SACA dizzy with delight as Spencer turns up the Heat

Despite his eye-catching successes while wearing a different shade of blue to his original BBL club, Spencer Johnson's former coach at the Adelaide Strikers admits he's "delighted" that the left-arm quick has become the good news story of Brisbane Heat's title push.

In his rookie BBL campaign, Johnson has proved a revelation with five wickets from eight appearances in teal and the highest return of dot balls (almost 11 per game) of any bowler in BBL|12.

That ratio of 49.4 per cent of dot balls per deliveries sent down is also second-highest among all bowlers to have completed 20 overs or more in the competition's 12-year history, behind the 27-year-old's left-arm namesake Mitchell Johnson who recorded a remarkable 51.1 per cent.

But while Jason Gillespie – who coached Spencer Johnson for the preceding two years at the Strikers and remains his mentor at South Australia where Johnson is contracted – is thrilled by the fast bowler's emergence, he's also somewhat bemused by some of the commentary accompanying it.

In particular, Gillespie's eyebrows were raised by suggestions Johnson had essentially come from 'nowhere' upon making his BBL debut for the Heat last month despite being in SA's program since 2015-16 when he was part of the Emerging Redbacks squad alongside current Test keeper Alex Carey.

And the Redbacks coach, who took over the reins at Adelaide Oval in 2020, is also puzzled by claims SA had somehow failed to recognise Johnson's talent even though he first represented SA at senior level in 2017 before barely bowling a ball for the next three summers due to a series of injuries.

"I can't begin to tell you how excited and pumped I am for him," Gillespie told cricket.com.au ahead of tonight's BBL Challenger between the Heat and Sydney Sixers.

"We've been messaging him constantly and saying 'well done, this is great that you've been able to string some games together and perform for the team'.

"We're delighted for him. But it's a little bit disappointing to hear some of the dialogue and the pile-on of the SACA, given all the support the SACA's provided over the years which he, himself, has acknowledged.

"It's frustrating when you hear or read commentary of him being 'the new kid on the block' and that sort of stuff, and I think it's actually a bit disrespectful to Spencer and it's disrespectful to the SACA.

"I don't understand the dialogue of him being a 'new sensation who's come from the clouds' because he's worked so hard to get to where he's got to, and he should be applauded for that.

"It's actually been a long process and a tough road for the young man, and he's now reaping the rewards of all his hard work and effort with the support of South Australian cricket."

During his recent guest appearance on The Unplayable Podcast, Johnson detailed how the stress fracture to the talus bone in his ankle – an injury almost unheard of in cricketers – sustained during his domestic one-day debut against Victoria in 2017 cost him almost four years of cricket.

Having spent a year on the sidelines in rehabilitation, he returned to bowling in 2018 only to re-injure the ankle which led to screws being surgically implanted in the bone.

His body then rejected the screws, with further surgery and more rounds of rehab ensuing before he finally returned to regular competitive cricket in the summer of 2020-21, immediately after losing his SA rookie contract.

But Johnson has since noted that tough contract call was the right decision, as it forced him to accept he had to perform and could no longer rely on potential and reputation.

"I've got really good support in South Australia, they've backed me in for the last six years," Johnson told The Unplayable Podcast.

"They've stuck by me, not just the coaches and the high performance staff, but the physios and the doctors.

"They've always kept the faith, and friends and family back home have been awesome as well.

"They're the ones that keep you going, because I could quite easily have gone 'this is too hard, I'm never going to get back to where I want to be or could be'.

"But it makes it all worth it now, definitely."

In addition to the fitness and rehabilitation he repeatedly undertook while also completing a turf management course, Johnson worked with SA's bowling coach Luke Butterworth and his Premier Cricket club coach (and former SA left-arm quick) Mark Harrity to refine his bowling action.

The end product led former Australia Test quick-turned Fox Cricket commentator Brett Lee to purr about the purity of Johnson's bowling in the BBL, where he was clocked in excess of 150kph in a game for the Heat against his former club at Adelaide Oval.

That reading came as a surprise to Gillespie and others in the Strikers camp given their close involvement in Johnson's progress.

Having earned rookie contracts for SA for three consecutive seasons from 2017-18, Johnson's struggle to get on the park eventually saw him cut from the list but he was not cut adrift as a path was plotted for his return through performances at club level.

He forced his way into the Redbacks' Marsh One Day Cup team for matches against NSW and Queensland at the end of 2020-21, and was named in their Shield squad to play NSW that same season but fellow quick David Grant was preferred in the starting XI.

Image Id: DC3C584EBF4F48B28D1CD0BD2BB0B368 Image Caption: Spencer Johnson on SA debut in October 2017 // Getty

The following summer, Johnson was again in the Shield squad for the final match against NSW (overlooked for Jordan Buckingham) but, after graduating to four-day cricket with SA's Second XI and being named in the SACA Premier Cricket Team of the Year, he received his first senior SACA contract last May.

"He was challenged late last season," Gillespie told cricket.com.au.

"He wasn't a contracted player, and the feedback was for him to go back to club cricket and to put some performances together, which he's done.

"We said we need to see more robustness from you, in being able to back up day after day because if you want to get selected and play first-class cricket, you need to be able to bowl three to four spells a day and, if required, back up and bowl at the same intensity the following day.

"I know from my own playing experience, it's tough to come back from injury setbacks and you question whether your body is robust enough, and whether you're mentally up to the task of another bout of rehab.

"But that was the challenge we put to him, and he said he was determined to show what he could do.

"We put all the support in place, invited him to come back and train with the (SA) squad and it was almost like a selection trial with us saying 'see how you go mate, can you show that you're keen and want to do it, as much for your own mind?'.

"He did it, and he got rewarded with a contract which is fantastic."

Despite not having played a game for the Strikers during his two years on their list - due largely to a surfeit of bowling rivals the calibre of Peter Siddle, Michael Neser, Daniel Worrall and Wes Agar, complemented by spinner Rashid Khan – Johnson was offered a one-year deal for BBL|12.

However, having taken up a role with Redlands in Queensland's Premier Cricket T20 Max competition last year, he caught the attention of teammate and Test batter Marnus Labuschagne which led to him signing a multi-year contract with the Heat.

"I think he (Labuschagne) got in the (Heat) coaches ears, and said 'we've got to get him up here'," Johnson said.

He went to Queensland with the blessing of Gillespie and SACA's head of high performance Tim Nielsen who saw potential benefit for the Redbacks in the fast bowler being exposed to different coaches and fresh ideas.

However, once the Heat's BBL|12 campaign is completed – whether it's this evening, or next weekend should they reach the final against Perth Scorchers – Johnson will return to Adelaide in the hope of re-starting his Redbacks career.

Gillespie confirmed the 194cm left-armer is likely to come under consideration for recall in SA's upcoming Marsh One Day Cup fixture against Western Australia at Adelaide Oval on February 15, with Grant likely to be absent for the remainder of the summer due to a leg injury.

"Playing for South Australia, that's the goal," Johnson told The Unplayable Podcast.

"I've been contracted with the Redbacks for a while now, and they've helped me through this journey so to play for South Australia would be a great achievement.

"That's something I'm looking forward to doing, and hopefully soon."