David Trent Johnston (born 29 April 1974) is an Irish-Australian
cricket
Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...
coach and former player. He was born in
Wollongong
Wollongong ( ; Dharawal: ''Woolyungah'') is a city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The name is believed to originate from the Dharawal language, meaning either 'five islands/clouds', 'ground near water' or 'sound ...
,
New South Wales
New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
, and played his early cricket for
New South Wales
New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
in Australian domestic competitions.
[Cricket Archive profile](_blank)
/ref> A right-handed batsman
In cricket, batting is the act or skill of hitting the cricket ball, ball with a cricket bat, bat to score runs (cricket), runs and prevent the dismissal (cricket), loss of one's wicket. Any player who is currently batting is, since Septembe ...
and right-arm fast-medium bowler, he later moved to Ireland, and made his debut for the Ireland cricket team
The Ireland men's cricket team represents All-Ireland in international cricket. The Irish Cricket Union, operating under the brand Cricket Ireland, is the sport's governing body in Ireland, and they organise the international team. The team ha ...
in 2004. Johnston was subsequently named captain of Ireland, and was a regular fixture in the national team until his retirement in 2013. He coached the Hong Kong national cricket team
The Hong Kong men's national cricket team is the team that represents Hong Kong in international competitions. It played its first match in 1866 and has been an associate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) since 1969.[Sheffield Shield
The Sheffield Shield is the domestic first-class cricket competition of Australia. The tournament is contested between teams representing the six states of Australia. The Sheffield Shield is named after Henry Holroyd, 3rd Earl of Sheffield, Lor ...]
match against Tasmania
Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...
in March 1999.[First-class matches played by Trent Johnston at Cricket Archive](_blank)
/ref> He opened the bowling with Brett Lee
Brett Lee (born 8 November 1976) is an Australian former international cricketer, who played all three formats of the game. During his international career, Lee was recognised as one of the fastest bowlers in the world. With his time representin ...
who would make his debut for Australia later that year. Johnston's first wicket was that of Michael Di Venuto; he took one more wicket that day, but after play ended on the second day Johnston suffered a broken arm as the team coach drove off while he was climbing on. He played his only List A match for them in October that year, against Queensland
Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
.[List A matches played by Trent Johnston at Cricket Archive](_blank)
/ref> He played four Pura Cup matches for them in 2000 before his career took him to Ireland. New South Wales failed to notify Johnston that his contract had not been renewed and he was instead informed by a team-mate. He returned to club cricket where he represented Campbelltown, North Sydney
North Sydney is a suburb and commercial district on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. And is the administrative centre for the local government area of North Sydney Council.
History
The Indigenous people on the s ...
, and Mosman, captaining the last.
Playing for Ireland
Johnston first played club cricket in Ireland in 1995 and returned for four more seasons, meeting his former wife Vanessa, with whom he had two children. He continued playing Sydney Grade Cricket
NSW Premier Cricket, formerly and still commonly known as Sydney Grade Cricket is a cricket competition played in Sydney, Australia, and is highest level club cricket competition in the state of New South Wales The competition began in 1893 when ...
for North Sydney Cricket Club, but qualified for an Irish passport and then-coach Adrian Birrell decided he might be a useful addition to the Irish side. He made his debut for Ireland on 5 May 2004 against Surrey
Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...
in a C & G Trophy match that Ireland won, only their second win against a first-class county
A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...
. He also played in the next match of the competition against Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...
. Johnston's next appearances for Ireland were two matches against the West Indies
The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...
in June, the second of which Ireland won. He then played against the MCC later that month, before making his first-class debut for Ireland against the Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
in the Intercontinental Cup. This was followed by the 2004 European Championship
A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs.
In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...
and a first-class match against Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
. The main action for Ireland in 2005 was the 2005 ICC Trophy
The 2005 ICC Trophy was a cricket tournament held in Ireland between 1 July and 13 July 2005. It was an international one-day tournament played over 50 overs per side between 12 Associate Members of the International Cricket Council. It served a ...
, hosted in both Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
and the Republic of Ireland
Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...
. Johnston was in the Irish squad and they reached the final, losing to Scotland, but still qualifying for the 2007 World Cup.
Ireland captain
He was made Irish captain in time for the semi-final of the 2005 Intercontinental Cup against the UAE
The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a federal elective monarchy made up of seven emirates, with Abu Dhabi serving as i ...
in Windhoek
Windhoek (; ; ) is the capital and largest city of Namibia. It is located in central Namibia in the Khomas Highland plateau area, at around above sea level, almost exactly at the country's geographical centre. The population of Windhoek, which ...
, Namibia
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...
. The match was drawn, but Ireland qualified for the final on bonus points. Ireland faced Kenya
Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...
in the final, winning by six wickets. The following year started with several matches against English county sides before captaining Ireland in their first ever One Day International
One Day International (ODI) is a format of cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of fifty overs, with the game lasting up to 7 hours. The World Cup, generally held every four yea ...
against England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
.[List of Ireland's ODI matches at Cricket Archive](_blank)
/ref> He also played in the European Championship that year, which included ODIs against Scotland and the Netherlands.
/ref> He also played in two Intercontinental Cup matches, against Namibia
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...
and Scotland.
Johnston remained Irish captain for the World Cricket League
The ICC World Cricket League (WCL) was a series of international one-day cricket tournaments for national teams without Test status (i.e., teams of Associate status) administered by the International Cricket Council. All Associate Members of ...
Division One tournament in Kenya
Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...
in January/February 2007 and for the World Cup
A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...
, playing an Intercontinental Cup match against the UAE in between the two events. The World Cup provided Johnston with some of the high points in his cricket career, leading his team to a thrilling tie against Zimbabwe
file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map
Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...
and hitting the winning runs against Pakistan
Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
to record one of the biggest upsets in cricket history. He also captained Ireland to a win over Bangladesh
Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...
in the Super Eight stage of the tournament as Ireland finished eighth in the tournament. He remained captain of the Ireland side for their Friends Provident Trophy
The Friends Provident Trophy was a one-day cricket competition in the United Kingdom.
It was one of the four tournaments in which the eighteen first-class cricket, first-class counties competed each season. They were joined by teams from Scott ...
campaign in 2007 and took a hat-trick
A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three.
Origin
The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...
against Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...
on 10 May 2007 which was only the second hat-trick for Ireland, the only previous one coming in August 1877 against I Zingari
I Zingari (from dialectalized Italian , meaning "the Gypsies"; corresponding to standard Italian ') are English and Australian amateur cricket clubs, founded in 1845 and 1888 respectively. It is the oldest and perhaps the most famous of the ' ...
.
In Irish club cricket, he played for the Carlisle Cricket club and Railway Union Cricket Club. In October 2007, he published a book "Raiders of the Caribbean" (co-authored with Gerard Siggins) with The O'Brien Press which tells the story of Ireland's performances in the 2007 Cricket World Cup
The ICC Men's Cricket World Cup is a quadrennial world cup for cricket in One Day International (ODI) format, organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). The tournament is one of the world's most viewed sporting events and consid ...
.
Rest and return
In March 2008 Johnston announced that he was stepping down as Ireland captain and taking a break from international cricket and would miss the 2008 Friends Provident Cup, though he would continue to play for Railway Union and expected to play for Ireland return later that year. Johnston explained the rest was to allow him to focus on his family life, his professional career, and allow his body to recover from various injuries. Though he remarked "I don't think I'm up to the strains of one-day cricket any more", he would go on to play more than 30 further ODIs. In July he was selected for Ireland's Intercontinental Cup fixture against Canada, but opted out of the one-day match. Ireland hosted the 2009 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier in early August. Johnston made his Twenty20 International
Twenty20 International (T20I) is a form of Twenty20 cricket, in which each team plays a single innings with a maximum of twenty overs. The matches are played between international teams recognized by the International Cricket Council (ICC). ...
debut during the tournament, which was also Ireland's first T20I match.
Cricket Ireland
Cricket Ireland (formerly the Irish Cricket Union) is the national Sport governing body, governing body for cricket on the island of Ireland (both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland), and oversees the national Ireland cricket team, men' ...
announced their first central contracts for players in June 2009; previously the Ireland team had been made up of amateurs, aside from those players who could forge careers in the England Cricket Board's County Championship
The County Championship, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Rothesay County Championship, is the only domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales. Established in 1890, it is organised by the England and Wales Cri ...
, and this was part of an initiative to make the sport more professional. Johnston and Alex Cusack
Alex Richard Cusack (born 29 October 1980) is a former Australian-born-Irish cricketer. A club cricketer for Clontarf, Cusack was a carpenter by trade until he was awarded a professional contract with the Irish Cricket Union in 2009. He played a ...
were the two players given the contracts. Johnston won his 100th cap in the August 2009 ODI loss to England, when he was named Man of the Match, for 20 not out and bowling figures of 10–2–26–4. Johnston was one of seven Ireland players to be nominated for the 2009 Associate and Affiliate Player of the Year (there were fourteen nominees in all), although he did not make the 4-man short-list. In January 2010 the ICU
In January 2010 Cricket Ireland expanded the number of players with central contracts to six, including Johnston. That year he was again nominated for the Associate and Affiliate Player of the Year Award, this time alongside two other Ireland players (there were 16 nominees in all); the award was given to Ryan ten Doeschate
Ryan Neil ten Doeschate (; born 30 June 1980) is a Dutch cricket coach and former cricketer. He is currently one of the assistant coaches of Indian men’s cricket team. Born in South Africa, he played for the Netherlands national cricket team ...
of the Netherlands. Johnston was selected in Ireland's 15-man squad for the 2011 World Cup. During Ireland's 3 wicket win against England on 2 March Johnston took his 50th ODI wicket when he bowled Michael Yardy and in the process became the first Irish bowler to do so.
Coaching
Johnston had plans to move into coaching after he finished playing, and with that in mind he accepted the head coach role with YMCA in 2012. In March the same year he left Railway Union to play for Sandymount. In June 2014 he was appointed as assistant coach to the NSW Blues and Sydney Sixers
The Sydney Sixers is an Australian professional franchise men's cricket team, competing in Australia's domestic Twenty20 cricket competition, the Big Bash League (BBL). Along with the Sydney Thunder, the Sixers are the successors of the Spee ...
.
In July 2019, Johnston was appointed as the head coach of the Hong Kong national cricket team
The Hong Kong men's national cricket team is the team that represents Hong Kong in international competitions. It played its first match in 1866 and has been an associate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) since 1969.[2022 Asia Cup
The 2022 Asia Cup (also known as DP World Asia Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the 15th edition of the Asia Cup cricket tournament, with the matches played as Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) during August and September 2022 in the United Arab Em ...]
, following victory at the 2022 Asia Cup Qualifier, as well as at the 2022 ICC Men's T20 World Cup Global Qualifier B. He resigned as coach in October 2022, after a tabloid newspaper published details of alleged extramarital affairs that occurred while he was on tour with the team.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnston, Trent
Irish cricketers
1974 births
Living people
Ireland One Day International cricketers
Irish cricket captains
Cricketers at the 2007 Cricket World Cup
Cricketers at the 2011 Cricket World Cup
Ireland Twenty20 International cricketers
Australian cricketers
Australian emigrants to Ireland
New South Wales cricketers
Cricketers from Wollongong
Irish cricket coaches
Australian cricket coaches
Coaches of the Hong Kong national cricket team
Australian expatriates in Hong Kong
Naturalised citizens of Ireland