this stage Johnston was at the peak of his career in terms of bowling average and wickets taken per match. In his 24 Tests to the end of the series, he had taken 111 wickets at 19.22, with Australia winning 19 and losing two. In the Fourth Test in Melbourne, Johnston took match figures of 5/110, removing Weekes in both innings, before coming to the crease in the second innings to partner Doug Ring. Australia were 9/222 in pursuit of 260 for victory, with the series finely poised 2–1. The crowd of 30,000 and the constabulary were resigned to an Australian defeat, with the police officers moving into position to stop the customary pitch invasion at the end of the match. However, the Richmond teammates had other ideas and put together a last wicket partnership of 38, which sealed an Australian victory by one wicket. Ring thought that playing for a draw was impractical, so he decided to attack, while Johnston attempted to hold up his end with a series of defensive shots. The West Indian captain John Goddard placed his fielders halfway to the boundary, allowing Johnston to easily take singles, while Ring was able to clear the infield easily. The Richmond pair thought that Goddard's captaincy was poor. Johnston eventually brought up the winning run by turning Frank Worrell for a single behind square leg, 35 minutes after he came to the crease. As a result, the mayor of Richmond granted the pair the freedom of the city. The scoreboard at Punt Road Oval, Richmond's home ground was named the Ring-Johnston scoreboard in honour of their feat. Johnston took match figures of 3/55 in the Fifth Test as Australia completed the series with a win. Johnston ended the season by taking a total of 7/86 in Victoria's innings win over South Australia. He ended the entire first-class season with 54 wickets at 20.63. Decline 1952–53 series Johnston could not maintain his form in the 1952–53 home series against South Africa. In the three matches leading up the Tests, he took only six wickets at 44.83 for Victoria. Johnston took match figures of 3/83, 2/114 and 2/97 as the first three Tests were won, lost and won, respectively. In the meantime, he took his career-best performance at first-class level, taking 8/52 in the first innings of a match against Queensland, which remained his best first-class innings analysis. He added