When the India A batters saw Mahli Beardman’s name missing from the team sheet for the second one-dayer against Australia A, the dressing room must have been filled with sighs of relief. The express quick had run through the top order in the visitors’ big win in the opening game.
The solace, however, was short-lived. Spencer Johnson took on the mantle of tormentor-in-chief in the second game, once again breaking the back of India A’s chase to lead his side to an away-series win.
“What we saw the other night, with Mahli’s aggression, we wanted to continue that. Conditions were probably in our favour with the ball. I think we found the right lengths: lots of short balls and back-of-the-length balls,” Johnson said after the game.
“Everyone bowled well and chipped in. It wasn’t the easiest conditions. It is the hottest I’ve ever played in. The skipper did well to rotate everyone after short spells,” he added.
Johnson did have his fair share of supporters in the stands at the Cricket Association Puducherry Siechem Stadium. After all he also adorns the much–celebrated yellow of the Chennai Super Kings in addition to that of Australia. But the Yellow Army was left disappointed by their player during the contest.
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The left-arm quick took two steps to the right and dived full-length to hold on to a Ruturaj Gaikwad cut short at deep backward point. His franchise captain had completed three exquisite cover drives to bring the crowd to its feet, only for Johnson to plunge it back into silence. The importance of the wicket wasn’t lost on the Aussie speedster who knelt down on one knee and punched the air in delight after his piece of fielding brilliance.
“The catch was definitely better than the wickets,” he said with a chuckle. “Rutu is my CSK skipper and he was on fire. It came to me pretty quickly, and I was pretty luck to hold on to it.”
When CSK signed Johnson as an injury replacement midway through the 2026 IPL, there were quite a few raised eyebrows. The left-armer replaced Nathan Ellis in the roster but was himself not available to play until a few weeks later. In fact, his previous appearance came for the Kolkata Knight Riders a full IPL season ago. He had missed an entire year of cricket due to a back stress fracture.
“We’re not sure how much of a role he’ll play this year, but that’s fine. He’s a fantastic acquisition,” CSK bowling consultant Eric Simons had said during the IPL. “I’ve watched him and it’s very clear that he has got some tremendous attributes. [He is] a bowler that knows and understands his craft.”
Injuries have not been kind to Johnson throughout his career. After making his domestic one-day debut for South Australia in 2017, he spent three years away from the game due to a stress fracture to his foot. He had to wait two more years for his first taste of the Big Bash League with Brisbane Heat. It was T20 cricket that opened the doors for a player who had just made three domestic appearances at the age of 27.
Nine wickets in 10 matches for BBL 12 runner-up Heat got him a gig in The Hundred with Oval Invincibles. The Australia debut came in T20Is against South Africa in August 2023 and just months later he was a millionaire at the IPL auction, after being picked by the Gujarat Titans.
His T20 journey has also taken him to Major League Cricket in the US, the Global T20 Canada and the Vitality Blast in England and he has picked 90 wickets in 77 matches. But now aged 30, the regular blight of injuries has meant he has been capped only 18 times across formats by his country.
“It’s never ideal to spend too long out of the game, but I think [I have] the right support staff around me in Australia and South Australia. It’s not always easy. You just have to play games and continuous games,” the left-armer said.
“The last six months have been stop-start for me, since I played in India. I’ve played a handful of games, but hopefully getting back to Australia, I can string a few together. Come Big Bash time and hopefully come IPL time, I’ve played a good six months of cricket and I’m ready to go,” he added.
Johnson has picked five wickets in the two List-A matches in Puducherry at an economy rate of just 4.84. After one more game in the coastal town, he has an ODI tour of Zimbabwe and South Africa to look forward to. These six ODIs will hopefully give him the continuity that he has been so desperately seeking in his international career.
Published on Oct 10, 2026
