Spencer Johnson has expressed his desire to play first-class cricket again. The left-arm speedster, who turns 31 in December 2026, has not featured in a first-class match since November 2024, a gap that stretches across the entire 2025-26 Australian domestic season after a lumbar stress fracture ruled him out for the year.

His most recent red-ball outing came last week when he bowled for South Australia's Second XI against Victoria's Second XI in Mildura, while Australia's Test side were playing in Cape Town. Johnson delivered 29 overs across both innings and returned match figures of 1 for 93. Those 29 overs represent the most he has bowled in a single match since his last Sheffield Shield appearance, where he sent down 45 overs before a further run of injuries pushed him toward white-ball cricket exclusively.

Johnson's white-ball form has been steady through 2026. He played three IPL games in May 2026 before making his international return on Australia's T20I tour of Bangladesh in June 2026. He has since featured in two ODIs against Zimbabwe and two unofficial ODIs against Australia A's matches involving India. In mid-October 2026, he recorded career-best List A figures for South Australia in a One-Day Cup fixture. He is named in Australia's 14-member ODI squad to face England in a three-match series beginning November 13, 2026, and also in the T20I squad for the five-match series that follows. As reported by Cricinfo, the South Australia team is open to facilitating that return once he has demonstrated he can sustain a red-ball workload.

"I played a Second XI game last week and managed to tick that off. Got through. It was a nice hit out, first red-ball game in two years. So it's definitely something I'm working towards. And I think playing a bilateral one-day series, there's three games in five or six days, so that's probably as good a load as you're going to get for a red-ball match. And yeah, hopefully we get there," Johsnon said, speaking to reporters in Adelaide, as quoted by Cricinfo.

What does Johnson's Second XI appearance establish about his red-ball readiness?

The Mildura outing was a deliberate step in Johnson's red-ball conditioning rather than a statement of full fitness. Bowling 29 overs across two innings is a meaningful workload for a fast bowler returning from a lumbar stress fracture, and South Australia's management has indicated they are willing to give him further opportunities at that level as his body tolerates the load. Johnson has played only six first-class matches across his entire career, so any return to Shield cricket would represent a significant extension of his red-ball experience.

"I'm still getting there. I think that's been the the topic of conversation for me with the coaches here. It's obviously having 12 months off, but not going to feel like I was probably two years ago straight away. And yeah, the more continuity I get with my game and string a few together. Hopefully, I'll get there," Johnson said of his injury record.

The broader context for Johnson's ambitions sits within Australia's pace-bowling picture. There was a period when Johnson was being considered as a long-term Test option to eventually succeed Mitchell Starc, but both Johnson and Australia's hierarchy acknowledge that his body needs to handle significantly greater red-ball loads before that conversation becomes realistic.

Which other Australian pace bowlers are managing injury returns alongside Johnson?

Australia's fast-bowling depth is under scrutiny from several directions at once. Nathan Ellis has been ruled out of the ODI series against England with a side strain, though he is included in the T20I squad for the matches that follow. His absence from the 50-over leg has opened a spot that the selectors have filled within the existing squad structure.

Upcoming Western Australia quick Mahli Beardman is also in both squads to face England despite never having played a first-class match. Beardman suffered a stress fracture in February 2026, which derailed a plan to introduce him to red-ball cricket at the end of last summer.

Lance Morris is working his way back to List A cricket after spending 18 months on the sidelines following back surgery. His early-season Sheffield Shield return was cut short by a side strain, further delaying his comeback. Meanwhile, Callum Vidler, the exciting Queensland quick who was Beardman's team-mate in Australia's Under-19 World Cup-winning side, has not yet bowled in Queensland Premier Cricket as he continues a long, slow recovery from his own stress fracture last summer, with his domestic return date still to be confirmed.