A Kiwi Goes to England and Bollywood
Written by Daniel Turner, Thursday June 10 2010
Canterbury and New Zealand Under 19 off spinner Tim Johnson is spanning the globe as he prepares for a season abroad in England. Johnson is the only New Zealand recipient of the prestigious Lords Scholarship placing him in the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) Young Cricketers Program. This entitles him to follow in the footsteps of past greats as he gets to take advantage of the expert coaching, training and facilities of the MCC.
Johnson has played in five matches for MCC and has accounted himself admirably. Playing in the County 2nd XI League his level of competition has risen dramatically. His first match pitted him against Steven Finn, a renowned right arm fast medium bowler, and Johnson stills recoils from that confrontation. Johnson is pulling double duty since he is also playing for Gore Court in the Kent League. It is with this side that he scored his first half century in the UK by hitting 53 of 59 balls. He attributes the accelerated level of training he is receiving in England for his success.
Along with training in the sport the MCC also has Johnson and his teammates learn the intricacies of staging matches. For example, Johnson’s daily duties include ground maintenance of the playing surface. During the England vs. Bangladesh match he worked the Lords Shop selling souvenirs to the fans. In addition, he spent some time with the scorers to let them know the name of the incoming batsman.
Along with the experience of playing on English soil, Johnson was cast for a movie to be shown in cricket crazy India. The film’s plot involves the Twenty20 World Cup and the director got permission from MCC to use their players. Johnson played on the English side which, in the movie, wins the Cup. Johnson hopes life imitates art for his future career.
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