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Ian William Geddes Johnson, (8 December 1917 – 9 October 1998) 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 capable lower order batsman made 1,000 runs at an average of 18.51 runs per dismissal. He captained the Australian team in 17 Tests, winning seven and losing five, with a further five drawn. Despite this record, he is better known as the captain who lost consecutive Ashes series against England. Urbane, well-spoken and popular with his opponents and the public, he was seen by his teammates as a disciplinarian and his natural optimism was often seen as naive.
Aged 17, Johnson made his first-class cricket debut for Victoria in the 1935–36 season but did not establish a permanent place in the team until 1939–40. His career was interrupted by the Second World War; he served with the Royal Australian Air Force as a pilot and later as a flight instructor. He returned to cricket after his discharge and was selected to tour New Zealand with the Australian team, making his Test debut. Johnson was part of Don Bradman's Invincibles team; undefeated on tour in England in 1948. He was a regular member of the national team until poor form saw him left out of the Australian squad for the 1953 tour of England.
Johnson was appointed Australian captain following Lindsay Hassett's retirement. The appointment was not universally popular; some teammates and supporters felt Keith Miller had a better claim to the position. In his first series as captain, Australia was defeated by a strong English team on home soil. The tour of the West Indies that followed was a cricketing and diplomatic triumph for Johnson. Australia won the Test series comfortably and Johnson's astute public relations skills helped avoid a repeat of the crowd disturbances that had marred England's visit to the islands 12 months before. However, his Australian team then went on to lose the 1956 Ashes series in England. Johnson's Test career ended with Australia's first Test tour of the Indian subcontinent, which occurred during the voyage back to Australia. Australia lost the one-off Test against Pakistan, the first between the two nations, before claiming the series against India. On his return to Australia, he retired from all forms of cricket at age 39.
After retirement, Johnson worked for a time as a sports commentator, including covering the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne. In 1957 he was appointed Secretary of the Melbourne Cricket Club, one of the most prestigious positions in Australian sport. He would remain in the role for 26 years, overseeing the development of the Melbourne Cricket Ground and playing a key role in the organisation of the Centenary Test in 1977. In 1956 he was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire for services to cricket; this was twice upgraded: to OBE in 1977 and to CBE in 1982.
Early years
Johnson was born in North Melbourne, an inner suburb of Melbourne, on 8 December 1917. His father, William Johnson—a wine and spirit grocer—was a keen cricketer who played one first-class match for Victoria in 1924–25 before serving as a selector for the Australian Test team.
As a schoolboy, Ian Johnson excelled at a variety of sports. He participated in athletics and Australian rules football, as well as playing as a wicket-keeper for Middle Park State School. In 1936, he became the Victorian amateur squash champion. However, he found his vocation in cricket. In 1934–35, aged only 16, and still a schoolboy at Wesley College, Johnson played his first match for the South Melbourne Cricket Club First XI. He scored 34 and 26 and took two wickets in each innings as Tasmania won by six wickets.
He did not play first-class cricket again for three years, finally returning to the Victorian team to play another two games against Tasmania in 1938–39, making his highest first-class score to date, 88 runs, in the second game. He secured his place in the Victorian team in the 1939–40 season, making his Sheffield Shield debut against South Australia in Adelaide in November 1939. That season, Johnson scored 313 runs at an average of 26.08 and took 13 wickets at an average of 39.92. In a season truncated because of the Second World War, Johnson played five matches in 1940–41, scoring 292 runs at an average of 32.44 and taking 25 wickets at 27.60. He flew Bristol Beaufighters with No. 22 Squadron RAAF and, by 1944, was serving as a Flight Lieutenant in the South West Pacific theatre. In June 1945, Johnson was awarded the King's Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air for his work as a flight instructor with No. 11 Elementary Flying Training School, based at Benalla in rural Victoria. He was discharged in December 1945 and resumed his first-class cricket career in the 1945–46 season.
Test cricket resumed in Australia with the visit of the English team in 1946–47. Before the Test matches started, the touring team played Victoria in a warm-up match. Johnson took 4 wickets for 38 runs in the English second innings but was unable to prevent the tourists from winning by 244 runs. He was included in the Australian team for the First Test at Brisbane, scoring 47 runs in the Australian total of 645. Once again Johnson was not given an opportunity to bowl as Australia won the match by an innings and 332 runs. Johnson took his first Test wicket with only his third delivery in Test cricket, dismissing Len Hutton caught behind down the leg side in the Second Test in Sydney. Making use of the breeze, in one 11 over stretch Johnson conceded only three runs—including eight maidens, taking one wicket. Johnson, batting as a nightwatchman, joined Sid Barnes at the wicket late on the second day of the match, batting through until stumps. He was dismissed the next day having scored 7 runs in an Australian total of 659. In the English second innings Johnson took another two wickets; England were dismissed for 371 runs and lost the Test by an innings and 33 runs. Johnson returned to form with the bat in the Fourth Test at Adelaide. Unable to take a wicket in England's first innings, during the Australian first innings he made 52 runs. He dismissed Hutton again in the second innings, his only wicket of the match. The match finished in a draw, giving the Australians an unbeatable two–nil lead in the Test series and therefore retaining The Ashes. Johnson was injured and could not play in the Fifth and final Fifth Test in Sydney.
A weak Indian team toured Australia for the first time in 1947–48, to play five Tests against an Australian team led by Don Bradman. The Indian team was weakened by withdrawals of their first-choice captain Vijay Merchant, as well as Rusi Modi and Mushtaq Ali. Furthermore, Fazal Mahmood had become a Pakistani, following the partition of India. Johnson played in the first four Tests, taking 16 wickets at an average of 16.31 runs per wicket. The Third Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) saw Johnson's best performance of the series, 4/59 in the first innings and 4/35 in the second. Australia won the series 4–0. Johnson started the tour well, taking 7/42 in an early tour match against Leicestershire, followed by 5/53 against Surrey. Against Essex, Johnson took 6/37 in the second innings. Earlier in the match Australia had scored 721 runs in a single day; Johnson made 9.
Having earned selection for the First Test at Trent Bridge, Johnson took only one wicket in the match; Australia won the Test by eight wickets. He had more success in the Second Test at Lord's taking three wickets in the first innings as Australia won the match by 409 runs. Johnson failed to take a wicket in a rain-affected Third Test at Old Trafford, and was replaced after the Fourth Test, having taken only seven wickets in the series at an average of 61.00. Wisden Cricketers' Almanack noted that while Johnson had started the tour well, he was not as effective in English conditions as Australian.
Donald Bradman wrote to Prime Minister Robert Menzies after the tour, recommending an honour for Johnson in recognition of his contribution to the tour's success. The poor weather gave the Australian team little chance to develop their confidence and Johnson used the early matches of the tour to allow his batsmen and bowlers to experiment in the unfamiliar conditions. In parallel with later events in the Old Trafford Test, off-spinner Jim Laker took all ten wickets in the Australian first innings; Laker and left-arm spinner Tony Lock took 19 of the 20 Australian wickets that fell in the match. Cricket writer Ray Robinson said of Johnson's tactics throughout the tour, "I have not met one good cricketer or cricket judge who is not mystified by them". Injuries to Lindwall and Davidson meant an under-strength Australian team was forced to take the field in the Second Test at Lord's. Johnson was unlucky to lose the toss in the Third Test at Leeds, because Lock and Laker were able to take maximum advantage of a pitch conducive to spin. The duo took 18 of the 20 Australian wickets and England won the match by an innings and 42 runs.
The Fourth Test at Manchester proved controversial. The Old Trafford pitch had little grass, perhaps as a result of earlier wet weather. Again, Johnson lost the toss and England chose to bat first. Johnson and his spinning partner, Richie Benaud were unable to exploit the spin-friendly conditions and the English made 459 runs. In reply, the Australians could not come to grips with the conditions; Laker took nine of the ten wickets, Lock the other, as Australia were brushed away for just 84. Amid wild weather, the Australians were asked to follow-on. A determined batting performance was not enough to prevent an English victory by an innings and 170 runs. With his 9/37 in the first innings, he had captured 19 wickets for the match, still a world record in first-class cricket. Wisden reported that the Australians were "extremely bitter over the condition of the pitch". Johnson was generous towards the victors. Playing down the discontent felt by the Australians, he said: "When the controversy and side issues of the match are forgotten, Laker's wonderful bowling will remain."
The Fifth and final Test was drawn and Australia lost the series two Tests to one. Australia had now lost three Ashes series in a row, the last two with Johnson as captain. His own form was modest; he took only six wickets in the Tests at an average of over 50 runs per wicket. His performance with the bat was worse, scoring just 61 runs at an average of only 7.62. Once again, Johnson's place in the team was questioned. Acerbic cricket pundit Sid Barnes—a former teammate—joked that Johnson was "Australia's non-playing captain". Bill Ferguson, the Australian team's scorer, was also critical: "Had Johnson been told by his friends in the press that he was, in fact, a passenger, he might have pondered on the advisability of standing down. [...] There would have been no shame in standing down."
Home and retirement
thumb|upright=1.2|Johnson with sons in 1954
On the return journey from England, the Australians toured India and Pakistan for the first time, with mixed results. On a matting pitch, unfamiliar to the Australians, Johnson's team lost the inaugural Test against Pakistan at Karachi. Responding to the loss, a cartoon drawn by Norman Mitchell of the Adelaide News newspaper suggested island planters might be able to scrape together a team that would be a match for the Australians. Due to injury, both Johnson and Miller missed the drawn Second Test at Brabourne Stadium at Bombay; Lindwall skippered the team. giving them a 2–0 series win. S. K. Gurunathan, summing up in the Indian Cricket Almanack, wrote: "The Australians showed themselves to be a superior side even when their batting failed".
When the team finally arrived home, Johnson announced his retirement from all cricket at the age of 39. In all first-class cricket, Johnson had taken 619 wickets and scored 4,905 runs. However, he was better known as the first captain to lead Australia to successive Ashes defeats in the 20th century. Reviewing Johnson's time as captain, Wisden said, "Unfortunately for him, he took over in the mid-1950s, when Australian cricket was decidedly inferior to England's for the first time since before the Bradman era" but "he was a fine cricketer and, in some respects, a visionary". Immediately following his retirement, Johnson spent some time as one of the first television sporting commentators in Australia, covering the 1956 Summer Olympics, held in his home town of Melbourne. He wrote a book; Cricket at the Crossroads, published in 1957. During a time of "dramatic change", he helped to maintain the Melbourne Cricket Ground's ("MCG") pre-eminence as a sporting arena. He played a leading part in organising the Centenary Test, held at the MCG in 1977.
For 20 years, he served as a member of the Victorian state parole board. He died in Melbourne in 1998 following a long illness.
Style and personality
thumb|left|Johnson batting
thumb|upright|Johnson bowling
Unusually for an Australian, Johnson bowled off-spin rather than the wrist spin normally associated with countrymen of his day. He bowled with a high degree of flight, causing opposing batsmen difficulties in judging where the ball would land.
Jack Pollard described Johnson as a "dour middle order batsman". He was optimistic by nature, with a belief in "guts and determination". However, he was seen as insensitive at times; Bill Johnston took offence when Johnson attempted to rouse him during a practise session: "Just cos you are one of the old blokes in the side doesn't mean you don't have to bloody well put in you know." During the Adelaide Test in 1950–51 he "walked", ensuring that the unlucky John Warr took at least one wicket for the series. Johnson was not above some gamesmanship, resorting to time-wasting tactics to avoid defeat in the final Test of the 1956 series against England. Urbane, courteous and popular with opposition players and spectators, Colin Cowdrey described Johnson as "an astute leader and fine ambassador for cricket".
Test match performance
400px|thumb|centre|An innings-by-innings breakdown of Johnson's Test match batting career, showing runs scored (red bars) and the average of the last ten innings (blue line). The blue dots indicate an innings where he was not dismissed.
{| class="wikitable" style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto" width="80%"
|-
!colspan=2|
!colspan=4| Batting
|-
! style="text-align:left;" | Opposition
!| Matches
!| Runs
!| Average
!| High Score
!| 100 / 50
!| Runs
!| Wickets
!| Average
!| Best (Inns)
|- style="text-align:right;"
| style="text-align:left;" |
|| 22
|| 485
|| 16.72
|| 77
|| 0/2
|| 1590
|| 42
|| 37.85
|| 6/42
|- style="text-align:right;"
| style="text-align:left;" |
|| 6
|| 124
|| 15.50
|| 73
|| 0/1
|| 339
|| 19
|| 17.84
|| 4/35
|- style="text-align:right;"
| style="text-align:left;" |
|| 1
|| 7
|| 7.00
|| 7
|| 0/0
|| –
|| –
|| –
|| –
|- style="text-align:right;"
| style="text-align:left;" |
|| 1
|| 13
|| 13.00
|| 13
|| 0/0
|| 66
|| 4
|| 16.50
|| 4/50
|- style="text-align:right;"
| style="text-align:left;" |
|| 6
|| 117
|| 19.50
|| 66
|| 0/1
|| 519
|| 22
|| 23.59
|| 5/34
|- style="text-align:right;"
| style="text-align:left;" |
|| 9
|| 254
|| 25.40
|| 66
|| 0/2
|| 668
|| 22
|| 30.36
|| 7/44
|- style="text-align:right; border-top:solid 2px grey;"
| style="text-align:left;" | Overall
|| 45
|| 1000
|| 18.51
|| 77
|| 0/6
|| 3182
|| 109
|| 29.19
|| 7/44
|}