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Bill Johnston (cricketer)
Encyclopedia
William Arras Johnston (26 February 1922 – 24 May 2007) was an Australian cricket
er who played in forty Test matches
from 1947 to 1955. A left arm pace bowler, as well as a left arm orthodox spinner
, Johnston was best known as a spearhead of Don Bradman's
undefeated 1948 touring team, well known as "The Invincibles". Johnston headed the wicket-taking lists in both Test and first-class
matches on the tour, and was the last Australian to take over 100 wickets on a tour of England. In recognition of his performances, he was named by Wisden
as one of its Cricketers of the Year
in 1949. The publication stated that "no Australian made a greater personal contribution to the playing success of the 1948 side". Regarded by Bradman as Australia's greatest-ever left-arm bowler, Johnston was noted for his endurance in bowling pace with the new ball and spin when the ball had worn. He became the fastest bowler to reach 100 Test wickets in 1951–52, at the time averaging less than nineteen with the ball. By the end of the season, he had played 24 Tests and contributed 111 wickets. Australia won nineteen and lost only two of these Tests. In 1953, a knee injury forced him to remodel his bowling action, and he became less effective before retiring after aggravating the injury in 1955. In retirement, he worked in sales and marketing, and later ran his own businesses. He had two sons, one of whom became a cricket administrator. Johnston died at the age of 85 in May 2007.
's local team, which competed in the Colac District Association, occasionally had difficulty in assembling a full side. As a result, Johnston made his debut aged only twelve alongside his brother after an invitation from his schoolteacher. On debut, when a draw became a foregone conclusion, Johnston was allowed to bowl the final over, taking a wicket maiden. The following season, the brothers led Beeac's attack, continuing to do so after moving to Colac High School, where Bill became captain of the cricket and football teams and head prefect. Johnston left school at sixteen, working in Colac, before following Allan to Melbourne
in 1939. He joined Richmond Cricket Club
in the Third XI and took 6/16. After five games he was promoted to the Second XI, and made his first grade debut in the last game of the 1939–40 season. The following season, when nineteen, he was selected for Victoria
's Sheffield Shield match against Queensland
, but the Pearl Harbor attacks forced the cancellation of competitive cricket and the match did not go ahead. Johnston joined the Royal Australian Air Force
along with his brother, serving for four years as a radar technician in northern Australia. It was at training camp that he first met Keith Miller
. Johnston was not posted overseas, unlike his brother, who died after crashing his plane in Ireland
.
and entrusted with the responsibility of opening the attack. His maiden wicket was that of leading Test batsman Bill Brown
. Johnston took a total of 1/84 in a ten-wicket win. He felt that the fast bowling was only for short periods with the new ball, and that he would be allowed to revert to spin bowling as the ball became older. He played a total of seven matches for the season and took 12 wickets at 35.08, with his best performance being 4/43 against arch-rivals New South Wales
. As a result, he missed the national selection for the tour to New Zealand
.
As opportunities for slow bowling became infrequent, he contemplated retirement. Although he dismissed Cyril Washbrook
in the first over of Victoria's match against Wally Hammond
's touring England team of 1946–47, he was skeptical about his pace bowling. After that match be did not take a wicket for the next two months. It took further encouragement from Australian captain Don Bradman after he played against Bradman's South Australian
s. Bradman told Johnston that the selectors thought highly of his potential as a medium-fast bowler to reinforce the short bursts of pace spearheads Ray Lindwall
and Keith Miller and that pace bowlers were in short supply, whereas spinners were plentiful. In the same season, Colin McCool
, Ian Johnson
, Bruce Dooland
and George Tribe
had all played in Tests as specialist spinners. Johnston ended the season with only 12 wickets at 33.16 from six matches.
Johnston practised his pace bowling with new vigour, and at the start of the 1947–48 season, the fruits of his labour provided immediate dividends. In the opening match of the season, he delivered an opening burst of 3/0 for Victoria against the touring Indian team, removing Vinoo Mankad, Khandu Rangnekar
and leading batsman Vijay Hazare
, all for ducks
. He took three more wickets in the second innings, to end with a match total of 6/96, including Hazare for the second time. Johnston was then called into an Australian XI that played the Indians before the Tests, in what was effectively a dress rehearsal. Although the hosts lost, Johnston took 6/141, all of his victims being frontline batsmen. In the last outing before the Tests, Johnston took 3/40 and 5/37 to set up a nine-wicket win over New South Wales, including the wickets of Test openers Sid Barnes
and Arthur Morris
with the new ball at the start of the match.
He was rewarded with selection for four of the five Tests against India, making his debut on a sticky wicket in the First Test in Brisbane
. taking 2/17 as India fell for 58 in the first innings and 1/11 in the second as India fell for 98 following on, resulting in an innings defeat. Johnston's first Test wicket was Hemu Adhikari
and he was not required to bat.
He took match figures of 5/48 in the Second Test in a drawn match. He batted for the first time, and remained unbeaten without scoring as Australia collapse to be all out for 107 on sticky wicket
. It was the only time that they conceded a first innings lead in the series, and persistent rain forced a draw.
The Third Test was Johnston's first Test in front of his home crowd of the Melbourne Cricket Ground
. In the first innings, he scored his first runs at Test level, adding five before being run out
. Hee removed both of India's openers, Chandu Sarwate
and Mankad, and ended with 2/33 as Australia took a 103-run first innings lead. In the second innings, he did the same, bowling both players, and ended with 4/44 as Australia won by 233 runs. Johnston missed the Fourth Test in Adelaide due to injury but returned for the Fifth Test in Melbourne where he scored 23 not out and took match figures of 2/29 in another innings victory and Australia ended the summer with a 4–0 win. He headed the series averages with 16 wickets at 11.37. This ensured his selection for the 1948 tour of England as part of Bradman's Invincibles. However, Johnston was less successful outside the Tests, ending the summer with 20 wickets at 21.08.
During the Ashes tour, Johnston roomed with Doug Ring
who was a team-mate in the Richmond
and Victorian cricket teams. As Ring was a leg-spin
bowler, he and Johnston were in direct competition for a place in the eleven. Australia had traditionally fielded its first-choice team in the tour opener, which was customarily against Worcestershire
. When Johnston was omitted in favour of Ring, it appeared he would not be in Bradman's Test plans. Bradman changed his mind on the morning of the First Test in Trent Bridge
when rain was forecast. Johnston was played in the hope of exploiting a wet wicket. He showed his credentials by bowling a total of 84 overs to help Australia to grind out a victory. England batted first and with strike bowler Ray Lindwall
breaking down on the first day, Johnston removed Bill Edrich
and Joe Hardstaff junior
in one over to leave England at 4/46. He returned later in the innings to take 5/36 from 25 overs as England were bowled out for 165. After scoring an unbeaten 17 in a last-wicket partnership of 33, Johnston bowled 59 overs in the second innings to take 4/147 in Lindwall's absence. Johnston bowled the most overs of any player and was the leading wicket-taker for the match as Australia took a 1–0 lead.
He scored his career Test best of 29 in another tail-wagging performance before taking match figures of 4/105 as Australia took a 2–0 lead in the Second Test at Lord's
. Johnston removed Denis Compton
, England's leading run-scorer for the series, in both innings. In an effective containing performance, Johnston took 3/67 in the first innings of the Third Test at Old Trafford in 45.5 overs, before the match ended in a rain-affected draw. After supporting Lindwall in a 48-run partnership in the first innings of the Fourth Test, Johnston took 4/95 in the second innings, including three in the space of 16 runs. Australia went on to break the world record Test run-chases record to take a 3–0 lead. Johnston rounded off the series with match figures of 6/60 in the Fifth Test at The Oval
from 43.3 overs. Johnston took the least three wickets in the match as Australia completed a 4–0 series result with an innings victory. In all, Johnston finished with 27 Test wickets at an average of 23.33, equal to Lindwall.
In both the Test and county matches during the 1948 tour, Johnston carried the heaviest workload, bowling nearly 200 overs more than any other member of the squad. He was the leading wicket-taker with 102 wickets at 16.42, and the last Australian to take a century of wickets on an Ashes tour. His best performances in the tour games included a match haul of 10/40 against Yorkshire
at Bradford
, bowling finger spin on a wet pitch, 8/68 against Somerset
and 11/117 against Hampshire
. After carrying a heavy workload in the early stages of the tour, he was used more sparingly in the latter stages. As the tour progressed Johnston improved his control as he restrained England's batsmen between the new ball bursts of Lindwall and Miller. Johnston finished the season at the top of the first-class bowling averages and was chosen as one of Wisden's Five Cricketers of the Year. Wisden opined that "no Australian made a greater personal contribution to the playing success of the 1948 side". Jack Fingleton
wrote that Australia had never sent a greater left-hander to England.
, Jimmy de Courcy and Jack Moroney
, but was unable to stave off defeat. Apart from a 5/65 against Queensland he never took more than three wickets in an innings for the season. He also managed his highest first-class score, recording 38 against South Australia.
Johnston's next international assignment was the 1949–50 tour to South Africa. The tour started badly; after taking a total of 5/28 in an innings win over Zululand in a non-first-class match, he fell asleep at the wheel outside Durban
following a team function. He missed a turn, skidded across gravel and flipped and crashed his car. After a few hours, medical help arrived and Johnston was hospitalised. The team manager Chappie Dwyer
was mistakenly informed that Johnston had died, and the bowler later described his injury as a "nine-iron divot in the top of my skull". Johnston started coughing up blood, and he and Dwyer sought to have the accident private. However, news was leaked back to Australia, and Johnston's mother fainted; her husband and other son had already died and she was fearful that her lone remaining relative had joined them. After complaining of chest pain, it was later discovered that Johnston had two broken ribs and he had to rest further.
Keith Miller
was called to South Africa as emergency cover, but luckily for the Australias, there were almost two months of warm-up matches before the Tests started. Johnston recovered in time for the final tour match before the Tests, a match against a South African XI, effectively a full-strength Test team. Johnston took 2/81 in his only innings but it was enough for captain Lindsay Hassett
to put him in the Test team.
Johnston took 2/21 in the first innings of the First Test against South Africa at Johannesburg
and the hosts were forced to follow on. He took 6/44 including the last three wickets in the second innings, his career best innings figures in Test cricket, helping Australia take an innings victory and a 1–0 series lead. He removed Owen Wynne
and Jack Cheetham
in both innings. After going wicketless in the first innings, he took three wickets in the Second Test victory at Cape Town
. He then took 11 wickets in the next two tour games, including 6/20 against Border
. Johnston was more prominent in the Third Test at Durban with match figures of 8/114 as Australia took the series 3–0. South Africa had reached 2/242 in their first innings when Johnston removed their captain Dudley Nourse
, precipitating a loss of 8/69 on a sticky wicket as the hosts were bowled out for 311. He ended with 4/75. Australia then collapsed for 75 on a sticky wicket and South Africa had a lead of 321 when they had reached 2/85 in their second innings. Johnston then removed John Nel
and Billy Wade without further addition to the score, sparking a collapse of 8/14 that saw the home team all out for 99. Johnston ended with 4/39 and Australia went on to reach the victory target. On an erratic surface, six of his victims were bowled or lbw.
After taking 5/18 in an innings win over North Eastern Transvaal, Johnston was ineffective in the high-scoring drawn Fourth Test, taking 1/68. He took a total of 6/52 and scored 24 not out against Griqualand West
, and finished the Test campaign with 3/22 in the Fifth Test in Port Elizabeth, taking all his wickets in the second innings as Australia completed an innings victory and took the series 4–0. It was a successful tour for Johnston, with 23 wickets at 17.04, taking the most wickets at the lowest average among the Australian pacemen among those who took more than three wickets. The entire first-class campaign was even more successful; Johnston took a total of 7/37 as the Australians ended their tour with an innings victory over a South African XI. Johnston ended the African summer with 53 wickets at 14.09.
The 1950–51 Ashes series
was Australia's first home series in three years. In the opening match of the season for Victoria against the touring Englishmen, Johnston warmed up by scoring 30 and taking a total of 3/89, including the wickets of leading batsmen Compton and Hutton. In the First Test at Brisbane, England were caught on a sticky wicket and Johnston took 5/35, removing Reg Simpson
, Washbrook, Evans, Compton and Arthur McIntyre, as England declared at 7/68. He then took 2/30 in the second innings, removing Evans and Compton for a second time as Australia won the match to take a 1–0 lead. In the Second Test at the MCG, Johnston took 2/28 and 4/26 as Australia scraped home by 28 runs, defending a target of only 179 on a cracked pitch. Johnston had quiet Third Test with only a total of 1/82 in an innings victory, but he returned to form in the Fourth Test in Adelaide with 3/58 and 4/73 in a 274-run win. He did much of the heavy lifting in the second innings, removing the top four English batsmen, Hutton, Simpson, Washbrook and Compton. Johnston struggled in the final Test with match figures of 1/91 as England won their only Test of their series. Johnston led the wicket takers list, with 22 at 19.18, as Australia took a 4–1 series triumph. Johnston had saved his best performances for the Tests; he managed only 19 wickets at 40.37 in eight matches for Victoria during the season, and never took more than two wickets in an innings. He was particularly unsuccessful against New South Wales, taking a total of 3/190 in two matches. Overall, he took 41 wickets at 29.00 for the season.
The 1951–52 home series was the first tour by the West Indies for two decades decades, and Johnston again led the wicket takers with 23 at 22.08, as Australia won the series 4–1. Johnston started the series steadily with match figures of 3/90 in the First Test, removing vice-captain Jeff Stollmeyer
and leading batsmen Frank Worrell
and Everton Weekes
as Australia scraped home by three wickets.
He then took 3/80 and 2/61 and scored 28 in the Second Test, which Australia won by seven wickets. The Tests were interrupted by two consecutive matches between Victoria and New South Wales. In the first match, Johnston took 6/159 in the only innings of a high-scoring draw, including four Test batsmen. In the following match, he scored 32 before taking career best innings figures of 7/114. He removed Barnes, Morris, Moroney and Miller, before returning to dismiss future Test teammates Richie Benaud
and Alan Davidson
. Nevertheless, New South Wales took a 159-run lead, and after Victoria replied with 416, Johnston struck three times with the new ball, removing Barnes, Morris and Burke. He ended with 3/33 as New South Wales hung on for a draw at 7/166.
Johnston's best match performance came in the only loss in the Third Test at Adelaide
. This happened when captain Lindsay Hassett
was a late withdrawal due to injury, leaving Australia with an unbalanced team with only four specialist batsmen who could not consolidate the work done by the five specialist bowlers. It was in this match that Johnston passed 100 Test wickets, the fastest player to do so. Exploiting a wet patch at the striker's end, Johnston took 6/62 in the first innings as 22 wickets fell on the first day in treacherous batting conditions; however he was unable to stop an Australian defeat, taking only 1/50 in the second innings as the tourists reached their target of 233 with six wickets in hand.
At 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.
In the Fourth Test at Adelaide, both Lindwall and Miller broke down in the middle of match, leaving Australia two bowlers short. In their absence, Johnston took 5/110 and 2/67 but Australia were unable to force a win. He sent down 587 balls for the entire match. Lindwall and Miller were unable to play in the Fifth Test, and in their absence, the South Africans were able to score heavily. Johnston had a large workload, taking 6/152 and 1/114 as the tourists won by six wickets to level the series 2–2. On this occasion, Johnston sent down 662 balls for the match. In the last two Tests, Johnston conceded more than 100 runs in three of the four innings with the increased burden in his colleagues' absence; the only previous occasion when he had conceded a century of runs in an innings was in the First Test against England in 1948 when Lindwall broke down mid-match. Johnston was again Australia's leading wicket-taker with 21 wickets, but his average of 35.10 was substantially higher than in previous seasons, as Australia struggled to a 2–2 series result. It was the first time Australia had not won a Test series since the 1938 Ashes tour
. His best effort against the South Africans was in the second tour match between Victoria and the tourists, in which he totalled 7/122. Aided by his two ten-wicket match hauls against Queensland, Johnston totalled 59 wickets at 26.47 for the season.
After injuring his knee in a festival match at the beginning of the tour at East Molesey
, Johnston attributed the injury to a lack of attention to detail. His new boots had spikes that were longer than usual, and the physiotherapist had failed to strap his ankle before the match. His knee soon failed. Johnston missed the first six first-class matches, and with it a month of cricket. He returned against the Minor Counties in late May and took 3/20 in an innings win. He staked his claim for selection in the final two tour matches before the Tests; he took 4/65 and 3/49 against Sussex
and then led the way in a win over Hampshire, much as he did five years earlier, taking 5/75 and 4/21. He had taken 20 wickets at 13.35 in his four tour matches and was duly selected to play in the First Test at Trent Bridge. He was economical but unpenetrative, conceding 36 runs in 36 overs without taking a wicket in a rain-affected draw. Between Tests, he removed Hutton in both innings of a match against Yorkshire, but it came at a cost; he ended with 4/186. He took match figures of 4/161 in the Second Test but England held on for a draw with three wickets in hand, as a recurrence of the knee injury while fielding intervened again. He then had an operation to remove cartilage in his right knee; this allowed him more leg movement but also destabilised his knee. The same surgeon had operated on Compton's knee. After missing another month of cricket, Johnston returned with a remodelled action, and hauls of 4/51, 6/63 and 6/39 against Surrey
, Glamorgan
and Essex
respectively, saw Johnston return for the Fifth Test at The Oval. Although the pitch was helpful for spin, a total of 74 overs in the match yielded 3/146, as Johnston was unable rekindle the form of 1948 following his knee injury. Compton and Edrich batted cautiously to ensure the victory that saw England reclaim the Ashes 1–0. He managed only seven Test wickets at 49.00, but his first-class form remained strong. After the Tests, Johnston took match figures of 11/73 and 9/124 in consecutive matches against Kent
and the South of England; Australia won both by an innings. He ended with 75 wickets at 20.54 for the entire tour. His injuries were considered a major factor in Australia's loss of the series.
Johnston returned to Australia and participated in the 1953–54 season, which was purely domestic. He continued his recent strong form against Queensland in the first match, taking 4/56 and 5/61 to set up a 254-run win. However, the rest of the season was not so productive; Johnston managed only 20 more wickets in the remaining seven matches at an average of almost 50. He ended the season with 29 wickets at 38.24.
The 1954–55 series against England was to be Johnston's last Test success. He took 19 wickets at 22.26 in the first four Tests before missing the last as England took the low-scoring series 3–1. After going wicketless in the opening season's tour match against the Englishmen, Johnston took a total of 7/122 against South Australia and retained his place in the team. He took 3/106 as Australia won the First Test by an innings.
In the Second Test at Sydney
, Johnston took 3/56 and 3/70 in a low-scoring match, removing Hutton in both innings. He had another notable innings when he joined Neil Harvey
with 78 runs needed for victory on a difficult batting surface against the hostile pace of Frank Tyson
and Brian Statham
. In particular, Tyson was bowling with a strong tailwind and a slips cordon standing around 40 yards behind the bat. They put together a stubborn 39 run tenth-wicket partnership in 40 minutes, which gave Australia hope of an unlikely victory with Harvey still attacking. Harvey felt that Tyson was almost out of energy after a spell of extreme pace, and that the remaining bowlers were not beyond Johnston. However, a Tyson ball that was aimed at the ribcage saw Johnston fend at the ball; he was caught behind for 11, giving England a dramatic victory. After taking 1/26 in the first innings, Johnston took 5/85 in the second innings of his last Test performance in front of his home crowd at the MCG, with some tight spin on a dry surface. He removed [Edrich for 13 and Peter May
for 91 before cleaning up the tail with three quick wickets. This left Australia 240 to win but there was to be no fairytale as England won by 128 runs. Johnston then took match figures of 4/80 in the Fourth Test at Adelaide, in what was to be the his last Test on Australian soil. Australia lost the match and England retained the Ashes; it was Australia's third consecutive Test defeat, the first time they had suffered a hat-trick of defeats since the infamous Bodyline
series of 1932–33. Johnston had less success outside the Tests, which were played on bowler-friendly surfaces. He managed only 13 wickets at 30.38 in five matches.
His career ended unhappily on Australia's first ever tour to the West Indies. He took match figures of 2/126 in the First Test in Kingston
, Jamaica in a high-scoring win. These were to be his last Test wickets as he took a total of 0/60 in the Second Test in Trinidad
. He was retained for the Third Test but injured himself early in the match while fielding and neither batted nor bowled. He was injured for the next month and missed the Fourth Test but returned for the Fifth. Early on the first day he suffered yet another knee injury as he changed direction while attempting to catch a Clyde Walcott
pull shot. His teammates Alan Davidson
and Peter Burge removed a bench from the dressing room wall and used it as an improvised stretcher to carry Johnston from the ground; his Test career ended without bowling or batting in either of his last two matches. His final Test wicket had been that of Lance Gibbs
in the second innings of the First Test. In six first-class matches for the tour, he managed only nine wickets at 51.00.
Johnston retired from first-class cricket after the tour, but played grade cricket for Richmond until the end of 1958–59, taking 452 wickets at 16.61 in his grade career.
Standing 188 cm, Johnston had a smooth ten-pace approach to the wicket, with an idiosyncratic dip of his head before the instant of delivery. He had success on moist English pitches, with deliveries from over the wicket because of the increased chances of leg before wicket
decisions and to induce edges from balls angling across the batsmen. His stock ball swung into the right-hander, but he mixed this with an away swinger. The late swing in flight which generated the batsman's uncertainty over the direction in which the ball would move was responsible for the majority of Johnston's wickets in England. Although his pace was lower than that generated by Lindwall or Miller, he was noted for his accuracy and ability to revert to spin bowling on sticky wickets. Nevertheless, his casual run-up belied a deceptive pace. He possessed strong hands, attributed to his milking of the family's cattle herd. Johnston was an economical bowler, conceding only 2.07 runs per over. He was known for his elbow movement and flailing arms during his delivery action, with one commentator noting "one of these days an umpire will get a poke in the eye". Johnston also had a reputation of visibly enjoying himself on field, putting his hand on his hips and grinning, regardless of the result of his delivery. According to teammate Alan Walker
, Johnston bowled at least as many bouncers
as his colleagues, but because of his happy nature, observers thought that he eschewed the short ball.
His feet position were peculiar in that his front foot was parallel to the crease and his back foot perpendicular, the opposite of the conventional posture. This inhibited his follow through and put more stress on his ankles and shins. As a result, his right ankle had to be bound tightly in order to prevent jarring from his awkward delivery. He also followed the recommendation of Bill O'Reilly
and tied a towel around his shins to cut off the circulation and the dull the pain. After the knee injury, he altered his action into a more conventional one so that his front foot pointed towards the batsman. This eased the pressure on his body, but his ability to move the ball diminished. Johnston was a keen student of the game, and although he did not see a state match until his debut, and watched only one Test before his debut, he supplemented his knowledge by reading cricket books. During his early first-class career, upon returning from matches, he would read articles by Bradman, Bert Oldfield
and Arthur Mailey
from a book given to him by his schoolteacher when he was a schoolboy.
Bradman rated him as "Australia's greatest left-hand bowler". As a result of his ability to bowl spin and pace, teammate Neil Harvey noted that the team effectively had 13 players:"we reckoned Bradman was worth two and Bill Johnston was worth two". Harvey felt that Johnston was the best team man, and Bill Brown
noted Johnston's work ethic in bowling for long periods after Lindwall and Miller were given the best opportunities with the new ball. Ian Johnson
described him as "the finest team man and tourist" in cricket and valued his personality, while Miller described him as "the most popular man in cricket". He sometimes amused others by demonstrating his double jointedness, wrapping his feet around the back of his neck. He is reputed to have nearly drowned when he attempted this in the bath at Lord's.
Johnston had a reputation as a poor batsman, averaging less than 13 in Tests and first-class matches without making a half century. He headed the averages in England in 1953, being not out 16 times out of 17 and averaging 102.00. He attributed this to "a lot of application, concentration and dedication", stating that "class always tells". When Hassett realised that Johnston was atop the batting averages, he told Johnston to tell the opposing captain of this fact and ask them to refrain from dismissing him. In the last match against T. N. Pearce's XI at Scarborough, English Test paceman Alec Bedser
bowled wide of the stumps and advised Johnston not to do anything that would lose him his wicket. In 1954-55 he made 39 for the last wicket with Neil Harvey
as they chased 78 for victory before he edged Frank Tyson
to the wicket-keeper Godfrey Evans
.
after he and his wife moved there. Outside cricket, Johnston also played baseball
to a high standard. He won the world's junior championship for throwing a distance of 125 yards (114.3 m), and he broke the national baseball long distance record with a 132 yards (120.7 m) throw in September 1945.
He was married to Judy and they had two sons David and Peter. At his wedding in St. Paul's
Anglican
Cathedral in Melbourne, Catholic guests, including captain Lindsay Hassett were not permitted entry. David Johnston
played 10 matches for South Australia as first-class level, and later became an administrator and was the Chief Executive of the Tasmanian Cricket Association at the time of his father's death.
After the death of his wife in 2004, Johnston moved from the Gold Coast to a Sydney nursing home to be close to his son Peter. He died peacefully in a Sydney nursing home on 25 May 2007.
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er who played in forty Test matches
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
from 1947 to 1955. A left arm pace bowler, as well as a left arm orthodox spinner
Spin bowling
Spin bowling is a technique used for bowling in the sport of cricket. Practitioners are known as spinners or spin bowlers.-Purpose:The main aim of spin bowling is to bowl the cricket ball with rapid rotation so that when it bounces on the pitch it will deviate, thus making it difficult for the...
, Johnston was best known as a spearhead of Don Bradman's
Donald Bradman
Sir Donald George Bradman, AC , often referred to as "The Don", was an Australian cricketer, widely acknowledged as the greatest batsman of all time...
undefeated 1948 touring team, well known as "The Invincibles". Johnston headed the wicket-taking lists in both Test and first-class
First-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
matches on the tour, and was the last Australian to take over 100 wickets on a tour of England. In recognition of his performances, he was named by Wisden
Wisden
The Wisden Group was a group of companies formed by John Wisden & Co Ltd, publishers of Wisden Cricketers' Almanack. As well as John Wisden & Co, the group included the The Wisden Cricketer magazine, Cricinfo – the world's highest traffic cricket website – and the Hawk-Eye computerised...
as one of its Cricketers of the Year
Wisden Cricketers of the Year
The Wisden Cricketers of the Year are cricketers selected for the honour by the annual publication Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, based primarily on their "influence on the previous English season"...
in 1949. The publication stated that "no Australian made a greater personal contribution to the playing success of the 1948 side". Regarded by Bradman as Australia's greatest-ever left-arm bowler, Johnston was noted for his endurance in bowling pace with the new ball and spin when the ball had worn. He became the fastest bowler to reach 100 Test wickets in 1951–52, at the time averaging less than nineteen with the ball. By the end of the season, he had played 24 Tests and contributed 111 wickets. Australia won nineteen and lost only two of these Tests. In 1953, a knee injury forced him to remodel his bowling action, and he became less effective before retiring after aggravating the injury in 1955. In retirement, he worked in sales and marketing, and later ran his own businesses. He had two sons, one of whom became a cricket administrator. Johnston died at the age of 85 in May 2007.
Early years
Johnston took up cricket from an early age, playing with his elder brother Allan throughout the year on a backyard pitch on the family's dairy farm, owned by his father. BeeacBeeac, Victoria
Beeac is a town in the Western District of Victoria, Australia. The town is located on the shore of the hyper saline Lake Beeac in the Colac Otway Shire Local Government Area, 160 kilometres south of the state capital, Melbourne...
's local team, which competed in the Colac District Association, occasionally had difficulty in assembling a full side. As a result, Johnston made his debut aged only twelve alongside his brother after an invitation from his schoolteacher. On debut, when a draw became a foregone conclusion, Johnston was allowed to bowl the final over, taking a wicket maiden. The following season, the brothers led Beeac's attack, continuing to do so after moving to Colac High School, where Bill became captain of the cricket and football teams and head prefect. Johnston left school at sixteen, working in Colac, before following Allan to Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
in 1939. He joined Richmond Cricket Club
Richmond Cricket Club
This article concerns the Richmond club in Australia. For the English club of the same name, see Richmond Cricket Club, SurreyThe Richmond Cricket Club is an Australian cricket club based in Richmond, an inner suburb of Melbourne, Victoria....
in the Third XI and took 6/16. After five games he was promoted to the Second XI, and made his first grade debut in the last game of the 1939–40 season. The following season, when nineteen, he was selected for Victoria
Victorian Bushrangers
The Victorian cricket team, nicknamed the Bushrangers, is an Australian cricket team based in Melbourne, that represents the state of Victoria. It is administered by Cricket Victoria and draws its players from Melbourne's Premier Cricket competition...
's Sheffield Shield match against Queensland
Queensland Bulls
The Queensland cricket team, nicknamed the Bulls, are the Brisbane-based Queensland representative cricket team in Australia's domestic cricket tournaments:*Sheffield Shield, 4-day matches with first-class status, since the 1926/27 season...
, but the Pearl Harbor attacks forced the cancellation of competitive cricket and the match did not go ahead. Johnston joined the Royal Australian Air Force
Royal Australian Air Force
The Royal Australian Air Force is the air force branch of the Australian Defence Force. The RAAF was formed in March 1921. It continues the traditions of the Australian Flying Corps , which was formed on 22 October 1912. The RAAF has taken part in many of the 20th century's major conflicts...
along with his brother, serving for four years as a radar technician in northern Australia. It was at training camp that he first met Keith Miller
Keith Miller
Keith Ross Miller MBE was an Australian Test cricketer and a Royal Australian Air Force pilot during World War II. Miller is widely regarded as Australia's greatest ever all-rounder. Because of his ability, irreverent manner and good looks he was a crowd favourite...
. Johnston was not posted overseas, unlike his brother, who died after crashing his plane in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
.
First class and Test debut
Prior to the Second World War, Johnston was a slow-medium and left arm orthodox spin bowler, but during a practice session, he bowled a quicker ball to Jack Ryder a former Australian captain and Test batsman, who was now a Victorian and national selector. This prompted Ryder to wage a personal campaign to induce Johnston to become a pace bowler. At the same time, Richmond captain Jack Ledward wanted him to bowl spin. Upon the resumption of first-class cricket in 1945–46, Johnston made his first-class debut against QueenslandQueensland Bulls
The Queensland cricket team, nicknamed the Bulls, are the Brisbane-based Queensland representative cricket team in Australia's domestic cricket tournaments:*Sheffield Shield, 4-day matches with first-class status, since the 1926/27 season...
and entrusted with the responsibility of opening the attack. His maiden wicket was that of leading Test batsman Bill Brown
Bill Brown (cricketer)
William Alfred "Bill" Brown, OAM was an Australian cricketer who played 22 Tests between 1934 and 1948, captaining his country in one Test. A right-handed opening batsman, his partnership with Jack Fingleton in the 1930s is regarded as one of the finest in Australian Test history...
. Johnston took a total of 1/84 in a ten-wicket win. He felt that the fast bowling was only for short periods with the new ball, and that he would be allowed to revert to spin bowling as the ball became older. He played a total of seven matches for the season and took 12 wickets at 35.08, with his best performance being 4/43 against arch-rivals New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
. As a result, he missed the national selection for the tour to New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
.
As opportunities for slow bowling became infrequent, he contemplated retirement. Although he dismissed Cyril Washbrook
Cyril Washbrook
Cyril Washbrook was an English cricketer, who played for Lancashire and England. He had a long career, split by World War II, and ending when he was aged 44. Washbrook, who is most famous for opening the batting for England with Len Hutton, which he did fifty one times, played a total of 592...
in the first over of Victoria's match against Wally Hammond
Wally Hammond
Walter Reginald "Wally" Hammond was an English Test cricketer who played for Gloucestershire in a career that lasted from 1920 to 1951. Beginning his career as a professional, he later became an amateur and was appointed captain of England...
's touring England team of 1946–47, he was skeptical about his pace bowling. After that match be did not take a wicket for the next two months. It took further encouragement from Australian captain Don Bradman after he played against Bradman's South Australian
Southern Redbacks
The South Australia cricket team, nicknamed the Southern Redbacks and known as the West End Redbacks due to their sponsorship agreement with local brewers West End, are an Australian first class cricket team based in Adelaide, South Australia, and represent the state of South Australia...
s. Bradman told Johnston that the selectors thought highly of his potential as a medium-fast bowler to reinforce the short bursts of pace spearheads Ray Lindwall
Ray Lindwall
Raymond Russell Lindwall MBE was a cricketer who represented Australia in 61 Tests from 1946 to 1960. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest fast bowlers of all time. He also played top-flight rugby league football with St...
and Keith Miller and that pace bowlers were in short supply, whereas spinners were plentiful. In the same season, Colin McCool
Colin McCool
Colin Leslie McCool was an Australian cricketer who played in 14 Tests from 1946 to 1950. McCool, born in Paddington, New South Wales, was an all-rounder who bowled leg spin and googlies with a round arm action and as a lower order batsman was regarded as effective square of the wicket and against...
, Ian Johnson
Ian Johnson (cricketer)
Ian William Geddes Johnson CBE was an Australian cricketer who played 45 Test matches as a slow off-break bowler between 1946 and 1956. Johnson captured 109 Test wickets at an average of 29.19 runs per wicket and as a lower order batsman made 1,000 runs at an average of...
, Bruce Dooland
Bruce Dooland
Bruce Dooland was an Australian cricketer who played in 3 Tests from 1947 to 1948....
and George Tribe
George Tribe
George Edward Tribe was an Australian cricketer who played in 3 Tests from 1946 to 1947, as well as an Australian rules footballer with the Footscray Football Club in the VFL....
had all played in Tests as specialist spinners. Johnston ended the season with only 12 wickets at 33.16 from six matches.
Johnston practised his pace bowling with new vigour, and at the start of the 1947–48 season, the fruits of his labour provided immediate dividends. In the opening match of the season, he delivered an opening burst of 3/0 for Victoria against the touring Indian team, removing Vinoo Mankad, Khandu Rangnekar
Khandu Rangnekar
Khanderao Moreshwar 'Khandu' Rangnekar was an Indian Test cricketer. Rangnekar was an attacking batsman who was considered the best Indian left-hander of his time...
and leading batsman Vijay Hazare
Vijay Hazare
Vijay Samuel Hazare was an Indian cricket player from the state of Maharashtra. He captained the Indian cricket team in 14 matches between 1951 and 1953...
, all for ducks
Duck (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a duck refers to a batsman's dismissal for a score of zero.-Origin of the term:The term is a shortening of the term "duck's egg", the latter being used long before Test cricket began...
. He took three more wickets in the second innings, to end with a match total of 6/96, including Hazare for the second time. Johnston was then called into an Australian XI that played the Indians before the Tests, in what was effectively a dress rehearsal. Although the hosts lost, Johnston took 6/141, all of his victims being frontline batsmen. In the last outing before the Tests, Johnston took 3/40 and 5/37 to set up a nine-wicket win over New South Wales, including the wickets of Test openers Sid Barnes
Sid Barnes
Sidney George Barnes was an Australian cricketer and cricket writer, who played 13 Test matches between 1938 and 1948. Able to open the innings or bat down the order, Barnes was regarded as one of Australia's finest batsmen in the period immediately following the Second World War...
and Arthur Morris
Arthur Morris
Arthur Robert Morris MBE is a former Australian cricketer who played 46 Test matches between 1946 and 1955. An opener, Morris is regarded as one of Australia's greatest left-handed batsmen. He is best known for his key role in Don Bradman's Invincibles side, which made an undefeated tour of...
with the new ball at the start of the match.
He was rewarded with selection for four of the five Tests against India, making his debut on a sticky wicket in the First Test in Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
. taking 2/17 as India fell for 58 in the first innings and 1/11 in the second as India fell for 98 following on, resulting in an innings defeat. Johnston's first Test wicket was Hemu Adhikari
Hemu Adhikari
Colonel Hemchandra Ramachandra Adhikari was an Indian cricketer, representing his country as both a player and coach in a career that spanned three decades....
and he was not required to bat.
He took match figures of 5/48 in the Second Test in a drawn match. He batted for the first time, and remained unbeaten without scoring as Australia collapse to be all out for 107 on sticky wicket
Sticky wicket
Sticky wicket is a metaphor used to describe a difficult circumstance; it originates from difficult circumstances in the sport of cricket.-Origins:...
. It was the only time that they conceded a first innings lead in the series, and persistent rain forced a draw.
The Third Test was Johnston's first Test in front of his home crowd of the Melbourne Cricket Ground
Melbourne Cricket Ground
The Melbourne Cricket Ground is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne and is home to the Melbourne Cricket Club. It is the tenth largest stadium in the world, the largest in Australia, the largest stadium for playing cricket, and holds the world record for the highest light...
. In the first innings, he scored his first runs at Test level, adding five before being run out
Run out
Run out is a method of dismissal in the sport of cricket. It is governed by Law 38 of the Laws of cricket.-The rules:A batsman is out Run out if at any time while the ball is in play no part of his bat or person is grounded behind the popping crease and his wicket is fairly put down by the opposing...
. Hee removed both of India's openers, Chandu Sarwate
Chandu Sarwate
Chandrasekhar Trimbak Sarwate was an Indian cricketer. He was an all-rounder who played nine Test matches for India between 1946 and 1951 without much success — his Test batting average was only 13.00, and his Test bowling average was 124.66...
and Mankad, and ended with 2/33 as Australia took a 103-run first innings lead. In the second innings, he did the same, bowling both players, and ended with 4/44 as Australia won by 233 runs. Johnston missed the Fourth Test in Adelaide due to injury but returned for the Fifth Test in Melbourne where he scored 23 not out and took match figures of 2/29 in another innings victory and Australia ended the summer with a 4–0 win. He headed the series averages with 16 wickets at 11.37. This ensured his selection for the 1948 tour of England as part of Bradman's Invincibles. However, Johnston was less successful outside the Tests, ending the summer with 20 wickets at 21.08.
Invincibles tour
Doug Ring
Douglas Thomas Ring was an Australian cricketer who played for Victoria and Australia in 13 Tests from 1948 to 1953...
who was a team-mate in the Richmond
Richmond Cricket Club
This article concerns the Richmond club in Australia. For the English club of the same name, see Richmond Cricket Club, SurreyThe Richmond Cricket Club is an Australian cricket club based in Richmond, an inner suburb of Melbourne, Victoria....
and Victorian cricket teams. As Ring was a leg-spin
Leg spin
Leg spin is a type of spin bowling in the sport of cricket. A leg spinner bowls right-arm with a wrist spin action, causing the ball to spin from right to left in the cricket pitch, at the point of delivery. When the ball bounces, the spin causes the ball to deviate sharply from right to left, that...
bowler, he and Johnston were in direct competition for a place in the eleven. Australia had traditionally fielded its first-choice team in the tour opener, which was customarily against Worcestershire
Worcestershire County Cricket Club
Worcestershire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Worcestershire...
. When Johnston was omitted in favour of Ring, it appeared he would not be in Bradman's Test plans. Bradman changed his mind on the morning of the First Test in Trent Bridge
Trent Bridge
Trent Bridge is a Test, One-day international and County cricket ground located in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England and is also the headquarters of Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club. As well as International cricket and Nottinghamshire's home games, the ground has hosted the Finals Day of...
when rain was forecast. Johnston was played in the hope of exploiting a wet wicket. He showed his credentials by bowling a total of 84 overs to help Australia to grind out a victory. England batted first and with strike bowler Ray Lindwall
Ray Lindwall
Raymond Russell Lindwall MBE was a cricketer who represented Australia in 61 Tests from 1946 to 1960. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest fast bowlers of all time. He also played top-flight rugby league football with St...
breaking down on the first day, Johnston removed Bill Edrich
Bill Edrich
William John "Bill" Edrich DFC was a distinguished cricketer who played for Middlesex, MCC, Norfolk and England.Edrich's three brothers, Brian, Eric and Geoff, and also his cousin, John, all played first-class cricket...
and Joe Hardstaff junior
Joe Hardstaff junior
Joseph Hardstaff junior was an English cricketer, who played in twenty three Tests for England from 1935 to 1948...
in one over to leave England at 4/46. He returned later in the innings to take 5/36 from 25 overs as England were bowled out for 165. After scoring an unbeaten 17 in a last-wicket partnership of 33, Johnston bowled 59 overs in the second innings to take 4/147 in Lindwall's absence. Johnston bowled the most overs of any player and was the leading wicket-taker for the match as Australia took a 1–0 lead.
He scored his career Test best of 29 in another tail-wagging performance before taking match figures of 4/105 as Australia took a 2–0 lead in the Second Test at Lord's
Lord's Cricket Ground
Lord's Cricket Ground is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and Wales Cricket Board , the European Cricket Council and, until August 2005, the...
. Johnston removed Denis Compton
Denis Compton
Denis Charles Scott Compton CBE was an English cricketer who played in 78 Test matches, and a footballer...
, England's leading run-scorer for the series, in both innings. In an effective containing performance, Johnston took 3/67 in the first innings of the Third Test at Old Trafford in 45.5 overs, before the match ended in a rain-affected draw. After supporting Lindwall in a 48-run partnership in the first innings of the Fourth Test, Johnston took 4/95 in the second innings, including three in the space of 16 runs. Australia went on to break the world record Test run-chases record to take a 3–0 lead. Johnston rounded off the series with match figures of 6/60 in the Fifth Test at The Oval
The Oval
The Kia Oval, still commonly referred to by its original name of The Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, in the London Borough of Lambeth. In the past it was also sometimes called the Kennington Oval...
from 43.3 overs. Johnston took the least three wickets in the match as Australia completed a 4–0 series result with an innings victory. In all, Johnston finished with 27 Test wickets at an average of 23.33, equal to Lindwall.
In both the Test and county matches during the 1948 tour, Johnston carried the heaviest workload, bowling nearly 200 overs more than any other member of the squad. He was the leading wicket-taker with 102 wickets at 16.42, and the last Australian to take a century of wickets on an Ashes tour. His best performances in the tour games included a match haul of 10/40 against Yorkshire
Yorkshire County Cricket Club
Yorkshire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Yorkshire as one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure....
at Bradford
Bradford
Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...
, bowling finger spin on a wet pitch, 8/68 against Somerset
Somerset County Cricket Club
Somerset County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Somerset...
and 11/117 against Hampshire
Hampshire County Cricket Club
Hampshire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Hampshire in cricket's County Championship. The club was founded in 1863 as a successor to the Hampshire county cricket teams and has played at the Antelope Ground from then until 1885, before moving to the County Ground where it...
. After carrying a heavy workload in the early stages of the tour, he was used more sparingly in the latter stages. As the tour progressed Johnston improved his control as he restrained England's batsmen between the new ball bursts of Lindwall and Miller. Johnston finished the season at the top of the first-class bowling averages and was chosen as one of Wisden's Five Cricketers of the Year. Wisden opined that "no Australian made a greater personal contribution to the playing success of the 1948 side". Jack Fingleton
Jack Fingleton
John "Jack" Henry Webb Fingleton OBE was an Australian cricketer who was trained as a journalist and became a political and cricket commentator after the end of his playing career...
wrote that Australia had never sent a greater left-hander to England.
Later career
Upon returning to Australia, Johnston played in the 1948–49 Australian season, which was purely domestic with no visiting international teams. He took a total of 32 wickets at 31.84 in nine matches. He saved his best performance for New South Wales. He took 3/47 and 5/62 and his wickets included future Test batsmen Jim BurkeJim Burke (cricketer)
James Wallace Burke was an Australian cricketer who played in 24 Tests from 1951 to 1959.- Early years :...
, Jimmy de Courcy and Jack Moroney
Jack Moroney
Jack Moroney was a slow-scoring Australian batsman who toured South Africa with success in 1949-50, making his maiden Test century. He failed in the First Test of the 1950-51 Ashes series, making a pair when Australia were reduced to 228 on a good batting wicket in the first innings and 32/7 on a...
, but was unable to stave off defeat. Apart from a 5/65 against Queensland he never took more than three wickets in an innings for the season. He also managed his highest first-class score, recording 38 against South Australia.
Johnston's next international assignment was the 1949–50 tour to South Africa. The tour started badly; after taking a total of 5/28 in an innings win over Zululand in a non-first-class match, he fell asleep at the wheel outside Durban
Durban
Durban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism...
following a team function. He missed a turn, skidded across gravel and flipped and crashed his car. After a few hours, medical help arrived and Johnston was hospitalised. The team manager Chappie Dwyer
Chappie Dwyer
Edmund Alfred Dwyer was an Australian cricketer and national selector. Dwyer was born in Mosman, Sydney and played for the New South Wales cricket team for three first-class cricket matches as a right-handed batsmen.-Career:Dwyer played his three matches for NSW sporadically between the end of the...
was mistakenly informed that Johnston had died, and the bowler later described his injury as a "nine-iron divot in the top of my skull". Johnston started coughing up blood, and he and Dwyer sought to have the accident private. However, news was leaked back to Australia, and Johnston's mother fainted; her husband and other son had already died and she was fearful that her lone remaining relative had joined them. After complaining of chest pain, it was later discovered that Johnston had two broken ribs and he had to rest further.
Keith Miller
Keith Miller
Keith Ross Miller MBE was an Australian Test cricketer and a Royal Australian Air Force pilot during World War II. Miller is widely regarded as Australia's greatest ever all-rounder. Because of his ability, irreverent manner and good looks he was a crowd favourite...
was called to South Africa as emergency cover, but luckily for the Australias, there were almost two months of warm-up matches before the Tests started. Johnston recovered in time for the final tour match before the Tests, a match against a South African XI, effectively a full-strength Test team. Johnston took 2/81 in his only innings but it was enough for captain Lindsay Hassett
Lindsay Hassett
Arthur Lindsay Hassett MBE was a cricketer who played for Victoria and Australia. The diminutive Hassett was an elegant middle-order batsman, described by Wisden as, "... a master of nearly every stroke ... his superb timing, nimble footwork and strong wrists enabled him to make batting look a...
to put him in the Test team.
Johnston took 2/21 in the first innings of the First Test against South Africa at Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
and the hosts were forced to follow on. He took 6/44 including the last three wickets in the second innings, his career best innings figures in Test cricket, helping Australia take an innings victory and a 1–0 series lead. He removed Owen Wynne
Owen Wynne
Owen Edgar Wynne was a South African cricketer who played in 6 Tests from 1948 to 1950....
and Jack Cheetham
Jack Cheetham
John Erskine Cheetham was a South African cricketer who played in 24 Tests from 1949 to 1955...
in both innings. After going wicketless in the first innings, he took three wickets in the Second Test victory at Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
. He then took 11 wickets in the next two tour games, including 6/20 against Border
Border cricket team
Border cricket team is the team representing the Border province in domestic first-class cricket in South Africa. The team began playing in March 1898....
. Johnston was more prominent in the Third Test at Durban with match figures of 8/114 as Australia took the series 3–0. South Africa had reached 2/242 in their first innings when Johnston removed their captain Dudley Nourse
Dudley Nourse
Arthur Dudley Nourse was a South African Test cricketer and batsmanThe son of batsman Arthur Nourse, Nourse played 34 Test matches in a long career of sixteen years...
, precipitating a loss of 8/69 on a sticky wicket as the hosts were bowled out for 311. He ended with 4/75. Australia then collapsed for 75 on a sticky wicket and South Africa had a lead of 321 when they had reached 2/85 in their second innings. Johnston then removed John Nel
John Nel
John Desmond Nel is a former South African cricketer who played in six Tests from 1949 to 1957. He has three sons Paul, Andrew and John who live in South Africa and one daughter who now lives in New Zealand. All of his sons went to Rondebosch Junior and High school...
and Billy Wade without further addition to the score, sparking a collapse of 8/14 that saw the home team all out for 99. Johnston ended with 4/39 and Australia went on to reach the victory target. On an erratic surface, six of his victims were bowled or lbw.
After taking 5/18 in an innings win over North Eastern Transvaal, Johnston was ineffective in the high-scoring drawn Fourth Test, taking 1/68. He took a total of 6/52 and scored 24 not out against Griqualand West
Griqualand West cricket team
The Griqualand West cricket team is the first-class cricket team that represents the province of Griqualand West in South Africa. For the purposes of the SuperSport Series, Griqualand West has merged with Free State to form the Eagles from October 2004....
, and finished the Test campaign with 3/22 in the Fifth Test in Port Elizabeth, taking all his wickets in the second innings as Australia completed an innings victory and took the series 4–0. It was a successful tour for Johnston, with 23 wickets at 17.04, taking the most wickets at the lowest average among the Australian pacemen among those who took more than three wickets. The entire first-class campaign was even more successful; Johnston took a total of 7/37 as the Australians ended their tour with an innings victory over a South African XI. Johnston ended the African summer with 53 wickets at 14.09.
The 1950–51 Ashes series
1950–51 Ashes series
The 1950–51 Ashes series consisted of five cricket Test matches, each of six days with five hours play each day and eight ball overs. It formed part of the MCC tour of Australia in 1950–51 and the matches outside the Tests were played in the name of the Marylebone Cricket Club...
was Australia's first home series in three years. In the opening match of the season for Victoria against the touring Englishmen, Johnston warmed up by scoring 30 and taking a total of 3/89, including the wickets of leading batsmen Compton and Hutton. In the First Test at Brisbane, England were caught on a sticky wicket and Johnston took 5/35, removing Reg Simpson
Reg Simpson
Reginald Thomas Simpson is an English former cricketer, who played in twentry seven Tests from 1948 to 1955.-Life and career:...
, Washbrook, Evans, Compton and Arthur McIntyre, as England declared at 7/68. He then took 2/30 in the second innings, removing Evans and Compton for a second time as Australia won the match to take a 1–0 lead. In the Second Test at the MCG, Johnston took 2/28 and 4/26 as Australia scraped home by 28 runs, defending a target of only 179 on a cracked pitch. Johnston had quiet Third Test with only a total of 1/82 in an innings victory, but he returned to form in the Fourth Test in Adelaide with 3/58 and 4/73 in a 274-run win. He did much of the heavy lifting in the second innings, removing the top four English batsmen, Hutton, Simpson, Washbrook and Compton. Johnston struggled in the final Test with match figures of 1/91 as England won their only Test of their series. Johnston led the wicket takers list, with 22 at 19.18, as Australia took a 4–1 series triumph. Johnston had saved his best performances for the Tests; he managed only 19 wickets at 40.37 in eight matches for Victoria during the season, and never took more than two wickets in an innings. He was particularly unsuccessful against New South Wales, taking a total of 3/190 in two matches. Overall, he took 41 wickets at 29.00 for the season.
Jeff Stollmeyer
Jeffrey Baxter Stollmeyer was a Trinidad and Tobago cricketer and footballer. He played 32 Tests for the West Indies, captaining 13 of these....
and leading batsmen Frank Worrell
Frank Worrell
Sir Frank Mortimer Maglinne Worrell is sometimes referred to by his nickname of Tae and was a West Indies cricketer and Jamaican senator...
and Everton Weekes
Everton Weekes
Sir Everton DeCourcy Weekes, KCMG, GCM, OBE is a leading former West Indian cricketer. Along with Frank Worrell and Clyde Walcott, he formed what was known as "The Three Ws" of West Indian cricket.-Youth and early career:...
as Australia scraped home by three wickets.
He then took 3/80 and 2/61 and scored 28 in the Second Test, which Australia won by seven wickets. The Tests were interrupted by two consecutive matches between Victoria and New South Wales. In the first match, Johnston took 6/159 in the only innings of a high-scoring draw, including four Test batsmen. In the following match, he scored 32 before taking career best innings figures of 7/114. He removed Barnes, Morris, Moroney and Miller, before returning to dismiss future Test teammates Richie Benaud
Richie Benaud
Richard "Richie" Benaud OBE is a former Australian cricketer who, since his retirement from international cricket in 1964, has become a highly regarded commentator on the game....
and Alan Davidson
Alan Davidson (cricketer)
Alan Keith Davidson, AM, MBE is a former Australian cricketer of the 1950s and 1960s. He was an all rounder: a hard-hitting lower-order left-handed batsman, and an outstanding left-arm fast-medium opening bowler...
. Nevertheless, New South Wales took a 159-run lead, and after Victoria replied with 416, Johnston struck three times with the new ball, removing Barnes, Morris and Burke. He ended with 3/33 as New South Wales hung on for a draw at 7/166.
Johnston's best match performance came in the only loss in the Third Test at Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
. This happened when captain Lindsay Hassett
Lindsay Hassett
Arthur Lindsay Hassett MBE was a cricketer who played for Victoria and Australia. The diminutive Hassett was an elegant middle-order batsman, described by Wisden as, "... a master of nearly every stroke ... his superb timing, nimble footwork and strong wrists enabled him to make batting look a...
was a late withdrawal due to injury, leaving Australia with an unbalanced team with only four specialist batsmen who could not consolidate the work done by the five specialist bowlers. It was in this match that Johnston passed 100 Test wickets, the fastest player to do so. Exploiting a wet patch at the striker's end, Johnston took 6/62 in the first innings as 22 wickets fell on the first day in treacherous batting conditions; however he was unable to stop an Australian defeat, taking only 1/50 in the second innings as the tourists reached their target of 233 with six wickets in hand.
At 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
Frank Worrell
Sir Frank Mortimer Maglinne Worrell is sometimes referred to by his nickname of Tae and was a West Indies cricketer and Jamaican senator...
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
Freedom of the City
Freedom of the City is an honour bestowed by some municipalities in Australia, Canada, Ireland, France, Italy, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain, the United Kingdom, Gibraltar and Rhodesia to esteemed members of its community and to organisations to be honoured, often for service to the community;...
. The scoreboard at Punt Road Oval
Punt Road Oval
Punt Road Oval is a sporting ground located in Yarra Park, East Melbourne, Victoria situated only a few hundred metres to the east of the famous Melbourne Cricket Ground....
, 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
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 2/59 in the second innings to help set up a nine-wicket win. In the return match, he took 4/92 and 6/54 to set up a seven-wicket win, with six of his victims being Test players.In the Fourth Test at Adelaide, both Lindwall and Miller broke down in the middle of match, leaving Australia two bowlers short. In their absence, Johnston took 5/110 and 2/67 but Australia were unable to force a win. He sent down 587 balls for the entire match. Lindwall and Miller were unable to play in the Fifth Test, and in their absence, the South Africans were able to score heavily. Johnston had a large workload, taking 6/152 and 1/114 as the tourists won by six wickets to level the series 2–2. On this occasion, Johnston sent down 662 balls for the match. In the last two Tests, Johnston conceded more than 100 runs in three of the four innings with the increased burden in his colleagues' absence; the only previous occasion when he had conceded a century of runs in an innings was in the First Test against England in 1948 when Lindwall broke down mid-match. Johnston was again Australia's leading wicket-taker with 21 wickets, but his average of 35.10 was substantially higher than in previous seasons, as Australia struggled to a 2–2 series result. It was the first time Australia had not won a Test series since the 1938 Ashes tour
Australian cricket team in England in 1938
The 1938 Ashes series between Australia and England was drawn. England and Australia won a Test each, with two of the other Tests drawn and the third game of the series, scheduled for Manchester, abandoned without a ball being bowled, only the second instance of this in more than 60 years of Test...
. His best effort against the South Africans was in the second tour match between Victoria and the tourists, in which he totalled 7/122. Aided by his two ten-wicket match hauls against Queensland, Johnston totalled 59 wickets at 26.47 for the season.
After injuring his knee in a festival match at the beginning of the tour at East Molesey
East Molesey Cricket Club
East Molesey Cricket Club is a cricket club in Molesey, Surrey. It was established in 1871, although cricket has been played at the Moulsey Hurst since 1731. East Molesey's current ground, 'The Memorial Ground', has been the home for the Surrey club since the late 19th century and is situated just...
, Johnston attributed the injury to a lack of attention to detail. His new boots had spikes that were longer than usual, and the physiotherapist had failed to strap his ankle before the match. His knee soon failed. Johnston missed the first six first-class matches, and with it a month of cricket. He returned against the Minor Counties in late May and took 3/20 in an innings win. He staked his claim for selection in the final two tour matches before the Tests; he took 4/65 and 3/49 against Sussex
Sussex County Cricket Club
Sussex County Cricket Club is the oldest of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Sussex. The club was founded as a successor to Brighton Cricket Club which was a representative of the county of Sussex as a...
and then led the way in a win over Hampshire, much as he did five years earlier, taking 5/75 and 4/21. He had taken 20 wickets at 13.35 in his four tour matches and was duly selected to play in the First Test at Trent Bridge. He was economical but unpenetrative, conceding 36 runs in 36 overs without taking a wicket in a rain-affected draw. Between Tests, he removed Hutton in both innings of a match against Yorkshire, but it came at a cost; he ended with 4/186. He took match figures of 4/161 in the Second Test but England held on for a draw with three wickets in hand, as a recurrence of the knee injury while fielding intervened again. He then had an operation to remove cartilage in his right knee; this allowed him more leg movement but also destabilised his knee. The same surgeon had operated on Compton's knee. After missing another month of cricket, Johnston returned with a remodelled action, and hauls of 4/51, 6/63 and 6/39 against Surrey
Surrey County Cricket Club
Surrey County Cricket Club is one of the 18 professional county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Surrey. Its limited overs team is called the Surrey Lions...
, Glamorgan
Glamorgan County Cricket Club
Glamorgan County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Glamorgan aka Glamorganshire . Glamorgan CCC is the only Welsh first-class cricket club. Glamorgan CCC have won the English County...
and Essex
Essex County Cricket Club
Essex County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Essex. Its limited overs team is called the Essex Eagles, their team colours this season are blue.The club plays most of its home games...
respectively, saw Johnston return for the Fifth Test at The Oval. Although the pitch was helpful for spin, a total of 74 overs in the match yielded 3/146, as Johnston was unable rekindle the form of 1948 following his knee injury. Compton and Edrich batted cautiously to ensure the victory that saw England reclaim the Ashes 1–0. He managed only seven Test wickets at 49.00, but his first-class form remained strong. After the Tests, Johnston took match figures of 11/73 and 9/124 in consecutive matches against Kent
Kent County Cricket Club
Kent County Cricket Club is one of the 18 first class county county cricket clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the county of Kent...
and the South of England; Australia won both by an innings. He ended with 75 wickets at 20.54 for the entire tour. His injuries were considered a major factor in Australia's loss of the series.
Johnston returned to Australia and participated in the 1953–54 season, which was purely domestic. He continued his recent strong form against Queensland in the first match, taking 4/56 and 5/61 to set up a 254-run win. However, the rest of the season was not so productive; Johnston managed only 20 more wickets in the remaining seven matches at an average of almost 50. He ended the season with 29 wickets at 38.24.
The 1954–55 series against England was to be Johnston's last Test success. He took 19 wickets at 22.26 in the first four Tests before missing the last as England took the low-scoring series 3–1. After going wicketless in the opening season's tour match against the Englishmen, Johnston took a total of 7/122 against South Australia and retained his place in the team. He took 3/106 as Australia won the First Test by an innings.
In the Second Test at Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Johnston took 3/56 and 3/70 in a low-scoring match, removing Hutton in both innings. He had another notable innings when he joined Neil Harvey
Neil Harvey
Robert Neil Harvey MBE is a former Australian cricketer who represented the Australian cricket team between 1948 and 1963, playing in 79 Test matches. He was the vice-captain of the team from 1957 until his retirement...
with 78 runs needed for victory on a difficult batting surface against the hostile pace of Frank Tyson
Frank Tyson
Frank Holmes Tyson is an England cricketer of the 1950s who became a journalist and cricket commentator after he emigrated to Australia in 1960. Nicknamed "Typhoon Tyson" by the press he was regarded by many commentators as one of the fastest bowlers ever seen in cricket and took 76 wickets in...
and Brian Statham
Brian Statham
John Brian "George" Statham, CBE was one of the leading English fast bowlers in 20th-century English cricket. Initially a bowler of a brisk fast-medium pace, Statham was able to remodel his action to generate enough speed to become genuinely fast...
. In particular, Tyson was bowling with a strong tailwind and a slips cordon standing around 40 yards behind the bat. They put together a stubborn 39 run tenth-wicket partnership in 40 minutes, which gave Australia hope of an unlikely victory with Harvey still attacking. Harvey felt that Tyson was almost out of energy after a spell of extreme pace, and that the remaining bowlers were not beyond Johnston. However, a Tyson ball that was aimed at the ribcage saw Johnston fend at the ball; he was caught behind for 11, giving England a dramatic victory. After taking 1/26 in the first innings, Johnston took 5/85 in the second innings of his last Test performance in front of his home crowd at the MCG, with some tight spin on a dry surface. He removed [Edrich for 13 and Peter May
Peter May
-External links:* * at Cricket Archive*...
for 91 before cleaning up the tail with three quick wickets. This left Australia 240 to win but there was to be no fairytale as England won by 128 runs. Johnston then took match figures of 4/80 in the Fourth Test at Adelaide, in what was to be the his last Test on Australian soil. Australia lost the match and England retained the Ashes; it was Australia's third consecutive Test defeat, the first time they had suffered a hat-trick of defeats since the infamous Bodyline
Bodyline
Bodyline, also known as fast leg theory bowling, was a cricketing tactic devised by the English cricket team for their 1932–33 Ashes tour of Australia, specifically to combat the extraordinary batting skill of Australia's Don Bradman...
series of 1932–33. Johnston had less success outside the Tests, which were played on bowler-friendly surfaces. He managed only 13 wickets at 30.38 in five matches.
His career ended unhappily on Australia's first ever tour to the West Indies. He took match figures of 2/126 in the First Test in Kingston
Kingston, Jamaica
Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley International Airport to the rest of the island...
, Jamaica in a high-scoring win. These were to be his last Test wickets as he took a total of 0/60 in the Second Test in Trinidad
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
. He was retained for the Third Test but injured himself early in the match while fielding and neither batted nor bowled. He was injured for the next month and missed the Fourth Test but returned for the Fifth. Early on the first day he suffered yet another knee injury as he changed direction while attempting to catch a Clyde Walcott
Clyde Walcott
Sir Clyde Leopold Walcott, KA, GCM was a West Indian cricketer. Walcott was a member of the "three W's", the other two being Everton Weekes and Frank Worrell: all were very successful batsmen from Barbados, born within a short distance of each other in Bridgetown, Barbados in a period of 18...
pull shot. His teammates Alan Davidson
Alan Davidson (cricketer)
Alan Keith Davidson, AM, MBE is a former Australian cricketer of the 1950s and 1960s. He was an all rounder: a hard-hitting lower-order left-handed batsman, and an outstanding left-arm fast-medium opening bowler...
and Peter Burge removed a bench from the dressing room wall and used it as an improvised stretcher to carry Johnston from the ground; his Test career ended without bowling or batting in either of his last two matches. His final Test wicket had been that of Lance Gibbs
Lance Gibbs
Lancelot Richard Gibbs is a former West Indies cricketer, one of the most successful spin bowlers in Test cricket history. He took 309 Test wickets, only the second player to pass 300, the first spinner to pass that milestone, and had an exceptional economy rate of under two runs per over...
in the second innings of the First Test. In six first-class matches for the tour, he managed only nine wickets at 51.00.
Johnston retired from first-class cricket after the tour, but played grade cricket for Richmond until the end of 1958–59, taking 452 wickets at 16.61 in his grade career.
Style
Leg before wicket
In the sport of cricket, leg before wicket is one of the ways in which a batsman can be dismissed. An umpire will rule a batsman out LBW under a series of circumstances which primarily include the ball striking the batsman's body when it would otherwise have continued on to hit the batsman's...
decisions and to induce edges from balls angling across the batsmen. His stock ball swung into the right-hander, but he mixed this with an away swinger. The late swing in flight which generated the batsman's uncertainty over the direction in which the ball would move was responsible for the majority of Johnston's wickets in England. Although his pace was lower than that generated by Lindwall or Miller, he was noted for his accuracy and ability to revert to spin bowling on sticky wickets. Nevertheless, his casual run-up belied a deceptive pace. He possessed strong hands, attributed to his milking of the family's cattle herd. Johnston was an economical bowler, conceding only 2.07 runs per over. He was known for his elbow movement and flailing arms during his delivery action, with one commentator noting "one of these days an umpire will get a poke in the eye". Johnston also had a reputation of visibly enjoying himself on field, putting his hand on his hips and grinning, regardless of the result of his delivery. According to teammate Alan Walker
Alan Walker (Australian sportsman)
Alan Keith Walker was an Australian sportsman. He played rugby union for his country, winning five caps, and scored 19 tries on the tour to Britain and France in 1947-48, including a memorable effort against England at Twickenham...
, Johnston bowled at least as many bouncers
Bouncer (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a bouncer is a type of delivery, usually bowled by a fast bowler. It is pitched short so that it bounces on the pitch well short of the batsman and rears up to chest or head height as it reaches the batsman.Bouncers are used tactically to drive the batsman back on to his...
as his colleagues, but because of his happy nature, observers thought that he eschewed the short ball.
His feet position were peculiar in that his front foot was parallel to the crease and his back foot perpendicular, the opposite of the conventional posture. This inhibited his follow through and put more stress on his ankles and shins. As a result, his right ankle had to be bound tightly in order to prevent jarring from his awkward delivery. He also followed the recommendation of Bill O'Reilly
Bill O'Reilly (cricketer)
William Joseph "Bill" O'Reilly , often known as Tiger O'Reilly, was an Australian cricketer, rated as one of the greatest bowlers in the history of the game. Following his retirement from playing, he became a well-respected cricket writer and broadcaster.O'Reilly was one of the best spin bowlers to...
and tied a towel around his shins to cut off the circulation and the dull the pain. After the knee injury, he altered his action into a more conventional one so that his front foot pointed towards the batsman. This eased the pressure on his body, but his ability to move the ball diminished. Johnston was a keen student of the game, and although he did not see a state match until his debut, and watched only one Test before his debut, he supplemented his knowledge by reading cricket books. During his early first-class career, upon returning from matches, he would read articles by Bradman, Bert Oldfield
Bert Oldfield
William Albert Stanley "Bert" Oldfield was an Australian cricket player. He played for New South Wales and the Australian cricket team as wicket-keeper....
and Arthur Mailey
Arthur Mailey
Arthur Alfred Mailey was an Australian cricketer who played in 21 Test matches between 1920 and 1926....
from a book given to him by his schoolteacher when he was a schoolboy.
Bradman rated him as "Australia's greatest left-hand bowler". As a result of his ability to bowl spin and pace, teammate Neil Harvey noted that the team effectively had 13 players:"we reckoned Bradman was worth two and Bill Johnston was worth two". Harvey felt that Johnston was the best team man, and Bill Brown
Bill Brown (cricketer)
William Alfred "Bill" Brown, OAM was an Australian cricketer who played 22 Tests between 1934 and 1948, captaining his country in one Test. A right-handed opening batsman, his partnership with Jack Fingleton in the 1930s is regarded as one of the finest in Australian Test history...
noted Johnston's work ethic in bowling for long periods after Lindwall and Miller were given the best opportunities with the new ball. Ian Johnson
Ian Johnson (cricketer)
Ian William Geddes Johnson CBE was an Australian cricketer who played 45 Test matches as a slow off-break bowler between 1946 and 1956. Johnson captured 109 Test wickets at an average of 29.19 runs per wicket and as a lower order batsman made 1,000 runs at an average of...
described him as "the finest team man and tourist" in cricket and valued his personality, while Miller described him as "the most popular man in cricket". He sometimes amused others by demonstrating his double jointedness, wrapping his feet around the back of his neck. He is reputed to have nearly drowned when he attempted this in the bath at Lord's.
Johnston had a reputation as a poor batsman, averaging less than 13 in Tests and first-class matches without making a half century. He headed the averages in England in 1953, being not out 16 times out of 17 and averaging 102.00. He attributed this to "a lot of application, concentration and dedication", stating that "class always tells". When Hassett realised that Johnston was atop the batting averages, he told Johnston to tell the opposing captain of this fact and ask them to refrain from dismissing him. In the last match against T. N. Pearce's XI at Scarborough, English Test paceman Alec Bedser
Alec Bedser
Sir Alec Victor Bedser, CBE was a professional English cricketer. He was the chairman of selectors for the English national cricket team, and the president of Surrey County Cricket Club...
bowled wide of the stumps and advised Johnston not to do anything that would lose him his wicket. In 1954-55 he made 39 for the last wicket with Neil Harvey
Neil Harvey
Robert Neil Harvey MBE is a former Australian cricketer who represented the Australian cricket team between 1948 and 1963, playing in 79 Test matches. He was the vice-captain of the team from 1957 until his retirement...
as they chased 78 for victory before he edged Frank Tyson
Frank Tyson
Frank Holmes Tyson is an England cricketer of the 1950s who became a journalist and cricket commentator after he emigrated to Australia in 1960. Nicknamed "Typhoon Tyson" by the press he was regarded by many commentators as one of the fastest bowlers ever seen in cricket and took 76 wickets in...
to the wicket-keeper Godfrey Evans
Godfrey Evans
Thomas Godfrey Evans CBE was an English cricketer who played for Kent and England.Described by Wisden as 'arguably the best wicket-keeper the game has ever seen', Evans collected 219 dismissals in 91 Test match appearances between 1946 and 1959 and a total of 1066 in all first-class matches...
.
"Bill JohnstonBill JohnstonWilliam "Little Bill" Johnston was an American tennis champion. He was the co-World No. 1 player in 1919 and in 1922 respectively along with Gerald Patterson and Bill Tilden. He won the U.S...
did his bit for his team with true Aussie grit. His speciality stroke was a right-handed, one-handed, back-handed, glancing scoop off the line of his bum - cricket's equivalent of tennis' back-handed retrieve. It bought him a dozen runs - plus a considerable amount of pain when he failed to make contact and the ball clipped his maximus gluteusGluteus maximus muscleThe gluteus maximus is the largest and most superficial of the three gluteal muscles...
!" - Frank Tyson, In the Eye of the Typhoon.
Life after cricket
Johnston had a varied career after cricket, holding a variety of jobs. These included acting as a sales representative for Dunlop sports goods and shoes, a publican and an apartment building manager. In his later working career, he ran a post office on the Gold Coast of QueenslandGold Coast, Queensland
Gold Coast is a coastal city of Australia located in South East Queensland, 94km south of the state capital Brisbane. With a population approximately 540,000 in 2010, it is the second most populous city in the state, the sixth most populous city in the country, and also the most populous...
after he and his wife moved there. Outside cricket, Johnston also played baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
to a high standard. He won the world's junior championship for throwing a distance of 125 yards (114.3 m), and he broke the national baseball long distance record with a 132 yards (120.7 m) throw in September 1945.
He was married to Judy and they had two sons David and Peter. At his wedding in St. Paul's
St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne
St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne, is the metropolitical and cathedral church of the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne, Victoria in Australia. It is the seat of the Anglican Archbishop of Melbourne and Metropolitan of the Province of Victoria...
Anglican
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
Cathedral in Melbourne, Catholic guests, including captain Lindsay Hassett were not permitted entry. David Johnston
David Johnston (cricketer)
David Johnston is a former English cricketer. Johnston was a right-handed batsman who was a leg break bowler. He was born at Blackpool, Lancashire.Watts made his Minor Counties Championship debut for Berkshire in 1960 against Devon...
played 10 matches for South Australia as first-class level, and later became an administrator and was the Chief Executive of the Tasmanian Cricket Association at the time of his father's death.
After the death of his wife in 2004, Johnston moved from the Gold Coast to a Sydney nursing home to be close to his son Peter. He died peacefully in a Sydney nursing home on 25 May 2007.
Test match performance
Key: *–not outNot out
In cricket, a batsman will be not out if he comes out to bat in an innings and has not been dismissed by the end of the innings. One may similarly describe a batsman as not out while the innings is still in progress...
| Batting | Bowling | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opposition | Matches | Runs | Average | High Score | 100 / 50 | Runs | Wickets | Average | Best (Inns) |
| England | 17 | 138 | 10.61 | 29 | 0/0 | 1818 | 75 | 24.24 | 5/35 |
| India | 4 | 31 | 15.50 | 23* | 0/0 | 182 | 16 | 11.37 | 4/44 |
| South Africa | 10 | 39 | 7.80 | 12 | 0/0 | 1129 | 44 | 25.65 | 6/44 |
| West Indies | 9 | 65 | 16.25 | 28 | 0/0 | 697 | 25 | 27.88 | 6/62 |
| Overall | 40 | 273 | 11.37 | 29 | 0/0 | 3826 | 160 | 23.91 | 6/44 |
External links
- Obituary, The Daily TelegraphThe Daily TelegraphThe Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
, 27 May 2007