 Johnston took up cricket from an early age , playing with his elder brother Allan throughout the year on a backyard pitch on the family 's dairy farm , owned by his father . Beeac 's local team , which competed in the Colac District Association , occasionally had difficulty in assembling a full side . As a result , Johnston made his debut aged only twelve alongside his brother after an invitation from his schoolteacher . On debut , when a draw became a foregone conclusion , Johnston was allowed to bowl the final over , taking a wicket maiden . The following season , the brothers led Beeac 's attack , continuing to do so after moving to Colac High School , where Bill became captain of the cricket and football teams and a prefect . Johnston left school at sixteen , working in Colac , before following Allan to Melbourne in 1939 . He joined Richmond Cricket Club in the Third XI and took 6 / 16 . After five games he was promoted to the Second XI , and made his first grade debut in the last game of the 1939 – 40 season . The following season , when nineteen , he was selected for Victoria 's Sheffield Shield match against Queensland , but the Pearl Harbor attacks forced the cancellation of competitive cricket and the match did not go ahead . Johnston joined the Royal Australian Air Force along with his brother , serving for four years as a radar technician in northern Australia . It was at training camp that he first met Keith Miller . Johnston was not posted overseas , unlike his brother , who died in a plane crash in Ireland . 
