Spencer Johnson was a phonecall away from gatecrashing this summer’s Ashes and underlined his credentials as one of Australia’s next big things with a record-breaking debut for Oval Invincibles.
The left-arm quick produced sensational figures of three wickets for one run in Wednesday’s victory over Manchester Originals – the cheapest 20-ball spell ever recorded in The Hundred.
Even more remarkable was the fact that the 27-year-old had never set foot on English soil before and only arrived in the country on Monday, having played in the final of Canada’s Global T20 the day before.
“I don’t know when it will sink in really, I’m not even sure it will. I’m pretty speechless,” he told the PA news agency.
“You never come into a game expecting to concede one run, especially bowling at players like Jos Buttler and Phil Salt first up. I was trying to remember where the one came from and I couldn’t picture it. I’m enjoying it now because it will probably never happen again, but was quite cool to be a part of.
“It was raining when I arrived in England so I didn’t have a chance to have a roll out in the middle the day before, and I didn’t know how I was going to feel out on the pitch. But playing out there at the Oval felt awesome.”
Johnson’s whirlwind week also saw him called up by Australia for the first time, for the T20 series against South Africa at the end of the month.
Had things been different he could have found himself thrown into this summer’s unforgettable Test series against England, which finished 2-2 after gripping the cricket world for seven weeks.
He was on another franchise assignment with Los Angeles Knight Riders when Cricket Australia told him he may be needed for the fourth and fifth Tests, though left-armer Mitchell Starc eventually played through despite some injury niggles.
“I reckon I watched every ball of that series,” he said.
“I was placed on standby for the last couple of Tests so I had to be following things pretty closely.
“I grew up admiring Starcy my whole life, ever since he came on the scene. He’s the ultimate athlete, durable, fast, takes crucial wickets.
“I like the way he goes about things, I’d love to be anywhere near him to be honest. Test cricket is number one at the forefront of my mind, hopefully in a couple of years I’m still bowling well and I get a chance (to face England), but we’ve got another six games here with Invincibles and that’s as far ahead as I’m thinking now.”
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The first of those comes against Northern Superchargers at Headingley on Friday, where compatriot Matthew Short will be looking to do more damage to Johnson’s figures than the Originals managed.
“I know I’ll go for more than one next time, it’s one of those things that will probably never happen again,” he admitted.
“Cricket is pretty fickle game, but if it’s swinging and I’m hitting the right length, we’ve seen it can be tough to score. Shorty has got me a couple of times back in Australia and I’m looking to level the playing field!”
ECB chief insists no decision made on Mott future
England and Wales Cricket Board chief executive Richard Gould has denied reports a decision has already been made on Matthew Mott's future as white-ball coach.
Mott's future has been called into question in the aftermath of England's failure to defend their T20 World Cup crown in the United States and West Indies, losing to India in the semi-finals.
Mott also oversaw England's calamitous 50-over World Cup campaign last year, as they lost six of their nine matches in India and crashed out in the group stage.
Reports earlier this week suggested the decision had already been made to dispense with Mott's services, with Eoin Morgan a contender to succeed him, though the former limited-overs captain has since said he has no interest in the role.
Asked by BBC Test Match Special if Mott's future had already been decided, Gould said: "That's not true. That's certainly not true.
"Matthew Mott is a really good guy and coach. He's got a great track record and it is the same with [captain] Jos [Buttler].
"We are always assessing options - that is what happens in high-performance sport, you are always assessing your options.
"You never want to be drawn into being given the dreaded vote of confidence or anything like that. Competitive sport always brings scrutiny and decisions.
"We'll constantly want to assess our options but we'll always want to do the right thing by the sport, the team and individuals."
West Indies grab three late wickets on day one as third Test against England in the balance
England lost three wickets in a dramatic end to day one of the third Test against West Indies, leaving them in a precarious position after restricting the tourists for 282.
Gus Atkinson finished with figures of 4-67, while Chris Woakes took 3-69 for England, as only a fine sixth-wicket stand from Jason Holder and Joshua Da Silva saved West Indies from being bowled out for a much lower total.
But England, chasing a 3-0 series whitewash, let their dominant position slip when taking up the bat for the final 35 minutes, Zak Crawley (18), Ben Duckett (3) and Mark Wood (0) being dispatched as bowler Jayden Seales dropped them to 38-3.
Windies skipper Kraigg Brathwaite won the toss and chose to bat, leading his side to a solid start before a spell of three wickets in five overs before lunch put England on top.
Atkinson accounted for Mikyle Louis (26) and Alick Athanaze (2) on either side of Wood sending stumps flying with a full delivery to dismiss Kirk McKenize for 12.
Brathwaite's knock of 61 was brought to a halt shortly after the action resumed, the captain gloving Wood's leg-side ball to Jamie Smith as the tourists slid from 76-0 to 115-5 in 45 balls.
Holder (59) and Da Silva (49) then shared 108 to drag the Windies towards a respectable total, but things looked bleak for them when the latter feathered Woakes' ball through to Smith.
Having gone 30 overs without a wicket, England needed just 14 more to polish off the tail, the highlight being a terrific diving catch from Joe Root to send Gudakesh Motie (8) packing.
England were given just over half an hour with the bat to cap Friday's action, but any hopes of a serene finish were soon dashed.
Holder made two terrific catches off Seales' bowling, the first from Crawley's thick outside edge and the second to dismiss Wood for a duck, either side of Alzarri Joseph's cracking delivery accounting for Duckett.
That spell ensured what had been a good day for the hosts ended on a sour note, with the Windies sure to target quick wickets when the action resumes on Saturday.
Data Debrief: Atkinson and Seales dominate
This series began with all the focus on James Anderson as England's greatest-ever bowler bowed out at Lord's, but Atkinson has taken centre-stage since making his Test debut in the opening match and now has 20 wickets through five innings.
That is eight more than West Indies' Jayden Seales, the next-most prolific bowler in this series, has managed.
Seales was determined to have an impact on day one, though, and his two wickets at the death have set the stage for a far more competitive match than those England won at Lord's and Trent Bridge.
Bairstow set sights on swift England Test return
Jonny Bairstow bit back when asked if he was targeting an England return, insisting it is "all I want to do."
Bairstow was dropped from England's Test team for the ongoing series against West Indies.
The 34-year-old was part of England's T20 World Cup squad, and played in all five Tests of the tour of India earlier this year.
Bairstow has made 100 Test appearances, and when asked what his immediate target was, the wicketkeeper-batsman told former England captain and now-BBC Sport pundit Michael Vaughan: "All I want to do is play for England. That's end of.
"You don't need to ask me that do you? I think you know me well enough and I think you've known me for long enough to know that."
Bairstow did, however, enjoy a break away from the game, having had four weeks off before he joined the Welsh Fire for the Hundred.
He said: "At the same time it's been a great period of time.
"I had the best part of seven months away from home. Since January, I had five nights at home in my own bed since, until three weeks ago.
"That's the thing you have to sacrifice, time at home but at the same time, when you are away for that period of time, it takes its toll."
England are 2-0 up against the Windies in their three-match series, with the final Test starting at Edgbaston on Friday.
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