Johnson: I always believed that I would come back and play for England
Anand Vasu - 27 November 2001

There's quite a story behind the man who rocked India ‘A’ on the morning of the first day's play at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium in Jaipur. Richard Johnson, who has been the eternal bridesmaid, remaining on the sidelines during the last five years, scalped three wickets in the space of just eight balls to peg back the home side at 8/4. Selected to tour South Africa in 1995-96, Johnson was forced to withdraw with a back injury. After a patient wait, the former Middlesex and current Somerset medium-pacer was drafted into the England squad thrice last season getting a game only once. Just when he thought it was too late, Johnson got the call up against India 'A' and delivered in style.

Excerpts from a chat with the press:

On finally getting a break to play for England:

When you come on tour and know that there are only three warm-up games, you hope to play at least one of them. Fortunately I got to play today. I was told just this morning by Nasser Hussain, at the ground, that I would be playing. And yes I was a bit nervous last night. I'm a little bit like that anyway. If it (selection) happens then I take it from there. It was quite a start really. The ball swung early on and I was happy to pick up three wickets and put my hand up for selection. In these conditions you have to take advantage of the ball swinging, and it did quite a bit early on.

On what his aims were at the start of play:

I haven't bowled in over two months and I'm still trying to search for my rhythm. The wicket is still doing a bit and I thought (Abhijit) Kale batted very well to get a hundred. He stuck it out early on when things were really difficult. The ball still did a bit later on, but he batted really well. It's going to be difficult for us to score runs on this track, but the openers have done alright so far.

On which wicket pleased him the most:

It was nice to get the first wicket under the belt, it makes you relax a bit more. But the second wicket personally is the one that gave me most pleasure. It was a delivery I enjoyed tremendously - swung away and nipped back in. I've never bowled one like that before!

On how tough the wait on the sidelines has been:

It's been frustrating obviously. As I keep saying, it was just nice to be involved with the England team. When I moved to Somerset my plan really was to work hard with Kevin Shine (Somerset coach) and push hard for a place in the next season. Things went very well and it was great to be involved with the squad in the Ashes series.

On his chances of a Test berth:

I hope I've caught the selectors' eye. The way I look at this is - I've done OK, and can improve on what I've done. Hopefully I can get a bit more rhythm under my belt in the second innings and take it from there.

On the conditions in India:

I don't think we're going to get a wicket like this at other venues. Bowling just short of a length, the ball did a bit. That's probably the wrong line to be bowling on a traditional Indian wicket. But we're experimenting a bit before the Tests begin.

On whether he ever lost hope:

I always believed that I would actually come back and play for England. As I said, when I moved to Somerset, I knew Kevin Shine could help and that I was in contention. The most frustrating time really was when I had my back injury and it took me nearly two seasons to get back to bowling at my best.

On how he would bowl to Sachin Tendulkar:

You just have to try and bowl a good line and length and slip one of those perfect deliveries in every now and then (laughs).

On the additional pressure bowlers are under after the ball-tampering controversy:

The eyes are obviously looking much more closely at what you're doing. But so long as you're not doing anything illegal, you have nothing to worry about. Just rub the ball hard on your trousers and get on with the game!

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