Godrejsplende at 21:58, 15 February 2026

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{{Short description|English cricketer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2024}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2017}}
{{Infobox cricketer
| name = C. P. Johnstone
| image = CP Johnstone, cricketer.jpg
| image_size =
| alt =
| caption =
| fullname = Conrad Powell Johnstone
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1895|8|19|df=yes}}
| birth_place = [[Sydenham, London]]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1974|6|23|1895|8|19|df=yes}}
| death_place = [[Eastry]], [[Kent]]
| heightft =
| heightinch =
| heightcm =
| heightm =
| batting = Left-handed
| bowling = Right-arm medium
| role =
| family =
| club1 = [[Cambridge University Cricket Club|Cambridge University]]
| year1 = {{nowrap|1919–1920}}
| club2 = [[Kent County Cricket Club|Kent]]
| year2 = {{nowrap|1919–1933}}
| club3 = [[Europeans cricket team|Europeans (India)]]
| year3 = {{nowrap|1925/26–1947/48}}
| club4 = [[Tamil Nadu cricket team|Madras]]
| year4 = {{nowrap|1926/27–1944/45}}
| club5 = [[Marylebone Cricket Club]]
| year5 = {{nowrap|1929–1939}}
| type1 = [[First-class cricket|FC]]
| debutdate1 = 21 May
| debutyear1 = 1919
| debutfor1 = Cambridge Univ.
| debutagainst1 = [[Australian Imperial Force Touring XI|Australian Imperial Forces]]
| lastdate1 = 11 January
| lastyear1 = 1948
| lastfor1 = Europeans
| lastagainst1 = Indians
| columns = 1
| column1 = [[First-class cricket|First-class]]
| matches1 = 110
| runs1 = 5,482
| bat avg1 = 30.62
| 100s/50s1 = 6/29
| top score1 = 135
| deliveries1 = 6,435
| wickets1 = 103
| bowl avg1 = 27.43
| fivefor1 = 3
| tenfor1 = 0
| best bowling1 = 6/28
| catches/stumpings1 = 42
| source = http://www.cricinfo.com/ci/content/player/15603.html ESPNcricinfo
| date = 23 February
| year = 2018
}}
'''Conrad Powell Johnstone''' {{post-nominals|CBE}} (19 August 1895 – 23 June 1974), known as '''CP Johnstone''' or '''Con Johnstone''', was an English businessman and amateur sportsman who played [[first-class cricket]] between 1919 and 1948. After serving in the [[First World War]] he spent much his working life in India and is regarded as one of the key players in the development of cricket in [[Madras]]. He served in the [[First World War]], played first-class cricket in both England and India and was also a noted golfer as well as the President of [[Kent County Cricket Club]] in later life.

==Early life==
Johnstone was born at [[Sydenham, London|Sydenham]] in south-east London, the son of William and Katherine Johnstone.<ref name=lewis225>Lewis P (2013) ''For Kent and Country'', pp.225–227. Brighton: Reveille Press.</ref> His father was a "Gentlemen of independent means"<ref name=lewis225quote>Lewis ''Op. cit.'', p.225.</ref> and Johnstone was educated at Hartford House school before going to [[Rugby School]] where he played cricket in the school team in 1912 and 1913.<ref name=wisden75>[http://www.espncricinfo.com/wisdenalmanack/content/story/228559.html Johnstone, Conrad Powell], Obituaries in 1974, ''[[Wisden Cricketers' Almanack]]'', 1975. Retrieved 2018-02-24.</ref> He captained Rugby in his final year and also represented the school in the [[Rackets (sport)|racquet pairs]]. He played three times for the [[Kent County Cricket Club]] Second XI in the [[Minor Counties Championship]] in July 1914 and was admitted to [[Pembroke College, Cambridge]] in 1914 but his education was interrupted by the outbreak of war in Europe.<ref name=lewis225 />

==War service==
Johnstone volunteered for military service in August 1914 soon after the outbreak of [[World War I]]. He was commissioned into the 3rd Battalion, [[Highland Light Infantry]] (HLI) as a [[2nd Lieutenant]]. His uncle was serving in the same battalion. Johnstone completed his training at the battalion's depot at [[Portsmouth]] before being appointed as a temporary [[Lieutenant (British Army and Royal Marines)|lieutenant]] in February 1915 and being posted to France the following month, attached to 1st Battalion, HLI, part of the Sirhind Brigade in the [[3rd (Lahore) Division]].<ref name=lewis225 />

His battalion saw action at [[Second Ypres]] later in 1915, and Johnstone was wounded in the neck on 1 May, breaking two ribs and puncturing a lung. He spent the next 15 months recovering from the wounds before being posted back to the HLI in August 1916. A commission in the Regular Army followed and Johnstone was posted to the 17th Battalion, [[Lancashire Fusiliers]] at [[Arras]] in November, seeing action in the Somme in 1917. He was wounded again in October that year, this time by shell fire. After more recuperation he was passed fit for home service and took up a position as an instructor with the 6th Officer Cadet Battalion at [[Oxford]] for the remainder of the war.<ref name=lewis225 />

==Professional life, cricket and India==
After resigning his Army commission in May 1919, Johnstone returned to [[Pembroke College, Cambridge]], studying for a law degree.<ref name=sanmar>The Sanmar Group (2013) [http://sanmargroup.com/matrix/MatrixPDFs/2013-April-Matrix.pdf CP Johnstone], Legends from the South, ''Matrix'', April 2013, pp.30–31. Retrieved 2018-02-24.</ref> He graduated in 1920 having been credited with four terms study due to his war service. He played [[cricket]] for the [[Cambridge University Cricket Club|University team]], making his [[first-class cricket]] debut for the team in May 1919 against the [[Australian Imperial Force Touring XI|Australian Imperial Forces]] at [[Fenner's]]. He won a [[Blue (university sport)|Blue]] in both cricket and golf, captaining the Cambridge team to an unexpected victory in the university golf match, and made his Kent First XI debut in 1919 against [[Hampshire County Cricket Club|Hampshire]].<ref name=lewis225 /><ref name=wisden75 /><ref name=ca>[https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/13/13800/13800.html Con Johnstone], CricketArchive. Retrieved 2018-02-23.</ref><ref name=times31mar20>University Golf, ''[[The Times]]'', 1920-03-20, p.7.</ref><ref name=times1jul74>Woodcock J (1974) Mr C. P. Johnstone, ''[[The Times]]'', 1974-07-01, p.16.</ref>

After graduating Johnstone was employed by a liquor manufacturer in [[Calcutta]] and then for a number of years by [[Burmah Shell]] in [[Madras]] as a manager.<ref name=lewis225 /> He spent the 1925 summer in England, played 12 times during the season for Kent and was awarded his [[county cap]].<ref name=lewis225 /><ref name=ca /> Further appearances for the county followed in 1929, but the majority of his cricket was played in India playing particularly for the [[Europeans cricket team|Europeans]] and for [[Madras Cricket Club]]. He captained Madras in the inaugural [[Ranji Trophy]] in 1934 was captain in 1940/41 when the team were runners-up in the competition, losing to [[Bombay cricket team|Bombay]] in the final, and played regularly in [[Madras Presidency Matches]] from 1925/26 to 1947/48, captaining the Europeans team for much of the period.<ref name=sanmar /><ref name=ca /><ref name=lakshimi111>Lakshmi CS (2004) ''The Unhurried City: Writings on Chennai'', p.111–112. Mumbai: Penguin Books India.</ref> When Madras entered the Madras League for the first time in 1939 Johnstone was the captain and a key player on the team and captained the Madras team throughout the period.<ref name=ci27may12>Ramnarayan V (2012) [http://www.espncricinfo.com/dreamfields/content/story/566331.html An MCC of our own], ESPN, 2012-05-27. Retrieved 2018-02-24.</ref><ref name=hindu8dec09>Srinivasan TM (2009) [http://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/history-and-culture/Pitch-for-the-city/article12077991.ece Pitch for the city], ''[[The Hindu]]'', 2009-12-08. Retrieved 2018-02-24.</ref> Johnstone played both against [[Marylebone Cricket Club]] when it toured Madras in 1926/27<ref name=hindu17sep00>Muthiah S (2000) [http://www.thehindu.com/2000/09/17/stories/1317106f.htm In C.P. Johnstone's country]{{dead link|date=April 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}, ''[[The Hindu]]'', 2000-09-17. Retrieved 2018-02-24.</ref> and for the club in five matches as well as for other teams on occasion.<ref name=ca /> He remained in the Reserve of Officers until 1937.<ref name=lewis225 />

Johnstone is credited as a significant factor in the development of cricket in Madras.<ref name=sanmar /><ref name=times1jul74 /><ref name=hindu8dec09 /> He has been described as having played a "pioneering role" in the growth of the sport<ref name=sanmar30>The Sanmar Group, ''Op. cit.'', p.30.</ref> who was able to provide talented young players with employment in Burmah Shell, providing them with the opportunity to play cricket with a stable income behind them.<ref name=sanmar /> Players such as [[M. J. Gopalan]], who became a double Indian international in both cricket and [[field hockey|hockey]], benefited in this way.<ref name=sanmar /><ref name=lakshimi103>Lakshimi ''Op. cit.'', p.103.</ref><ref name=hindu3apr03>Thyagarajan S (2003) [https://web.archive.org/web/20030915093630/http://www.thehindu.com/thehindu/mp/2003/04/03/stories/2003040300140400.htm Support for sport — the tradition continues], ''[[The Hindu]]'', 2003-04-03. Retrieved 2018-02-24.</ref><ref name=wi6aug15>Ramnarayan V (2015) [https://www.wisdenindia.com/cricket-article/de-saram-dias-memories-mj-gopalan-trophy/175170 From de Saram to Dias – Memories of the MJ Gopalan Trophy] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180224173406/https://www.wisdenindia.com/cricket-article/de-saram-dias-memories-mj-gopalan-trophy/175170 |date=24 February 2018 }}, ''[[Wisden India]]'', 2015-08-06. Retrieved 2018-02-24.</ref><ref name=miw>Kesavan M (2010) ''Men in White'', pp.74–75. Penguin Books India.</ref> Johnstone was President of Madras Cricket Club in 1947 towards the end of his playing career.<ref name=sanmar /> As a player he was described as "an excellent all-round cricketer",<ref name=sanmar30 /> who batted left-handed, often opening the batting, bowled right-arm medium pace and was an "excellent"<ref name=sanmar30 /> and "brilliant"<ref name=hindu10apr00>Muthiah S (2000) [http://www.thehindu.com/2000/04/10/stories/13101287.htm Madras Miscellany]{{dead link|date=April 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}, ''[[The Hindu]]'', 2000-04-10.</ref> slip fielder. Australian international [[Keith Miller]] described how a particular catch taken by Johnstone, then aged 50, in a match at Madras in 1945 was "the best catch that ever dismissed me".<ref name=quotehindu00>Quoted in Muthiah (2000) and The Sanmar Group, p.30.</ref> As a captain he was described as an "astute leader of men"<ref name=sanmar30 /> and as an administrator he was involved in setting up the [[Board of Control for Cricket in India]] as well as playing an important role in "cementing European-Indian relations",<ref name=sanmar31>The Sanmar Group, ''Op. cit.'', p.31.</ref> particularly when the exclusive Madras Cricket Club, which had been largely controlled by Europeans, became the democratic [[Tamil Nadu Cricket Association|Madras Cricket Association]].<ref name=sanmar /> The [[cricket pavilion]] at the [[M. A. Chidambaram Stadium]] was named after him in 1997.<ref name=hindu10apr00 />

As well as his involvement with cricket, Johnstone was Chairman of the Madras Chamber of Commerce and was involved in organisations such as the [[Madras Club]] and the Indian Roads and Transport Development Association.<ref name=sanmar /> He was appointed a [[Commander of the Order of the British Empire|CBE]] in the [[1948 New Year Honours]] for services to cricket in Madras.<ref name=lewis225 /><ref name=wisden75 />

==Later life==
Johnstone returned to England in 1948.<ref name=sanmar /> He was a member of the General Committee at Kent, particularly involved with the development of young players, and was President of the club in 1967, the year the county won the [[Friends Provident Trophy|Gillette Cup]] for the first time.<ref name=lewis225 /><ref name=wisden75 /><ref name=sanmar /> He died at his home at [[Eastry]] in [[Kent]] in June 1974, aged 78, after watching [[India national cricket team|India]] play [[England cricket team|England]] in a [[Test cricket|Test match]] at [[Lord's]].<ref name=ci>[http://www.cricinfo.com/ci/content/player/15603.html Conrad Johnstone], ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 2018-02-23.</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{cricinfo|id=15603}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnstone, C. P.}}
[[Category:1895 births]]
[[Category:1974 deaths]]
[[Category:English cricketers]]
[[Category:People educated at Rugby School]]
[[Category:Kent cricketers]]
[[Category:Cambridge University cricketers]]
[[Category:Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers]]
[[Category:Tamil Nadu cricketers]]
[[Category:Europeans cricketers]]
[[Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:Free Foresters cricketers]]
[[Category:Gentlemen cricketers]]
[[Category:South Zone cricketers]]
[[Category:British Army personnel of World War I]]
[[Category:Highland Light Infantry officers]]
[[Category:Lancashire Fusiliers officers]]
[[Category:Military personnel from the London Borough of Lewisham]]
[[Category:Cricketers from the London Borough of Lewisham]]
[[Category:People from Sydenham, London]]
[[Category:20th-century English sportsmen]]

C. P. Johnstone - Revision history

Godrejsplende at 21:58, 15 February 2026