Married, motivated and back: Johnson eyes big summer

Few can claim to have enjoyed a better Australian winter, or more specifically European summer, than Spencer Johnson.

Fresh off delivering the most economical four-over spell for Australia in men's T20Is, when he claimed 2-6 in Chattogram on June 21, the 30-year-old embarked on the trip of a lifetime.

Johnson jetted off to England with Brisbane Heat teammate Matt Kuhnemann before spending a few days in France, but as enjoyable as those stops were, the highlight was still to come.

"It was unbelievable to be honest, and definitely the best day of my life," Johnson said when describing his wedding day in Lake Garda, Italy.

"I reckon we had about 80 people and it was pretty special to have family and friends all in the same spot on the other side of the world. That really meant a lot to me and my wife (Sarah).

"The honeymoon started with a few days in Greece and a few days in Spain. We were lucky enough to be in Spain when they won the World Cup, so that's a lifelong memory watching the locals celebrating."

Now back in Australia, the left-arm quick is in the midst of his first full pre-season since he burst on the scene with the Heat three years ago. It's a welcome change for Johnson, who missed the entire 2025-26 season with a stress fracture in his back that emerged during last year's Indian Premier League.

"They say with a back stress fracture, everyone's case is different," Johnson said.

"There's no linear timeline. It was kind of week by week, then every six weeks we'd get a scan, and it was always progressing well. That kind of keeps you motivated to keep doing what you're doing.

"For me, it was more about when I do come back, making sure I'm in a better position than when I was playing 12 months ago. It was an opportunity to get in the gym, get a bit stronger, get a bit faster. I feel like I utilised that time out."

The layoff also gave the South Australian speedster a chance to identify improvements to his bowling which he's been able to implement since returning to full fitness.

"I think my run-up's one thing that I'm always trying to tweak and make a little bit better," Johnson said.

"The feedback I always get is, 'It looks like you're not trying', and for me if it looks like that, it probably means that there might be a little bit more in there for me to run in a bit faster and hopefully bowl a little bit faster as well.

"I did a lot of drill work returning to bowl and there was two or three months of just bowling off a few steps, making sure things are aligned and ticking things off before we get to the next step.

"I feel like I'm in a good spot technically and got to work on a lot of things here at SACA with Ryano (South Australia head coach Ryan Harris), and then in Chennai with the bowling coach there, Eric Simons.

"Sometimes getting injured can be a positive in a way. You can work on some things and I feel like that's what we're about to find out."

That technical work will soon be put to the test with Johnson named in Australia's ODI squad for back-to-back series in Zimbabwe and South Africa later this month. The tour will be his first taste of one-day cricket since March 2025, when he featured in Australia's Champions Trophy campaign.

"I haven't played a lot of ODI cricket, but to get back into it and hopefully show what I can do in Zimbabwe is exciting," Johnson said.

"I feel like it's taken a while to get to this position, but it's nice to be back and available for selection. I wasn't available for the Bangladesh ODI series, so to put my hand up and for the selectors to show some faith, it's nice to get the nod and hopefully I can play and perform well."

The African adventure won't be his only opportunity to impress selectors this spring, with Johnson the only crossover player between the ODI and the https://www.cricket.com.au/news/4569834?Australia A squads that were named last week.

He'll travel to Puducherry for three one-day games with the 'A' side following the final ODI in Potchefstroom on September 30, preparing for a schedule that will test his durability.

"Obviously I've had a little bit of a taste of what it's like playing in India, but 50-over cricket is completely different on the body," Johnson said.

"Talking to some of the Test bowlers, I was lucky enough to train with them a few weeks ago in Brisbane, and some of them were saying it's almost like an ODI bilateral series is tougher than a Test match sometimes, because you've got to play, day off, play, day off. It's the load that kind of builds up and hopefully the body can tolerate it."

One of those Test squad members was fellow left-armer Mitchell Starc. Having recently overtaken Jasprit Bumrah as the top-ranked Test bowler in the International Cricket Council's ratings, Starc's longevity has given Johnson another benchmark to study.

"I did message him the other day and said you're going to outlast me," Johnson joked.

"He's a bit of a freak of nature to be honest. He just runs in consistently in the 140s (k/h) and just gets it done. The ultimate athlete really and I think just watching him, the way he bowled with that new ball in Mackay, I don't think we're going to see too many more like him.

"It was nice to have conversations with him around some technical stuff and the way he loads up and the way he can generate speed. Talking to him you can gain a better understanding of how they (world-class bowlers) think, which is quite cool."

While he's been studying Starc to fine-tune his performance with the ball, South Australia men's coach Ryan Harris is looking for something different from his mature-age strike bowler: leadership.

Currently in Darwin, Johnson has just captained a side for the first time at any level, leading SA's one-day squad in practice matches against New Zealand A and Nepal.

"Ryano just came to me last week in Adelaide and said, 'We want you to captain the white-ball side this week'," Johnson said.

"Being a skipper, I've always admired how they go about it. I think that could hopefully only help my game.

"They're just practice games, but for Ryano to give me the tap on the shoulder, I'm excited for the challenge."

Johnson will still be overseas when SA's men's side begin their season against Western Australia in the One-Day Cup on September 18. Despite his focus on the limited-overs formats, the paceman has not ruled out returning to red-ball cricket this summer, with the dream of one day earning a coveted Baggy Green.

Having missed consecutive Sheffield Shield final triumphs, Johnson is eager to play a role in SA's charge for a historic third consecutive title. It's extra motivation for a player who's managed just six first-class matches since his debut, where he memorably claimed 6-87 against Victoria in February 2023.

"It's obviously been nice to watch South Australia have so much success, but to be a part of it is something that I definitely want to do," Johnson said.

"We do have a bit of a plan in place. It can be tough sometimes with going away for these white-ball tours, but that's a nice progression anyway to play a bit of white-ball cricket.

"I think that should get me through to the Big Bash, and then after we'll reassess and see how the body's going and where the loads are at.

"It's definitely something I'm eyeing off this year, but we'll just have to wait and see."

Qantas ODI tour of Zimbabwe and South Africa 2026

First ODI: September 15, Harare Sports Club, 5:30pm AEST (9:30am local)

Second ODI: September 18, Harare Sports Club, 5:30pm AEST (9:30am local)

Third ODI: September 20, Harare Sports Club, 5:30pm AEST (9:30am local)

First ODI: September 24, Kingsmead Stadium, Durban, 6pm AEST (10am local)

Second ODI: September 27, Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg, 6pm AEST (10am local)

Third ODI: September 30, JB Marks Oval, Potchefstroom, 9:30pm AEST (D/N, 1:30pm local)

Australia ODI squad: Mitchell Marsh, Pat Cummins (SA only), Xavier Bartlett, Alex Carey, Cooper Connolly, Joel Davies, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Spencer Johnson, Oliver Peake, Matthew Renshaw, Billy Stanlake, Mitchell Starc (SA only), Adam Zampa