Fear The Mo! Mitchell Johnson's Top 10 Test Spells

Once in a generation bowler. Bowls to the left, bowls to the right. Brutal. Devastating. Awesome. These were the few attributes that Mitchell Johnson lived with during his eight-year-old international career. When he was in prime form, the left-arm pacer was a sight for sore eyes. When he was in woeful form, cricket fans would cringe. (Mitchell Johnson Retires from International Cricket After Perth Test)

In this whole period, Johnson has contributed immensely to Test cricket. In 73 Tests, he has 313 wickets at an average of 28.4, putting him in fourth place in the Australian bowler's chart, behind Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Dennis Lillee. Not bad company at all. (Mitchell Johnson Singles Out World Cup, Ashes 5-0 as Special Moments)

Following are the top 10 spells by Johnson in Tests. Some are brutal, some are magnificent while some changed the course of the match. (Mitchell Johnson Has Always Been a Special Bowler: Sachin Tendulkar)

1) 5/39 versus New Zealand, Brisbane 2008 - Impact of pace and accuracy

Johnson had debuted against Sri Lanka in 2007 and had a mixed start. He had pace but lacked control. He had good returns against India in 2007/08 but was yet to make a telling impact. However, in the first Test against New Zealand in Brisbane, Johnson combined pace and accuracy to take 5/39 as the Kiwis lost six wickets for 44 runs to collapse to 177 all out and lose by 149 runs.

2) 8/61 vs South Africa, Perth 2008 - Johnson arrives at WACA

This spell heralded the coming of age of Johnson. He used the bouncy conditions at Perth brilliantly. Using the angles and the swing generated by the Fremantle Doctor, Johnson's one spell included five wickets for two runs in 21 balls. South Africa collapsed from 234/3 to 281 all out. He went on to pick up 11 wickets in the Test but Australia still lost the match as they failed to defend 414.

3) 4/25 vs South Africa, Durban 2009 - The Killer Aussie

He swung the ball. Bowled at fierce pace. Broke a batsman's hand and made another legendary batsman retire hurt. If Perth heralded the coming of Johnson, Durban 2009 witnessed the coming of brute bowling. In a hostile spell, Johnson broke South African skipper Graeme Smith's hand for the second time after he had broken it for the first time in Sydney. Johnson made Jacques Kallis retire hurt with a bouncer that crashed on the jaw, then cleaned up Hashim Amla for 27 and Mark Boucher. His spell of 18.1-7-25-4 was an exhibition of pace and fear.

4) 5/69 vs England, Leeds 2009 - Sweet revenge against Barmy Army

The old enemy was always a tricky proposition for Johnson. In his first Ashes series, Johnson suffered a meltdown in the Lord's Test where he had poor match figures of 38.4-4-201-3. In that match, the Barmy Army went after him with this infamous song, "He bowls to the left, He Bowls to the Right....That Mitchell Johnson, His bowling is Shite". However, Johnson overcame the odds with a magnificent performance in the fourth Test at Leeds. In one hostile spell, he picked up Alastair Cook, Ian Bell and Paul Collingwood in quick succession as England tumbled to an innings and 80-run loss. It was sweet revenge for Johnson.

Mitchell Johnson loved performing in Perth, where he picked up 45 wickets in seven Tests.

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5) 5/64 vs India, Mohali 2010 - An asset on dead tracks

It is a performance that is not spoken about much but it gave Australia a chance. On a flat, slow wicket, Johnson's extra pace was the difference. After India had gotten off to a brisk start thanks to Virender Sehwag's 59, Johnson dismissed him with some extra bounce. He proceeded to take out Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni and Harbhajan Singh in quick succession to give Australia an important 23-run lead. This performance signified that on dead tracks, Johnson's extra pace was an asset.

6) 6/38 vs England, Perth 2010 - Terror strikes England

Once again, England proved to be Johnson's bogey. In the 2010/11 series, he was all over the place in Brisbane and he was dropped for the Adelaide Test as he worked hard to remodel his action. With Australia trailing 1-0, Johnson used the swing generated by the Fremantle Doctor to terrorise England, picking up four wickets in one spell. Adding swing to his arsenal along with pace in the high-140's, Johnson ripped through England's middle order. His haul symbolised the kind of impact that he could have as Australia levelled the series in style with a crushing 267-run win.

7) 4/61 vs England, Brisbane 2013 - Refreshed and Deadly Again

The figures tell only one half of the story. This haul tells a story of a rebirth. A rebirth that was coupled with raw aggression. Johnson's career was at the crossroads after a prolonged slump and a serious toe injury. After missing a full season, Johnson was refreshed and he looked better than ever. He upped his pace, used the bouncer to deadly effect and brought the thril back to fast bowling.

In the first Ashes Test, after a docile start, Johnson burst into life as he unleashed a brutal bouncer barrage on the England batsman. In one stroke, England were overwhelmed and they capitulated to Johnson, who was backed by a vociferous Gabba crowd. His first innings exhibition laid the blueprint for Australia's success, which was to scare and overwhelm. Johnson version 2.0 was aggression personified.

Mitchell Johnson and James Anderson had an intense rivalry for six years during the Ashes contests.

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8) 7/40 vs England, Adelaide 2013 - A la, Lillee and Thommo!

The success of Brisbane had buoyed Johnson to such an extent that he openly started terrorising batsmen. Adelaide was the scene of one such devastating performance. A spell of 4.5 overs during the middle session was termed as one of the great fast-bowling spells ever. It invoked the days when Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson tore into oppositions with their pace. In that spell, Johnson ripped out England's challenge. He had Ben Stokes lbw for 1, took out Matt Prior for 0 after roughing him up with a bouncer. He followed it by bowling Stuart Broad around the legs and just missed out on a hat-trick.

Soon, he dismissed Graeme Swann for 7 and forked James Anderson's middle stump out. However, he followed it up with a glare that signalled the extent of the rivalry between these two. England fell apart and they lost the match by 218 runs to go 2-0 down. Johnson's summer of terror extended throughout the Ashes as he finished up with 37 wickets to help Australia to a 5-0 whitewash. After years of turmoil, Johnson had finally gotten the better of the Old Enemy in grand style.   

9) 7/68 vs South Africa, Centurion 2014 - Injurious to Health!

If everybody thought that Ashes 2013/14 was a one-off, they were proven wrong. Johnson's menacing run extended even outside Australia. His first wicket was an indication of how he would brutalise South Africa. Like in 2009, he bowled with venom and injured batsman. Graeme Smith was undone by a brute of a bouncer, Amla, Alviro Petersen and Faf du Plessis found his pace too hot to handle and amidst the carnage, he laid Ryan McLaren low with a concussion. Centurion had witnessed terror and South Africa had no answer. Johnson finished with 12 wickets, including 5/59 in the second innings as the Proteas suffered their first loss at the venue after 14 years. The Aussie went on to pick up 22 wickets in the series to help Australia beat the No.1 ranked Test team 2-1 at their own den.

10) 4/61 vs India, Brisbane 2014 - A two-in-one impact

India faced Johnson's double whammy at the Gabba. Murali Vijay's 144 and Ajinkya Rahane's 81 helped India to 405. Johnson's first impact came with the bat and he proceeded to change the course of the match. Facing a barrage of verbal volleys from the Indian fielders, he shared a 148-run stand with skipper Steven Smith as he turned the match with a blazing 88 off 93 balls. Australia managed a 97-run lead but Johnson was not finished. On a pitch with uneven bounce, he proceeded to dismiss Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane as India collapsed to 224 all out. Australia managed a six-wicket win to regain the Border-Gavaskar trophy.