Ian Johnson

Ian Johnson, born December 8, 1917, was a fine all-rounder, who also captained the Australian team in 17 Tests. He was more of a workhorse, surrounded by skilful players. There were those, who were skeptical of Johnson as a captain. In fact, there was a feeling that as Don Bradman had his fair share of differences with Keith Miller, Johnson was appointed as the skipper.

However, it has to be said that he still carved out a niche for himself as a cricketer. He was a decent off-spinner, a handy lower-order batsman and despite captaining the side during a transitional phase, Johnson had his fair share of success.

Johnson made his debut for Victoria in 1935-36, but it was in 1940-41 that he established his place in the side. Unfortunately, due to the second World War, his cricket took a back-seat. During the War, Johnson served the Australian Air Force.

Once the War got over, Johnson put in some decent performances in the Sheffield Shield and was a bit of a surprise inclusion for the one-off Test against New Zealand in Wellington. In his first few Tests, he didn't get much of a chance to prove his worth. However, in the Test match played against England in Adelaide, Johnson strung together a stand of 150 runs with Keith Miller.

Just like most of his teammates, it was the series against India when he shone brightly. Johnson picked up 16 wickets in that series. He was the main spinner when they toured England in 1948. Even though, he struggled with the ball in Tests, he put up consistent performances against County teams.

Due to his below par shows, it wasn't exactly clear whether he would be picked for the tour of South Africa. However, in the end, he got picked and that was the series when Johnson finally arrived on the scene. He scalped 18 wickets and also scored useful runs.

After putting up impressive performances in South Africa, Johnson again lost his form as he only took seven wickets in the Ashes 1950-51. It was only in the Test in Adelaide that Johnson made an impression with a fighting knock of 77. He struggled to give a good account of himself during the tours of West Indies and South Africa, respectively. It resulted in him getting dropped for the tour of England in 1953.

Surprisingly, after Australia lost that Ashes series in 1953, the captaincy was handed over to Johnson. There was a time when Johnson had even thought of quitting. It was Lindsay Hassett, who motived him and said that he was not putting his best effort.

It spurred up Johnston as he had a very good season for South Australia. Keith Miller, another candidate to take over as the captain, also had his supporters, but it was Johnson, who eventually was appointed as the leader. He started on a good note by leading the hosts to victory in the first Test of the 1954-55 Ashes series.

But England, under the inspirational leadership of Len Hutton, made a heart-warming come back and emerged victorious. Frank Tyson spew venom and took a slew of wickets in that series. In the 1955 Test series in the West Indies, Johnson led them admirably and prised out 14 batsmen as well as averaging close to 48 with the bat.

The Ashes series in England in 1956 though, didn't go according to the plan. He struggled with both bat and ball. On turning wickets, Jim Laker and Tony Lock were in supreme form. Laker even took 19 wickets at Old Trafford. A lot of the senior players, including Benaud and Hervey, were said to be unhappy with Johnson's captaincy. To make matters worse, he was criticised for his lack of tactical nous.

Johnson went on to play in a couple of series against Pakistan and India in the subcontinent. After that, he announced his retirement. Under him, Australia won seven Tests and lost five. But losing successive Ashes series was held against him.

By Bharath Ramaraj