 His feet position were peculiar in that his front foot was parallel to the crease and his back foot perpendicular , the opposite of the conventional posture . This inhibited his follow through and put more stress on his ankles and shins . As a result , his right ankle had to be bound tightly in order to prevent jarring from his awkward delivery . He also followed the recommendation of Bill O 'Reilly and tied a towel around his shins to cut off the circulation and to dull the pain . After the knee injury , he altered his action into a more conventional one so that his front foot pointed towards the batsman . This eased the pressure on his body , but his ability to move the ball diminished . Johnston was a keen student of the game , and although he did not see a state match until his debut , and watched only one Test before his debut , he supplemented his knowledge by reading cricket books . During his early first @-@ class career , upon returning from matches , he would read articles by Bradman , Bert Oldfield and Arthur Mailey from a book given to him by his schoolteacher when he was a schoolboy . 
