Short and strongly built, John Grant was a bustling opening bowler and hard-hitting lower-order batsman who played 43 matches for Victoria in five seasons.
He made his first-class debut in the first match of the 1964–65 season against Western Australia, taking three wickets and, going in to bat when Victoria were 148 for 7 and still trailing, scoring 64 in the second innings to help salvage a draw.
[4] He was less successful in 1965–66, but he did take 5 for 79 and 3 for 57 in Victoria's victory over New South Wales.
[5] His most successful season was 1966–67, when he made 252 runs at 31.50 and took 29 wickets at 24.58, and Victoria won the Sheffield Shield.
In 1968–69 he took 5 for 25 and 3 for 55 against Queensland,[8] and two weeks later against South Australia he hit his highest score of 70 in a seventh-wicket partnership of 133 with Paul Sheahan that took Victoria to a first-innings lead.