Ivan Johnson
Encyclopedia
Ivan Nicholas Johnson is a Bahamas-born former English
cricketer
who played for Worcestershire
in the 1970s. He was born in Nassau
.
Johnson played a number of Second XI matches for Worcestershire from 1969 onwards (and a single game for Northamptonshire
seconds in 1971), but made his first-class
debut for Worcestershire in June 1972 in a drawn match against Oxford University
. He took the wickets of Michael Heal
and Barry May
in Oxford's only innings, and scored 7 not out
and 1 not out with the bat. He was retained for the County Championship
clash with Warwickshire
which followed immediately, but managed only 0-28 from eight overs, and duly returned to the seconds.
In July Johnson took 7-57 for the Second XI against Warwickshire II and was immediately called back into the first team, where he remained for half a dozen games (three each of first-class and List A). There were no outstanding performances, however, and his bowling was rather expensive at times, and after these few weeks he did not play at all for the rest of the season.
1973 was Johnson's best year in the professional game. He played 21 first-class games, scoring 475 runs at 20.65
, including three half-centuries, and took 15 wickets, albeit at a very expensive average
of over 51. In his 24 one-day
matches he fared better, again claiming 15 wickets but at a much superior average of 27.20; he also occasionally contributed some useful runs from number seven or eight.
Johnson played only sporadically for the first team during the next two years, and mostly there was little for Worcestershire's supporters to get excited about. He did, however, manage two first-class career bests. In May against Nottinghamshire
he scored 69, while in what proved to be his very last first-team match, against Oxford University in late June, he claimed 5-74 in the second innings.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
cricketer
Cricketer
A cricketer is a person who plays the sport of cricket. Official and long-established cricket publications prefer the traditional word "cricketer" over the rarely used term "cricket player"....
who played for Worcestershire
Worcestershire County Cricket Club
Worcestershire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Worcestershire...
in the 1970s. He was born in Nassau
Nassau, Bahamas
Nassau is the capital, largest city, and commercial centre of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. The city has a population of 248,948 , 70 percent of the entire population of The Bahamas...
.
Johnson played a number of Second XI matches for Worcestershire from 1969 onwards (and a single game for Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire County Cricket Club
Northamptonshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Northamptonshire. Its limited overs team is called the Northants Steelbacks. The traditional club colour is Maroon. During the...
seconds in 1971), but made his first-class
First-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
debut for Worcestershire in June 1972 in a drawn match against Oxford University
Oxford University Cricket Club
Oxford University Cricket Club is a first-class cricket team, representing the University of Oxford. It plays its home games at the University Parks in Oxford, England...
. He took the wickets of Michael Heal
Michael Heal
Michael George Heal is a former English cricketer who played first-class cricket for Oxford University in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He also played for Gloucestershire's Second XI, and had one List A outing for their first team in 1973...
and Barry May
Barry May
Barry May is a South African-born former English cricketer who played first-class cricket for Oxford University in the early 1970s...
in Oxford's only innings, and scored 7 not out
Not out
In cricket, a batsman will be not out if he comes out to bat in an innings and has not been dismissed by the end of the innings. One may similarly describe a batsman as not out while the innings is still in progress...
and 1 not out with the bat. He was retained for the County Championship
County Championship
The County Championship is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales...
clash with Warwickshire
Warwickshire County Cricket Club
Warwickshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Warwickshire. Its limited overs team is called the Warwickshire Bears. Their kit colours are black and gold and the shirt sponsor...
which followed immediately, but managed only 0-28 from eight overs, and duly returned to the seconds.
In July Johnson took 7-57 for the Second XI against Warwickshire II and was immediately called back into the first team, where he remained for half a dozen games (three each of first-class and List A). There were no outstanding performances, however, and his bowling was rather expensive at times, and after these few weeks he did not play at all for the rest of the season.
1973 was Johnson's best year in the professional game. He played 21 first-class games, scoring 475 runs at 20.65
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
, including three half-centuries, and took 15 wickets, albeit at a very expensive average
Bowling average
Bowling average is a statistic measuring the performance of bowlers in the sport of cricket.A bowler's bowling average is defined as the total number of runs conceded by the bowlers divided by the number of wickets taken by the bowler, so the lower the average the better. It is similar to earned...
of over 51. In his 24 one-day
One-day cricket
Limited overs cricket, also known as one-day cricket and in a slightly different context as List A cricket, is a version of the sport of cricket in which a match is generally completed in one day, whereas Test and first-class matches can take up to five days to complete...
matches he fared better, again claiming 15 wickets but at a much superior average of 27.20; he also occasionally contributed some useful runs from number seven or eight.
Johnson played only sporadically for the first team during the next two years, and mostly there was little for Worcestershire's supporters to get excited about. He did, however, manage two first-class career bests. In May against Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club
Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Nottinghamshire, and the current county champions. Its limited overs team is called the Nottinghamshire Outlaws...
he scored 69, while in what proved to be his very last first-team match, against Oxford University in late June, he claimed 5-74 in the second innings.
External links
- Statistical summary from CricketArchiveCricketArchiveCricketArchive is a website that aims to provide a comprehensive archive of records relating to the sport of cricket. It claims to be the most comprehensive cricket database on the internet, including scorecards for all matches of first-class cricket , List A cricket , Women's Test cricket and...