Spencer Johnson will know within days whether a stubborn stress fracture will allow him to bowl in this season’s Big Bash and, by extension, stake a claim for Australia’s T20 World Cup squad.
While selectors have been anxiously following Pat Cummins’ own medical checks, Johnson’s situation has slipped under the radar. The 29-year-old left-armer was first ruled out of the recent Caribbean T20Is with what was loosely labelled a back injury. Only in September did chair of selectors George Bailey concede that Johnson “was unlikely to play until the new year”.
Johnson hopes that prognosis proves pessimistic. Speaking at a Brisbane Heat kit launch in Melbourne on Thursday he cut a visibly frustrated figure, but insisted the back itself feels sound.
“The back, to be honest, feels fine,” Johnson said. “Stressies are one of those things where they feel good, but it’s just just a waiting game. I’ve got a scan in over the next couple of days, and pending that result, we’ll be able to find out hopefully a return to play there. I think it should be around the Big Bash in some capacity, whether it’s at the start or manage through that. It’s frustrating, but it is what it is.”
The timeline of the injury has muddied the waters. Johnson experienced soreness during the IPL but dismissed it as a disc flare-up – an issue he has managed before – and continued training. The pain settled quickly, so he left India assuming he was clear. Only when he began loading up for the West Indies tour did the discomfort return.
“I started to get a bit of back discomfort, and sort of wasn’t too bad, because I was only really training at that stage,” Johnson said. “And when I got back to Australia, I was trying to build-up for the T20 series in the West Indies. I think just the increased load stirred it up a little bit a little bit more. And we got a scan, and unfortunately, there was a stress [fracture] there. A little bit uncommon for a 29-year-old.”
Subsequent scans have confused rather than clarified. “It’s a bit of a strange one, because initially they thought it was an old fracture that had just sort of scarred and then I think more recently the more scans we’ve done, they’ve thought it’s probably a fresher one,” he added.
The timing is undeniably awkward. Johnson missed the 2024 limited-overs trip to England through injury, responded with a breakout home T20I series against Pakistan – highlighted by a five-for in Sydney – and forced his way into the Champions Trophy when Australia’s senior quicks were sidelined. He produced tidy figures of 2 for 49 in a rain-ruined match against Afghanistan but has not been sighted at international level since.
Australia play white-ball series against India next month, then settle on a preliminary World Cup squad early in the new year. Without BBL overs under his belt, Johnson will struggle to press his case.
Former Test quick and now television analyst Dirk Nannes believes patience, rather than panic, is required. “Stress fractures can turn quickly once the bone lays down,” Nannes told local radio. “If the scan is clean he could be bowling flat-out in three to four weeks. If it’s not, you write off the summer and get him right for next winter.”
For the Heat, Johnson’s availability is equally significant. Coach Wade Seccombe has built an attack around left-arm variation and swing; losing his quickest option would force a rethink. Yet neither franchise nor national set-up is likely to rush him. Australia have recent, painful memories of fast bowlers hurrying back too soon.
Johnson’s own outlook remains pragmatic. “I’ve done the work,” he said, gesturing to the rehabilitation band around his wrist. “If the scan’s good, great – I’ll be out there with the boys. If not, I’ll keep ticking boxes and come back when it’s right. That’s cricket, isn’t it?”
For now, everything hinges on a few images of bone and muscle: an 11-month domestic campaign and a possible World Cup debut compressed into the click of a radiologist’s mouse.
