Neil Johnson - The Gay Blade

Neil Johnson has proved a talisman for Zimbabwe since he arrived from South Africa, and he has been working his charms in England as he has done twice before. John Ward reports...

During the 1999 World Cup, Neil Johnson earned himself a reputation as the gay cavalier of Zimbabwe cricket. The tall, fair-haired, smiling left-hander quickly made a place for himself in the eyes of the public with his powerful off-driving of new-ball bowlers and his frequent early wickets when opening the bowling with medium-fast seamers.

Zimbabwe's performances in the World Cup were erratic, with talented team mates failing to find consistent form. The Flower brothers began well but trailed away. Heath Streak always found it difficult to control the white ball. Henry Olonga had a moment of glory against India. It was Johnson's good fortune to peak at just the right time.

Johnson was already known to English enthusiasts after a successful batting season with Leicestershire in 1997, although injury had prevented him from bowling. He began the tournament well, with a fifty and four wickets against Kenya at Taunton. Then came three quiet matches before he ran into his best form in that vital match against South Africa, when Zimbabwe had become resigned to taking the next plane home.

The Chelmsford ground was bathed in sunshine as the two teams met in their final group match. Unusually, Zimbabwe decided to bat first, feeling that conditions were more in favour of batting, and also their spin attack, than in previous matches. Johnson opened the batting against Pollock, Kallis and Donald, and chose to play his natural game, going for his strokes. There were a couple of uncomfortable moments, but also a couple of half-volleys, and he was away. His 76 runs topped a comfortable Zimbabwe batting performance.

The first ball of South Africa's innings, as they chased Zimbabwe's 233, was bowled by Johnson. It rose from a length and Gary Kirsten fended it off to be caught in the gully. He had Jacques Kallis caught at the wicket without scoring and bowled Hansie Cronje for four: vital wickets as Zimbabwe romped home to a stunning 48-run victory. It was an emotional moment for Johnson as he received the Man of the Match award for his performance against the country where he learned most of his cricket.

Zimbabwe, much to their amazement, went through to the Super Six stage, when most of the team seemed to be afflicted by self-doubt. Only Johnson seemed unaffected, and he chose the Lord's match against the Australians to record his highest one-day score, a superb, unbeaten 132 in a losing cause, and then scored 54 in the debacle against Pakistan at The Oval. He was now an established figure in the eyes of the world, as was confirmed by his recent selection for the Rest of the World XI to play the Asian XI at Dhaka.

His outgoing, carefree demeanour, on and off the field, disguises the fact that life has not always been easy for him. He grew up on a farm in the Mvurwi district in northern Mashonaland, which bore the brunt of the bush war during the '70s, and his family suffered along with many others. When finally the guns ceased in 1980, his father was glad to accept a job as a farming consultant in Howick, Natal, and the family emigrated with Neil at the age of 10.

He had already begun his cricket career creditably at the Mvurwi primary school, and his progress continued in South Africa. He finished his schooling at Kingswood College in Grahamstown, where he opened the bowling with Brett Schultz for Eastern Province Schools and was selected for the full South African Schools team in 1988. He always played as an all-rounder, although in his school days he was generally thought of more as a bowler who could bat.

In Eastern Province he came under the influence of Kepler Wessels, the man he admires most in the cricket world. He pays tribute to Wessels for much of his success: he found him a hard man and a demanding taskmaster, but learned much from him about how to develop the mental toughness required at the top level. Despite Wessels' patronage, Johnson did not receive much encouragement from the local administrators, so he moved back to Natal after finishing his university career, in response to a good offer.

Good all-round form led to Johnson's selection for the South Africa A tour of Zimbabwe in 1994/95, where Denis Streak, the father of Heath, sounded him out about the possibility of returning to play for the country of his birth. Johnson was not in a position to consider this immediately, but kept it in mind, and in 1997 he finally made his move, obtaining approval from the Zimbabwean government to act as a cricket coach in Matabeleland and also be available to play for the country.

He had a somewhat dramatic entry into Test cricket, regaining his Zimbabwean citizenship less than 48 hours before the home Test match against India in October 1998. He failed with the bat, but played a crucial part in Zimbabwe's historic victory with the ball and in the field. He took three slip catches and dismissed Sachin Tendulkar twice, tying him down and frustrating him into playing false strokes.

Success with the bat was not long in coming. Zimbabwe toured Pakistan the following month, and Johnson hit his first international century in the Second One-Day International, his 103 putting his side on the road to a six-wicket win. Only six days later he was at it again. Coming in to save a Waqar Younis hat-trick, he blazed his way to a century off only 103 balls, 107 out of a total of 238, which again played a crucial part in Zimbabwe's first Test victory overseas.

Since the World Cup his fortunes have varied. A one-day century against Australia and an innings of 97 against England in Cape Town have to be set against some disappointments in the Tests, and he also suffered from a groin strain, aggravated during the World Cup, which prevented him from bowling until the new year. He had a disappointing tour of the West Indies, where he was ill-advisedly asked to open the batting in the First Test, and came to England well short of his best form with both bat and ball.

Johnson is a fine one-day opener, but his strengths in the one-day game become weaknesses if he is required to face the new ball in Test cricket. His policy is to go for his shots, to look to dominate: if the ball is there, he will hit it, and the glory of his off-side stroke-play at its best is always memorable. His team will hope the return to his fields of glory in England is inspiring him to fresh conquests on his country's first major tour of the home of cricket. The NatWest Triangular final against the hosts at Lord's provides the perfect setting.