SCOTT Johnson was a 15-year-old Year 9 student at Golden Square Secondary College when he made his BDCA first XI debut.
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That was in round three of the 1991-92 season for Golden Square against White Hills.
Now Johnson is a 41-year-old police officer with four children aged from two to eight, been married for 14 years and the school he once studied at is closed down.
Clearly plenty has changed for Johnson over the past 26 years, but the one constant in his life has been cricket on a Saturday afternoon with Golden Square.
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On Saturday Johnson will become just the 10th player in BDCA history to play 300 first XI games when Square takes on Bendigo United at Harry Trott Oval.
For Johnson, it’s another accolade to add to what is a lengthy cricket CV that is stacked with both personal and team accomplishments.
Batsman, spin bowler – although he was a slippery pace bowler as a youngster – wicket-keeper, captain, coach, Johnson has done it all throughout his career at Wade Street and his passion for cricket is still as strong as it was when he first pulled the pads on as a junior with Golden Square.
“I just love the competition of bat against ball and it’s obviously a unique sport,” Johnson said this week.
“You can play the game over two weekends over 12 or 13 hours to get one result, but the biggest lure is still to be playing finals cricket.
“Without a doubt I’d give everything back just for the opportunity to have a chance at another premiership.”
Should he be part of another premiership team at Golden Square, it would add to the five flags Johnson has already played in from nine grand final appearances.
Four of those flags were won in consecutive seasons from 1995-96 to 1998-99 under captain Wayne Walsh in what was a golden dynasty that hasn’t been emulated since in the BDCA.
“After you’ve won one or two, to then go on and make it four, you start to think that this is going to happen every year,” Johnson said.
“But after the fourth one we went through a long spell where we struggled to make the finals, so it drags you back to reality fairly quickly.”
His fifth flag was 2008-09.
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Throughout his 299 games, Johnson has compiled 9135 runs at an average of 38.2 with eight centuries – a best of 138 n.o – and another 67 scores above 50.
Only Heath Behrens (11,579), Leon Grose (10,407), Walsh (10,068) and Shane Cowling (9457) have scored more first XI runs in BDCA history.
He’ll attest that he’s far from flashy, but Johnson describes his patience at the crease as one of his strengths, always placing a high price on his wicket, whether that’s opening the batting or dropping down the order as he has in recent seasons.
“I’ve always been a traditional sort of batsman… a bit different to the kids coming through today,” Johnson said.
And it’s those young players in the competition and the roles they are given from the outset in their first XI careers that Johnson considers one of the biggest changes he’s experienced in the BDCA over more than a quarter-of-a-century.
“When I made my debut I was basically picked as a fieldsman. Back then it was unheard of to have a 15-year-old who would bat any higher than No.9,” Johnson said.
“Back then it was the junior player, no matter how good they were, would always bat down towards the bottom, so I just had to be a good fielder and wait for my opportunity up the order.
“It’s a lot different now where teams are prepared to bat the 15 and 16-year-olds at No.3 and 4 and the message is always just go out and play your game.”
With the ball he has snared 214 wickets at an average of 22.4, which includes a hat-trick taken against Bendigo United in 2009-10, while he is back behind the stumps as wicket-keeper this season.
It’s those tally of wickets, combined with haul of runs, that have helped Johnson become one of just three players – along with Walsh and Adam Burns – to win the BDCA Cricketer of the Year three times, having done so in 2000-01, 2009-10 and 2012-13.