An allrounder, he bowled right arm fast medium and played in the middle order as an aggressive left-handed batsman. He usually opened the batting in One Day cricket. Throughout his first-class career he spent time in both South Africa and England, playing for Boland, Eastern Province, Natal, Western Province, Leicestershire and Hampshire. After the 2000 tour of England, Johnson retired from international cricket as a result of disputes over his payment from the Zimbabwe Cricket Union. He moved to South Africa, a country that he had lived in as a child.