Bodyline almost killed Test cricket

W.R. Hammond hit 112 in 1st innings of England’s 524 first Test, took 3 for 21 in Australia’s first innings score of 228 in second Test. Made 85 in England’s 2nd innings score of 412 in third Test at Adelaide.

Bodyline Cricket: When the Bodyline Cricket series started in the 1932-33 by Douglas Jardin - the English skipper when he brought out the England team under the auspices of the Marlebone Cricket Club to Australia, Jardin's tactics not only threatened the future of Test cricket but even underlined the bonds of the British Empire.

Jardine, a cold, calculating product of Winchester and Oxford, devised a strategy of dangerously short-pitched bowling using his two fast bowlers, Harold Larwood and Bill Voce, to combat Don Bradman, Australia's sporting hero of the Depression-ravaged times.

'The Don' had been rewriting cricket's record books since his Test debut in 1928 and when the Australians won the Five-Test series 2-1 in England in 1930, Bradman amassed 974 runs at a batting average of 139.14, an aggregate record that held for a long time.

Jardine's theory of directing his bowlers to bowl at leg stump and make the ball rear into the batsman's body became known as 'Bodyline'.

When Jardine was appointed England captain for the Australian tour, one of his former Winchester schoolmasters, Rochley Wilson, is said to have warned that he might win the Ashes but he would lose a dominion in the process.It was a tumultuous time for cricket

Passions inflamed

Passions became so inflamed that during the third Test at the Adelaide Oval in January 1933, seething spectators threatened to jump the fence as Anti-England feelings soared.

Don Bradman 103 not out in first innings of 2nd Test ‘Bodyline’ series against England 1932-33, then 66 in third test, 76 in fourth test and 48 and 71 in fifth test.	Stan McCabe 187 in first innings of 360 in first Test of ‘Bodyline’ series against England 1932-33, then 73 in first innings of Fifth Test.
H. Suteliffe made 194 in England first innings score of 524 when they beat Australia by 10 wickets in the first Test, made 52 in England’s total of 169 first innings of second Test.	Harold Larwood took 5 for 28 in first Test against Australia at Sydney, then took 4 for 101 followed with 3 for 49 in fourth Test at Brisbane, and 4 for 98 in fifth Test against Australia, besides scoring 98 in England’s first innings score of 454.
Ponsord made 85 in Australia’s first innings of 3rd Test score of 222.	Jardine made 56 in England’s first innings score of 412 in 3rd Test at Adelaide.

Bill Woodfull, Australia's gentlemanly captain, was twice struck by bumpers and wicketkeeper Bert Oldfield edged a ferocious delivery from Larwood on to his temple, collapsed beside the pitch and was carried from the field unconscious.

It produced one of the immortal quotes in Test cricket when Woodfull told the English management: "There are two teams out there, and only one of them is playing cricket."

Behind the scenes there were frantic political negotiations to save the tour and restore frayed diplomatic relations between Britain and Australia.

The issue went to high government ranks. The British coalition government's Dominion Secretary J.H. Thomas later described bodyline as the most troublesome affair of his ministerial career.

England's emphatic 4-1 series victory brought praise and also opposition for Jardin.

Bradman curbed

Bodyline curbed Bradman's batting average to 56.57. He scored just one century in his four Tests with a series aggregate of 396 runs. Without the Bodyline series, Bradman would have finished his career with a Test average of 104.76 instead of 99.94, Larwood, the former Nottinghamshire coalminer, claimed a series-high 33 wickets at 19.51, but events of the series soured him. The 28 year-old paceman never played for England again.

Larwood later migrated to Australia with his wife Lois, and his five daughters and lived in Sydney until his death in 1995 at the age of 90.

All batsman spoke ill - Fingleton

Jack Fingleton, who played in three of the Bodyline Tests echoed the feelings of others in the Australian team when he later wrote: "I do not think there was one single batsman who played in most of those Bodyline games who ever afterwards recaptured his love for cricket."

It says much for the series that Bodyline remains the only chapter in cricket's history that film makers have thought worth dramatising with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation producing a documentary in 2002.

Jardine resigned as England captain before Australia's 1934 Ashes tour and retired from first class cricket aged 33.

The same year the MCC outlawed systematic bowling of fast and short-pitched balls at batsmen standing clear of their wicket.

Bradman, once lauded as 'the greatest living Australian', died in Adelaide on February 25th, 2001 aged 92, while Jardine died from lung cancer aged 57, in Montroux, Switzerland in June 1958.

Bodyline series: The Bodyline series was a much talked of series of cricket match played between England and Australia in the 1932-33 period of time.

First Test at Sydney

Australia: 360 (S.J. McCabe 187, V.V. Richardson 49; H. Larwood 5 for 96, B. Voce 4 for 110) and 164 (J.H. Fingleton 40, H. Lawwood 5 for 28) lost to England 524 (H. Sutcliffe 194, W.R. Hammond 112, Nawab of Pataudi (Sr) 102; Wall 3 for 104, O'Reilley 3 for 117) and one for no loss.

Second Test at Melbourne

Australia: 228 (Fingleton 83; Voce 3 for 54) and 191 (Bradman 103 not out; Hammond 3 for 21) beat England 169 Sutcliffe 52; Wall 4 for 52, O. Reilley 5 for 63) and 139 (O. Reilley 5 for 66, M. Ironmonger 4 for 26).

Third Test at Adelaide

England: 341 (M. Leyland 83, R.E.S. Wyatt 78, E. Paynter 77, H. Verity 45; Wall 5 for 72) and 412 (Jardin 56, Hammond 85, Ames 69, Leyland 42, Wyatt 49, Verity to; O. Reilley 4 for 79, Inonmonger 3 for 87) beat Australia 222 (Ponsford 85, Allen 4 for 71) and 193 (Woodfull 73 not out, Bradman 66).

Fourth Test at Brisbane

Australia: 340 (V.Y. Richardson 83, Woodful 67, Bradman 76, Larwood 4 for 101) and 175 (Larwood 3 for 49, Allen 3 for 44) drew with England 356 (Jardin 46, Sutcliffe 86, E. Paynter 83; O.Reilley 4 for 120, Ironmonger 3 for 69) and 162 for 4 (Leyland 86).

Fifth Test at Sydney

Australia: 435 (Bradman 48, O'Brien 61, McCabe 73, L.S. Darling 85, Oldfield 52, P.K. Lee 42; Larwood 4 for 98, Verity 3 for 62) and 182 (Woodful 67, Bradman 71; Verity 5 for 33),

England 454 (Sutcliffe 56, Hammond 101, Larwood 98, Leyland 42, Wyatt 51, G.O. Allen 48; O.Reilley 3 for 100) and 168 for 2 wkts Hammond 75 not out, Wyatt 61 not out).