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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Ian William Geddes Johnson | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 8 December 1917 North Melbourne, Victoria, Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 9 October 1998 (aged 80) Albert Park, Victoria, Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting | Right-handed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling | Right-arm off-spin | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Role | Specialist bowler | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National side | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Test debut | 10 June 1948 v England | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last Test | 22 July 1948 v England | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Ian Johnson was a member of Donald Bradman's famous Australian cricket team, which toured England in 1948. Bradman's men went undefeated in their 34 matches; this unprecedented feat by a Test side touring England earned them the sobriquet The Invincibles.
An off spinner, Johnson was a member of Bradman's first-choice team, playing in four of the five Tests before being dropped for the final match. However, he was not prominent in the Tests, taking seven wickets at a bowling average of 61.00. Among the frontline bowlers who played in four or more Tests, Johnson had the worst average by a factor of almost two and took the fewest wickets. Johnson had little impact with the bat, scoring 51 runs at a batting average of 10.20, but took five catches in the slips.
Johnson had more success in the tour matches, taking 85 wickets at 18.37 in all first-class fixtures. This ranked him third among the Australians in the wicket-taking and fifth in the averages. He bowled more overs than everyone but Bill Johnston, allowing Bradman to ease the workload on pace spearheads Ray Lindwall and Keith Miller, and conserve their energy for the Tests. Johnson's most successful match with the ball was against Gloucestershire, in which he took match figures of 11/100. He was also more prolific with the bat outside the Tests, scoring 543 runs at 30.16, with a top-score of 113 not out against Somerset. He also made 80 against a Marylebone Cricket Club team that consisted almost entirely of Test players. Johnson was prominent in the field, taking 23 catches, the most by a non-wicket-keeper on tour.