Australia's Spencer Johnson, who used to work as a landscape gardener without a cricket contract until last year, is now proud to have made his mother happy by getting a big Indian Premier League (IPL) deal with the Gujarat Titans (GT). The team spent Rs 10 crore on him during the auction in Dubai on December 19.
This marks an amazing turnaround for Johnson in just 18 months. There was a time not too long ago when it seemed like his cricket career might be in trouble.
"Eighteen months (ago) I didn't have a state deal or a Big Bash contract. I was working as a landscaper and greenskeeper. So fast-forward 18 months, yeah it's definitely different situations," he told.
The 28-year-old faced a recurring stress fracture in his foot in 2017 during his debut for South Australia. This led to a three-year break from the game and the loss of his contract.
After surgery and a long recovery, the left-arm pacer earned back his South Australia contract in the middle of 2022 and debuted for Brisbane Heat in the Big Bash League (BBL) in January of this year.
Before making a name for himself as a fast bowler in last season's BBL with Brisbane Heat, Johnson was not well-known outside of state cricket circles. His impressive speed of 150 km/h caught attention.
The IPL team coached by former Indian pacer Ashish Nehra signed Johnson. Now, he is the second most expensive player for the GT, behind Rashid Khan.
Following his participation in The Hundred, Johnson attracted the attention of national selectors, earning a spot in the Australian team in preparation for the World Cup. His lone ODI appearance was against India in August in Indore, where he remained wicketless, conceding 61 runs in eight overs.
He also played two T20Is, both against South Africa in August and September.
While securing the lucrative IPL contract was a special moment for Johnson, what brought him even more satisfaction was witnessing his mother's smile on FaceTime.
"It's obviously a pretty special moment, I never really thought I'd be in this situation," Johnson said ahead of Brisbane Heat's BBL match against Melbourne Renegades.
"But it was nice to get on the FaceTime back home in Adelaide (with) mum and to see her smile. It's not just my moment, I guess it's a moment for my whole family and they've been there the whole way. So for them to experience it as well, it's pretty special”, he said.
With only 30 available overseas player spots in the mini-auction in Dubai, Johnson doubted that he might get a chance.
"I think the longer it went, I guess you start to lose a little bit of hope. So the longer it was going, I think the less chance I had.”
"But at the end of the day I was in a position where I was in the auction, and this time last year I wasn't. So whatever happened was going to happen, and anything would have been a good result”, he added.
A life-changing IPL contract has been sealed but Johnson does not want to go down the T20-only route and believes Test cricket is actually where his strengths lie.
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