 12.62 runs per wicket. The other Australian bowlers had figures of 4 for 176 against South Africa's top six, an average of 44 runs per dismissal.

In the second innings too, the one top-order batsman from South Africa who handled the Australian attack comfortably was AB de Villiers. Not only did he top-score with 48, he also had an in-control percentage of 97, the highest among all South African batsmen. Over the entire match, de Villiers had an in-control percentage of 95; for the other South African top six batsmen, the control percentage was 85%.

Hashim Amla scored only 52 runs in the Test, but it was enough to make him the sixth South African batsman to go past 6000 Test runs. He achieved it in his 128th innings, thus equalling the South African record, which he now shares with Graeme Smith. Jacques Kallis achieved it in his 134th innings. (Click here for the full list of batsmen who've reached the landmark in the fewest innings.)

Hashim Amla AB de Villiers Mitchell Johnson Australia South Africa South Africa vs Australia Australia tour of South Africa

S Rajesh is stats editor of ESPNcricinfo. Follow him on Twitter