Charlie is spinning up a storm

Charlie Johnson landed his leggies perfectly on Saturday taking an incredible 7/8 for Beaconsfield against Coomoora. 258989 Pictures: STEWART CHAMBERS

By David Nagel

Beaconsfield youngster Charlie Johnson has taken the giant step from junior to senior cricket in his stride after spinning up a storm against a dazzled Coomoora B Grade side on Saturday.

Charlie, the son of Beaconsfield senior coach Brendan, put his ever-improving leg spinners to good use – claiming the remarkable figures of 7/8 off 4.3 overs in the Dandenong and District Cricket Association (DDCA) clash at Grices Road.

Charlie has been working on his leggies since the age of eight, when he first worked out he could give the ball a decent tweak.

“I’ve been bowling leggies since I started playing cricket, some of them came out well, and turned, so I kept doing it,” Charlie explained.

“I’ve done lots of practice over the last few years and through the off-season. I used to have lots of flight, but I don’t have much flight anymore and I can bowl them a lot quicker.”

Charlie, 14, had the Coomoora batsmen in a spin from the outset, when he took the ball with the opposition sitting on 3/34 in search of Beaconsfield’s 7/144 from earlier in the day.

Charlie would take the last seven wickets to fall, leaving the Coomoora side scratching its head after being bundled out by the young-gun for 44.

At one stage he took three wickets in four balls!

“My first wicket came in my second over, there were two stumpings and five catches, a lot of them top edges,” Charlie said.

“After a while I felt like I was on a roll, it felt like I could land it on the spot, it was very exciting.

“I got 4/14 in an under-16s match once so these are my best figures.”

Charlie became interested in cricket at a young age, following his dad Brendan around the traps before starting to play himself and quickly falling in love with the sport.

Under the guidance of former Beaconsfield spinner Matt Golding he rapidly improved, and is now looking to take his craft to new levels.

Charlie, who has a top-score of 65 with the bat, already has variations with his bowling, but is looking to add more!

“I can spin it a lot and I have a couple of variations…I can bowl a top-spinner but I didn’t bowl it on the weekend,” he said.

“I love bowling leg-spinners, I try and rip them, and I can bowl a wrong-un as well.

‘I’m trying to develop a flipper…but that’s a two-year plan.”

The Berwick College student used to play junior football for Beaconsfield and basketball for his home-town of Berwick at Dandenong Stadium.

But he is now focussed on just having fun and really enjoying his cricket.

And it’s no surprise who his cricketing hero is!

“Dad is definitely my hero and I love watching Marnus Labuschagne bat, and also Scott Edwards, who plays for the Netherlands and Monash Tigers,” he said.

“I’d like to play with dad at some point and just go as far as I can with my cricket and work as hard as I can. I love bowling to dad and the senior players at Beaconsfield – it’s a lot of fun.”

Charlie has already been identified as a talent of the future, playing representative cricket in the Under-12 Kevin Mitchell Shield and the Under-14 Russell Allen Shield.

His older brother Oliver and younger brother Harry also both play cricket, while Charlie considers his cricket teammates as some of his closest friends.

Brendan couldn’t be there to watch Charlie dominate on Saturday, but had regular updates on proceedings.

“His mum (Gabby) was there, and she was pretty excited, so I got regular text messages about what was happening,” Brendan said.

“He has played a couple of senior games before but that’s the first big game he has had.

“I’m very proud, but it’s just good to see a smile on his face…that’s the main thing.”

You get the feeling that Charlie’s smile will be hard to wipe off as long as he has a spinning cricket ball fizzing out of his hands!