The life of an amateur sportsman in a professional sport is a hard one, but for Trent Johnston it has just got a lot harder. The captain of Ireland when they shocked the cricket world 18 months ago has had a roller-coaster time ever since, but last week he made an enormous sacrifice to enable him to reach for those heights once more.

Last spring, Johnston (34) retired from one-dayers, intending to concentrate on the four-day and 20/20 formats. But after he played a part in helping Ireland qualify for next June’s Twenty20 World Cup he had a rethink, wondering whether he should commit whole-heartedly to Ireland for one last series of hurrahs.

Unable to secure leave from work for the trip to Namibia and Kenya, Johnston agonised before deciding to resign and commit to Irish cricket for the African tour, the World Cup qualifiers and the Twenty20 World Cup. “My employers made a business decision, and I can’t blame them, but I made a sporting decision that I don’t want to be sitting in 20 years time regretting I didn’t play for longer. With the 100% support of Vanessa I hope we can chase the cricket dream for a couple more years.”

Coach Phil Simmons, for one, is delighted. “TJ brings a lot to the team in terms of his all round abilities with both bat and ball, and of course his experience. It’s great to have him back. The rest has obviously done him good, and his batting at 7 or 8 strengthens our team.”

With the Marchant Cup for top batsman in Leinster secured, Johnston flew out from London with the 15-man squad that will play Namibia – starting next Friday – and Kenya in the Intercontinental Cup, as well as a triangular ODI series involving Kenya and Zimbabwe. No less than two wins are needed in the four-day games, which would mean the safari would be extended by a trip to South Africa for the I-Cup final in early November. “We’ve a great chance”, says Johnston, “especially if Boyd Rankin is on song. He seems to have taken a big leap forward.”

When he returns from Africa, the former captain will be looking for a job. “Ideally, CricketIreland would be in a position to offer contracts. As an organisation it’s making great progress under Warren Deutrom and it would be great if I could commit to the game. Philip Smith and Patrick Nally of the new sponsors RSA are great supporters too. I’ve been lucky that I’ve never had a leg injury and I know I will be fit enough to play at the 2011 World Cup.”

• October 3-6 Namibia v Ireland,
• October 11-14 Kenya v Ireland,
• October 17-25 ODI Triangular Series v Kenya and Zimbabwe