Bill Johnston (cricketer)

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Bill Johnston
Australia
Personal information
Full name	William Arras Johnston
Nickname	Big Bill
Born	26 February 1922(1922-02-26)
	Beeac, Victoria, Australia
Died	25 May 2007 (aged 85)
	Mosman, New South Wales, Australia
Role	Specialist bowler
Batting style	Right-hand
Bowling style	Left-arm orthodox spin or fast medium
Test debut (cap 177)	28 November 1947: v India
Last Test	11 June 1955: v West Indies
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1945–1955	Victoria
Career statistics
	Tests	FC
Matches	40	142
Runs scored	273	1129
Batting average	11.37	12.68
100s/50s	0/0	0/0
Top score	29	38
Balls bowled	11048	34576
Wickets	160	554
Bowling average	23.91	23.35
5 wickets in innings	7	29
10 wickets in match	0	6
Best bowling	6/44	8/52
Catches/stumpings	16/0	52/0
As of 29 February 2008 Source: [[1]]

William Arras Johnston (26 February 1922–24 May 2007) was an Australian cricketer 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.

[edit] 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. Beeac’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.^[1][2] 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.^[3] Johnston was not posted overseas, unlike his brother, who died after crashing in Ireland.^[1][2]

[edit] First class and Test debut

Prior to the Second World War, Johnston was a slow-medium and left arm orthodox bowler, but during a practice session, he bowled a quicker ball to Jack Ryder a former Australian captain, Victorian selector and Test batsman. This prompted Ryder to wage a personal campaign to induce Johnston to become a pace bowler. Upon the resumption of first-class cricket in 1945–46, Johnston made his Shield debut and entrusted with the responsibility of opening the attack. 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.^[1][2]

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. It took further encouragement from Australian captain Don Bradman after he played against Bradman's South Australians. 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.^[4] Johnston practised his pace bowling with new vigour, and at the start of the 1947–48 season, took an opening burst of 3/0 for Victoria against the touring Indian team. 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,^[5] 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.^[6] He took match figures of 5/48 in the Second Test and 6/77 in the Third. 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.^[1][2]

[edit] Invincibles tour

Johnston (with his left arm wrapped around his chest) successfully appeals to the umpire for lbw against Indian batsman Hemu Adhikari during the second Test at Sydney, December 1947

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.^[4] He showed his credentials by bowling a total of 84 overs to help Australia to grind out a victory.^[7] After taking five for 36 in 25 overs in the first innings and scoring seventeen,^[8] Johnston bowled 59 overs in the second to take four for 147 as Lindwall was unable to bowl due to injury. He scored his career Test best of 29 before taking match figures of four for 105 as Australia took a two-nil lead in the Second Test at Lord's. In an effective containing performance, Johnston took three for 67 in the first innings of the Third Test at Old Trafford in 45.5 overs. After taking a combined five for 181 in the Fourth Test victory, he rounded off the series with match figures of six for 60 in the Fifth Test at The Oval from 43.3 overs, completing the four-nil series result with an innings victory.^[4][8] In all, Johnston finished with 27 Test wickets, equal to Lindwall.^[1]

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, and the last Australian to exceed a century of wickets on an Ashes tour.^[3] His best performances in the tour games included a match haul of ten for 40 against Yorkshire at Bradford, bowling finger spin on a wet pitch, eight for 68 against Somerset and eleven for 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".^[1][2] Jack Fingleton wrote that Australia had never sent a greater left-hander to England.^[5]

[edit] Later career

Johnston's next assignment was the 1949–50 tour to South Africa. The tour started badly when he fell asleep at the wheel in Durban following a team function and crashed his car. The team manager was informed that Johnston was in danger of dying of head injuries, with Johnston later describing his injury as a "nine-iron divot in the top of my skull".^[3][6] His 6/44 in the second innings of the First Test against South Africa at Johannesburg was his career best innings figures in Test cricket, helping Australia take a 1–0 series lead. After taking three wickets in the Second Test victory at Cape Town, he was more prominent in the Third at Durban with match figures of 8/114 as Australia took the series 3–0. He was ineffective in the drawn Fourth Test, taking 1/68 before finishing with 3/22 in the Fifth Test in Port Elizabeth.^[8] It was a successful tour for Johnston, with 23 wickets at 17.04.^[7]

The 1950–51 series against England was Australia’s first home series in four years. Johnston led the wicket takers list, with 22 at 19.18. He took match figures of 7/65, 6/54, 1/81 and 7/131 as Australia took the first four Tests. His worst performance of 1/91 coincided with Australia’s only loss in the Fifth Test.^[8]

Johnston (l) and Doug Ring (r) leave the field after their unbroken last wicket stand guided Australia to victory at the MCG over the West Indies in 1951–52

The 1951–52 home series was the first ever against the West Indies, and Johnston again lead the wicket takers with 23 at 22.08 as Australia won the series 4–1. This time Johnston’s best match performance of 6/62 and 1/50 came in the only loss in the Third Test at Adelaide. This happened when 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.^[9] It was in this match that Johnston passed 100 Test wickets, the fastest player to do so.^[10] He also managed a contribution of 28 in the Second Test to complement five wickets in the match. 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, he partnered Doug Ring in a last wicket partnership of 38 which sealed an Australian victory by one wicket.^[2][8] 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.^[4]

During the seasons, he took a then career best first class figures of 7/114 against New South Wales while playing in the Sheffield Shield. He was to surpass this in the following season with 8/52 against Queensland, which remained his best first-class innings analysis.^[6]

Johnston could not maintain his form in the 1952–53 home series against South Africa. Although he took 21 wickets in five Tests, they came at a cost of 35.1 runs per wicket, which was much poorer than his career average. His personal lack of performance coincided with a 2–2 series result. It was the first time Australia had not won a Test series since Bodyline in 1932–33. As was the case in the previous international season, Johnston’s best individual performances came in Australia’s less successful matches. He took seven wickets in each of the last two Tests, which Australia drew and lost.^[8]

After injuring his knee in a festival match at the beginning of the tour at East Molesey, Johnston missed the first six first-class matches, before recovering to play in the First Test at Trent Bridge. He was economical but unpenetrative, conceding 36 runs in 36 overs without taking a wicket. He took 4/161 in the Second Test before a recurrence of the knee injury intervened again. A haul of 6/63 against Glamorgan^[11] saw his return for the Fifth Test at The Oval. A total of 74 overs in the match yielded 3/146, and Johnston was unable to prevent the victory which saw England reclaim the Ashes. He managed seven Test wickets at 49, but in first-class matches took 75 wickets at 20.54.^[6][8] His injuries were considered a major factor in Australia's loss of the series.^[3]

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 series 3–1. Again his least effective performance of 3/106 corresponded with Australia’s only victory of the series in the First Test. He took match figures of 6/126 and 6/111 (including a second innings of 5/85) as Australia lost the next two Tests, before taking 4/80 in what was to be his last Test on home soil.^[8] In the Second Test at Sydney, he had another notable innings when he joined Neil Harvey with 78 runs needed for victory on a difficult batting surface in a low scoring match against the hostile pace of Frank Tyson and Brian Statham. They put together a stubborn 39 run tenth wicket partnership which gave Australia hope of an unlikely victory before Johnston was caught behind for 11.^[12]

His career ended unhappily on Australia’s first tour to the West Indies. He took 2/126 in the First Test in Kingston, Jamaica. These were to be his last Test wickets as he took 0/60 in the Second in Trinidad. He was retained for the Third Test but injured himself while fielding and neither batted nor bowled. He was rested for the Fourth but returned for the Fifth. On the first day he suffered a knee injury as he changed direction while attempting to catch a Clyde Walcott pull shot.^[6] He was carried from the ground and his Test career ended without bowling or batting in either of his last two matches.^[8]

He 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.^[6]

[edit] Style

Johnston bowling against the West Indies at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in 1952.

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. 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.^[4] 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.^[10] 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.^[4] As a result, his right ankle had to be bound tightly in order to prevent jarring from his awkward delivery.^[1] 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.^[4] 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.^[1][2]

Bradman rated him as "Australia’s greatest left-hand bowler".^[2] 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".^[13] 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.^[13] Ian Johnson described him as "the finest team man and tourist" in cricket and valued his personality,^[1][2] while Miller described him as "the most popular man in cricket".^[4] 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.^[10]

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",^[2] stating that "class always tells".^[2] 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.^[4] 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.^[12]

[edit] Life after cricket

Johnston had a varied career after cricket, holding a variety of jobs. These included acting as a sales representative for sports goods and shoe companies, a publican and an apartment building manager. In his later working career, he ran a post office on the Gold Coast of Queensland after he and his wife moved there.^[10]

He married Judy and they had two sons David and Peter. When he married Judy at St. Paul’s Anglican Cathedral in Melbourne, Catholic guests, including captain Lindsay Hassett were not permitted entry.^[4] David Johnston played 10 matches for South Australia as first-class level,^[2] and later became an administrator and was the Chief Executive of the Tasmanian Cricket Association at the time of his father's death.^[10]

Outside cricket, Johnston also played baseball. He won the world's junior championship for throwing a distance of 125 yards (114 m), and he broke the national baseball long distance record with a 132-yard (121 m) throw in September 1945.^[1]

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 May 25, 2007.^[3]

[edit] Test match performance

Key: *–not out

[edit] Notes

[edit] Reference

• Benaud, Richie (1998). Anything But. Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN 0-340-69641-6. 

[edit] External links

• Obituary, The Daily Telegraph, 27 May 2007

v • d • e Australia squad - "The Invincibles" 1 Sid Barnes • 2 Don Bradman (c) • 3 Bill Brown • 4 Ron Hamence • 5 Neil Harvey • 6 Lindsay Hassett (vc) • 7 Ian Johnson  • 8 Bill Johnston • 9 Ray Lindwall • 10 Sam Loxton • 11 Colin McCool • 12 Keith Miller • 13 Arthur Morris  • 14 Doug Ring • 15 Ron Saggers (wk) • 16 Don Tallon (wk) • 17 Ernie Toshack • Coach: Keith Johnson