Spencer Johnson, who took everyone by surprise with his raw pace has found a route to play international cricket with his native team Italy. Yes, the fast bowler who coolly faced hitters like Marcus Stoinis and Tim David in 20th over of the tournament has decided to play for Italy.
It is a wonderful story. Italy is currently ranked 32nd in T20 cricket and their hopes will be tested in Scotland during World Cup Europe Qualifier. This will be a 7 team tournament with Ireland, Austria, Germany, Denmark, Jersey, Italy and Scotland; all eyes on the qualifications for next year’s World Cup tournament.
After fighting an ailment for more than five years, Johnson, whose grandpa was born in Italy, has had a breakthrough summer with the ball. He has taken nine Big Bash League wickets to help the Heat get to the final in Perth last month.
The 27-year-old, who can bowl at speeds of more than 145 km/h, made his debut for South Australia in a first-class match last week, taking 6-87 wickets in the Redbacks’ 177-run loss to Victoria at Junction Oval.
One of his counterparts in Big Bash League, Ben Manenti has also applied to play for his native country Italy. Wayne Madsen is looking forward to join Italy and all this sums up as a good step towards building an international team.
These guys will add the international fervour to their representative countries and there will be a lot of learning for these players as well as those who are playing associate level of cricket.
Talking about Spencer Johnson, Italy captain Gareth Berg said, “He’s going to be a huge boost for us. It’s always nice to have someone that can bowl close to 150 clicks at that level. He’s had quite a tough time with injuries, but he’s coming back pretty strong now. He’s raring to get involved in July.”