Bodyline | National Museum of Australia Bill Woodfull, Australian captain, 1933: There are two teams out there; one is trying to play cricket and the other is not. Third Test, January 1933, Adelaide Oval. State Library of South Australia, B8660. The Bradman problem The 1932–33 Ashes series is the most controversial in the history of Australian-English Test cricket. The English team, desperate to contain Australian batsman Don Bradman and win back the Ashes, adopted a controversial strategy. Technically known as ‘fast leg theory’, it was better known as ‘Bodyline’. The Great Depression was weighing heavily on Australians. Unemployment was rising and austerity measures, recommended to the Australian Government by British economists, were widely resented. During Australia’s tour of England in 1930, the young Don Bradman dominated the English bowlers. During the Test series, Bradman scored 974 runs (an average of 139.14) including one single century, two doubles and a triple (334), which broke the world Test batting record.

This caused significant disquiet for the English cricketing community but elation in Australia where Bradman returned a hero. Douglas Jardine In preparing for their 1932 tour to Australia, England sought a way to stifle Bradman’s scoring. Their captain, Douglas Jardine, developed an approach in which the ball was bowled fast and short, rising up to the batsman's body while fielders hovered close to the leg side. The strategy was intended to intimidate the batsman, stifle the swing of his bat and force him to play defensively. But it also posed a genuine physical threat. The relationship between Jardine and Australian cricket fans was already tense. During the 1928–29 tour to Australia he was perceived as supercilious and rude. His air of upper-class superiority rankled with the Australian crowds. As captain for the 1932–33 series, Jardine made no efforts to remedy the situation, was uncooperative in press interviews and didn’t provide team details before matches. While Jardine’s character exacerbated the situation, his tactics had the backing of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). The Test series began in Sydney with England winning the match.

Bradman was absent due to illness. Australia levelled the score in Melbourne. Then during the third Test in Adelaide, the English captain turned to Bodyline tactics. The already hostile crowd was furious and when one delivery struck Australian captain Bill Woodfull just above the heart it was feared a riot would start. Tempers flared on the field and in the stands, and while Woodfull maintained a diplomatic stance in public, in private he too was furious. Portrait of Donald Bradman. Courtesy of Bradman Museum Trust Collection, Bowral Angry words A key aspect of Australian frustration was that the English tactics seemed to go against all that was valued in cricket: fair play, ethical conduct and a shared cultural understanding of behaviour. In response to the danger faced by the players, the Australian Board of Control for International Cricket sent a tersely worded telegram to the MCC on 18 January 1933: Body-line bowling has assumed such proportions as to menace the best interests of the game, making protection of the body by the batsmen the main consideration. This is causing intensely bitter feeling between the players as well as injury. In our opinion it is unsportsmanlike. Unless stopped at once it is likely to upset the friendly relations existing between Australia and England.

The English administrators did not appreciate their players being accused of unsportsmanlike conduct. Not having witnessed the barrage of body blows, they felt that the Australian side was making excuses. The MCC responded sternly on 23 January: We, Marylebone Cricket Club, deplore your cable. We deprecate your opinion that there has been unsportsmanlike play… We hope the situation is not now as serious as your cable would seem to indicate, but if it is such as to jeopardize the good relations between English and Australian cricketers and you consider it desirable to cancel remainder of programme we would consent, but with great reluctance. For a while it seemed that cricket would strain diplomatic relations between Australia and England. After intervention from the Australian Prime Minister Joseph Lyons, the Australian Board of Control withdrew its charge of unsportsmanlike behaviour and the final tests were played. England won the series 4–1 and reclaimed the Ashes. The impact of England’s Bodyline tactics extended beyond the cricket pitch. Struggling with ongoing hardship during the Depression, Australians saw the aggressive tactics of the English team as representative of England’s wider attitude to the country.

While riots and diplomatic rows were averted, the series challenged not only a shared understanding of cricket but tested Australia’s changing relationship with England and Empire. Further reading Bodyline: 80 years of cricket's greatest controversy - BBC News BBC News Bodyline: 80 years of cricket's greatest controversy By Greig Watson BBC News 16 January 2013 Read more about sharing. Close share panel Image caption The Bodyline scandal helped shape the nature of cricket, sport and relations between Australia and England for years to come As Australian batsman Bert Oldfield collapsed, his skull fractured by a lightning-fast ball, the booing from the 50,000-strong Adelaide Oval crowd became a deafening howl. The England players, mouths dry with fear, looked for escape routes - or even potential weapons - in case the mob fell on them. Bowler Harold Larwood, the focus of the fury, turned to team-mate Les Ames.

"If they come," he said, "you can take the leg stump for protection - I'll take the middle." Never before or since that moment, 80 years ago to the day, on 16 January 1933, had cricket - and arguably any other sport - seen a contest which fired such anger, which reached so far and echoed for so long, as the Bodyline tour. Image caption Bodyline used a more aggressive but still legal method of bowling. "In Australia to this day, the word Bodyline carries the stench of underhand or unsportsmanlike behaviour; with the series regarded as Australian cricket's most controversial," said David Studham from the Australian National Sports Museum. The view of the MCC, which organised the tour, is slightly different. The curator of its museum, Adam Chadwick, said: "Was Bodyline unsportsmanlike? By the standards of the day, yes. By the standards of now, it was a stroke of genius." 'Devastatingly fast' At the beginning of the 1930s, the MCC - Marylebone Cricket Club - still ruled the cricketing world from its seat at Lord's in London.

But it had a problem, in the shape of batting phenomenon Don Bradman. During their 1930 tour of England, Australia - the arch rivals - had dominated the home bowlers, with Bradman averaging a staggering 139.14. The MCC looked to austere amateur player Douglas Jardine for an answer, making him England captain. Jardine believed Bradman struggled against balls which bounced into his chest and formed a tactic to exploit this. But the plan needed the right bowler, and that bowler was former Nottinghamshire miner Harold Larwood. Duncan Hamilton, Larwood's biographer, said: "He had two things. Firstly he was incredibly accurate, he claimed never to have bowled a wide in his career, and accuracy was essential to Bodyline. Image caption Cricket genius - Larwood and Bradman duelled during Bodyline but faced very different fates in the years that followed "Secondly he was devastatingly fast. All his contemporaries said he was the quickest they had faced. At certain times during that series he must have got close to, if not passed, the 100mph (160km/h) mark.

"Every fast bowler who sees that old footage says, 'Wow, that's quick!'." Jardine's plan was to use what was known in England as leg theory. Bowling fast, high-bouncing deliveries on the line of the leg stump of the wicket - where a batsman would usually stand. The batsman had three choices: to move but risk exposing his wicket, to play the ball with his bat and face being caught by a ring of close fielders, or try to duck and risk painful blows. The tour began in earnest at Sydney in December 1932, ironically without Bradman playing. Bodyline brought England victory. Bodyline's legacy By Jonathan AgnewBBC cricket correspondent Bodyline introduced a previously unspoken element into Test cricket - namely the physical intimidation of the batsman. The placement of fielders, deliberately positioned to catch the ball from batsmen protecting themselves from short, fast deliveries aimed at the ribs and throat, was entirely legal at the time, but seriously threatened the code of sportsmanship that is so central to cricket.

That said, the Australian administrators - who made such a meal of Jardine's tactic at the time - were noticeably quiet when their own fast bowlers Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson were terrifying batsmen with short-pitched bowling in the 1970s. The authorities acted swiftly after the Bodyline tour to limit the placing of fielders in catching positions on the leg side in an attempt to deter a repeat of the tactic, and also brought in a restriction of the number of bouncers that can be bowled in a single over. But after Lillee and Thomson, the West Indies' formidable pace attack of the late 1970s and 80s also proved that skilful, intimidatory fast bowling is every bit as effective as Bodyline, even with field restrictions and after the introduction of helmets. Complaints about the tactic quickly appeared. As the bruises and wickets mounted, the disquiet turned to anger, with claims batsmen were being physically targeted. 'Vicious' bowling Despite Australia levelling the series at the second match in Melbourne, the repeated blows to lightly protected players attracted outraged headlines. Some batsmen endured hours of punishment and even Bradman looked unsettled.

Mr Studham said: "The tactics employed by Jardine roused intense passions, as they were so out of accord with anything that had previously happened on the cricket field. "Targeting the bowling along the line of the batsman's body was regarded by the Australian crowds as vicious, unsporting and especially after repeatedly battering the batsmen, 'hitting a man when he was down and certainly no part of cricket'." Police protection With everything to play for, and feelings running at fever pitch, the Adelaide match opened in front of packed stands. Cricket bible Wisden would later call it "probably the most unpleasant Test ever played". Australian captain Bill Woodfull was left staggering after being struck just above the heart by Larwood. The booing lasted for three minutes, despite the fact England had not yet deployed Bodyline tactics in the match. That would change though, moments later, when Jardine called out to Larwood: "Well bowled Harold," and set the fielders in the hated Bodyline formation. Police had to be deployed on the boundary. The next day, Oldfield had his skull cracked and Larwood had to be escorted from the ground. What is fair play?

In ethics , the concept of fairness involves treating everyone equally and impartially Fair play is usually understood to mean using only tactics that are in accord with the spirit of the sport Fair play is not just about keeping to the rules, but also self-control, courage and persistence It was almost inevitable the problems would overflow from the playing field. But no-one could have predicted it would lead to three events then unthinkable in cricket. 'Hysterical' reaction MCC tour manager Pelham Warner, seeking to smooth relationships, was sent packing by the normally placid Woodfull with what were, for some years, the 25 most famous words in sport. "I don't want to see you, Mr Warner. There are two teams out there. One is trying to play cricket and the other is not." The comment, made in the previously sacrosanct dressing room, was then leaked to the press. The next day, Australian Board of Control for International Cricket sent a cable to the MCC which described England's tactics as "unsportsmanlike", the ultimate taboo for guardians of the game.

Mr Chadwick said: "The MCC reacted with incredulity to the Australian messages that the tactics were unsportsmanlike and they felt it was really out of the question that an MCC team led by a gentleman of Douglas Jardine's character could possibly behave in such a manner. "The archives really do show the feeling was 'Oh, the Australians are being a bit hysterical about it'." Image caption The Bodyline fielding positions - crowding the batsman on the leg-side in the hope of catching deflected balls - were later outlawed But the situation spiralled. Jardine threatened to withdraw his team from the remaining two matches unless the allegation was retracted. Stoked by newspaper reports, each country backed its own players. The standoff only ended when Australian Prime Minister Joseph Lyons told the cricket board a British boycott of Australian goods could cripple the country. England won the series 4-1. Bradman's batting average was cut to a merely excellent 56. But the shock lasted for years. 'National disdain' Mr Studham said he felt Bodyline was one of those sporting "rite of passage" stories all Australian children learn about.

"The on-field tactics and resulting carnage at the third Test in Adelaide split already strained relations between the teams, the game's governing authorities, and even threatened to split the governments. He was totally betrayed by the establishment Duncan Hamilton, Larwood biographer "While perfectly legal at the time, it left lasting ill-feeling in Australia where it was seen to be outside the spirit of the game. "The fact that a few years later the laws of cricket were amended to ban Bodyline bowling contributed greatly to its continuing national disdain." Mr Chadwick said: "The MCC did not have any advance warning of the tactics which Jardine was using and wasn't really aware of the impact - all they were getting was newspaper reports and telegraph messages of the score. "When they saw it for themselves they realised this really wasn't the sort of cricket they had always set themselves up to promote as containing the best values of Britishness and gentlemanly fair play." Jardine retired from first class cricket the following year. Larwood's agony was more extended. Hated hero Injured through over-bowling, he was then stunned at his treatment by cricket's hierarchy. Mr Hamilton said: "He was totally betrayed by the establishment. They treated him like toxic waste.

"He was asked to apologise and he rightly refused, saying he had done what his captain had asked. He got no support for his injury. "On his return to Nottingham he was met by cheering crowds 10,000-strong. He went from that to being vilified. The whole thing was a tragedy." Larwood never played for England again. On the advice of some of his old Bodyline foes, he emigrated to Australia in 1950 - becoming firm friends with Bert Oldfield. He was appointed MBE in 1993, at the age of 88. A statue of him was unveiled in Kirkby-in-Ashfield, close to his birthplace, in 2002. Bodyline Cricket - Ashes Cricket Series - Bodyline History The Ashes Part 6: Bodyline Series The arrival of the English touring side in Australia for the Ashes series during the summer of 1932-3 was much anticipated by all Australian cricket fans. Unknown to the Australians at the time was the fact, English captain Douglas Jardine was about to write his team into the record and history books for all the wrong reasons.

To counter the skill of the great Australian player Donald Bradman , who had devastated the English bowling attack during the 1930 series, Jardine adopted a tactic later to become known as Bodyline. Bodyline involved the placing of a least five players close in to the batsman and the bowler continually bowling a barrage of short pitched balls aimed on leg stump, these balls would quickly rare up from the pitch placing the batsman in danger of serious injury. To counter these rising deliveries, the batsman would be forced to adopt defensive batting strokes, which would regularly result in catches to the close in fieldsmen. Donald Bradman, being an exceptionally gifted and attacking batsman was affected by these close in fielders who interfered with his concentration. In the second test held in Melbourne, Bradman was dismissed by English bowler Bill Bowes without scoring. Many Australian players were subsequently injured as a result of the tactic of Bodyline. It was not only the Australian players who were aghast at the despicable tactics of the English, but also the Australian cricket authorities. The Australian Cricket Board sent an urgent telegram to its counterpart in England demanding they instruct Jardine to discontinue his methods.

For the sake of cricket and sportsmanship the Australians pleaded with the English to refrain. Discussions were even held in the Australian Parliament to find a way to stop the Englishmen from devastating and tarnishing the game of cricket. High-level diplomatic meetings were held between the English and the Australians, eventually Jardine was ordered to refrain from his dangerous tactics. The Englishmen eventually went on to win back the Ashes from Australia, however the tactics of Bodyline had served their purpose. They had contained and restrained the great Donald Bradman. The Laws of Cricket were eventually changed to ensure the debacle, which was the Bodyline series was never repeated. The spirit of the game had to be protected at all costs. The tactic of Bodyline bowling, a name coined by the Australian press was referred to as Leg Theory by the English. Bodyline cricket series, 1932-33 | State Library of NSW State Library of NSW View collection item detail a293009 In the summer of 1932-1933, a determined English touring side arrived to contest the Ashes Series against an in-form Australian team.

These were the days of the legendary Sir Donald Bradman who was then at the peak of his career, averaging above 120 runs an innings. In an attempt to contain his devastating batting, the English introduced 'bodyline' bowling, delivering a style of attack for the Australian batsmen that changed the nature of cricket. Bodyline was an aggressive fast bowling style targeting the batsman's body rather than the wicket. Batsmen of the day wore little protection by modern standards. With a packed leg-side field waiting for a catch, there was little even the great Bradman could do but move out of the way as fast as possible. While the bodyline tactic succeeded in curtailing Australia's run rate, it caused much controversy. During the 3rd test at Adelaide, Australian captain Bill Woodfull, was struck down by a ball to the chest and the team wicketkeeper, Bert Oldfield, suffered a fractured skull. The new tactic even split the English side. The fast bowler George 'Gubby' Allen refused to bowl bodyline despite the urgings of his captain, Douglas Jardine. 'Gubby' Allen described Jardine as 'a perfect swine' in a letter to his parents, Sir Walter and Lady Allen.

Allen's letters contrast sharply with reporting of the matches in England. A series of cables were transmitted to Radio Paris from a journalist in Australia, each day, giving a brief description of the day's play. This text of the cable was then broadcast across the Channel to English audiences. The typed transcripts of these broadcasts show that the cables were often censored to erase critical references to the new bodyline bowling tactic. Transcript: 'England takes field Friday am 1932-3 English tour of Aust. (Jardine, capt.)' inscribed on reverse in handwritten ink 'England takes field, Friday mor. 1932-3 English tour of Australia (Jardine, capt.)' inscribed on lower edge in handwriten ink probably by a librarian at a later date hood_02355 Bodyline cables Due to restrictions on commercial radio in the United Kingdom in the 1930s, radio stations were established on the continent to beam programs directly to the United Kingdom. The main station was situated in Paris. One of its advertisers was the Gillette Safety Razor Co. which sponsored reporting of the controversial 1932-33 cricket series played between Australia and England in Australia.

These were the days before live radio and television broadcasts of international sporting events. Each day a reporter cabled very brief descriptions of play to Paris where they were transformed into full scripts which were then broadcast to the United Kingdom. Transcript: a372013 Bill O'Reilly (1905-1992) Bill O'Reilly was rated by Don Bradman as the best bowler he had ever faced. His only rival as the greatest leg spinner in the history of the game is Shane Warne. At 6 ft 2 inches with an intimidating manner his style of spin was never 'gentle'. Between 1927 and 1946, O'Reilly captured 774 first class wickets at only 16.6 runs per wicket. In 27 test matches against England, South Africa and New Zealand his haul was 144 wickets at 22.59. Even in the controversial 1932-33 Bodyline series he took 27 wickets. In 1946, at the age of 40, O'Reilly played in his last test against New Zealand.

He later worked as a sports journalist until his retirement in 1988. 'Gubby' Allen (1902-1989) Although a member of the English team, Gubby Allen was born in Sydney. His full name was George Oswald Browning Allen and his nickname was derived from his initials (he was also known as 'Obbie'). At the age of seven Allen was taken to England to be educated. Allen played his first test for England in 1930 and was one of four fast bowlers on the 1932-33 tour of Australia. Although he consistently refused to bowl bodyline he ended the test series with 21 wickets, second only to Harold Larwood. Throughout the tour he wrote weekly letters to his parents in which he gave an inside account of the bodyline tour. The letters reveal the deep divisions created in the English team by his stand and by the whole controversy. Letter from Gubby Allen to his father Transcript: 10 Great Cricket Controversies - dummies 10 Great Cricket Controversies By Julian Knight As regular as clockwork, every few years controversy explodes over the sport of cricket.

Sometimes the survival of test match cricket has been called into question but time and again the game has pulled through. Here are some of the big controversies that have shaped the history of cricket. Bodyline: The biggest of the lot When the English cricket team toured Australia in 1932–33 they had one huge problem named Donald Bradman. The Australian had put England’s bowling to the sword in previous test series and was poised to do it again. To counter Australia’s ace in the pack England captain Douglas Jardine adopted bodyline tactics. This involved fast bowlers aiming short-pitched deliveries at the batsman’s body. The idea was that in an effort to defend himself, the batsman would hit the ball in the air to a gaggle of fielders located near his legs, who would take a catch and dismiss the batsman. From the perspective of results, this tactic worked wonders. England won back the Ashes (cricket’s most famous trophy) and Bradman’s performances fell from the extraordinary to the merely very good. But bodyline was a public relations disaster. Players were badly injured and the Australians so enraged that at one point there was the possibility that the country would withdraw from the Commonwealth.

Bodyline has soured Anglo-Australian relations ever since and led to a rule change restricting the number of close fielders a captain can place behind the square leg umpire to just two. Long term the event didn’t stop Bradman. He went on to dominate contests between the two countries until his retirement in 1948. The Hansie Cronje affair Hansie Cronje was South African cricket’s icon in the 1990s. He was captain of the national team and seemed to embody everything that made South African cricket a success. He was tough, uncompromising, made the most of his talent and was a crackerjack captain, getting the best from his team-mates – or so it seemed. But it turned out that Cronje had accepted payments from bookmakers in a match fixing scandal that rocked the cricket world. Cronje gave up the captaincy in disgrace, and was banned for life in 2000. South African cricket was left to lick its wounds. The whole sorry tale had a tragic ending, when Cronje was killed in a plane crash in 2002.

Cronje’s name, although still venerated by some in South Africa, has become synonymous with all that’s dark about sports and bookmaking. Arguing with the umpire: The Shakoor Rana debacle It was a hot day in Karachi in 1987 when the English cricket world was turned on its head. The reason? A flaming great row broke out over something very trivial between England captain Mike Gatting and Pakistan umpire Shakoor Rana. Rana had suggested that Gatting was cheating by moving a fielder behind the batsman’s back while the bowler, Eddie Hemmings, was in the process of bowling. Finger pointing and swearing ensued, and the next day the umpires refused to take the field until Gatting apologised. Eventually, Gatting did say sorry and the match continued. But the tour and cricket relations between England and Pakistan had been marred. In fact England did not tour Pakistan again for another 13 years. Gatting was sacked as England captain the following summer – for having a late-night drink with a barmaid – and Rana eventually disappeared into obscurity. The argument did have an upside, though.

It helped hasten the introduction of a panel of neutral umpires organised by the game’s governing body, the International Cricket Council (ICC). This crack squad of umpires travel around officiating in all matches played between national sides. The panel of neutral umpires has helped bring a new respect for the laws of the game around the globe. Rebel tours to South Africa South Africa’s 21 year ban from international cricket as a result of its apartheid laws was a running sore, sparking controversy after controversy. When South Africa was sent into the cricketing wilderness after the Gleneagles agreement in 1970, the country’s cricketing authorities didn’t take it lying down. They started to recruit top international players from England, Australia and the West Indies to tour as part of quasi-national teams. Throughout the 1980s these ‘rebel tours’ as they were dubbed, threw the cricketing world into chaos. Players were allowed to work in South Africa as individuals – coaching and playing for local club sides – but were barred from taking part in these tours. Many top players saw this as an anomaly and were happy to take the big piles of South African money they were offered.

The Cricketing authorities in England, Australia and West Indies got tough with the rebel players, banning them from international cricket, and in some cases effectively ending their international careers. The tours continued, however, until protests from the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa helped put a stop to them. In 1989 a team of ex-England cricketers captained by Mike Gatting toured South Africa and were met with huge protests. The players were clearly in over their heads and the tour was called off early. Within two years the political winds of change had blown Nelson Mandela into power and brought down the racist apartheid system. South Africa was re-admitted to international cricket in 1991. Kerry Packer’s cricketing circus In the 1970s the lot of an international cricketer was not a happy one, as cricketers were being asked to turn out and play for their country for peanuts. Kerry Packer, the Australian media mogul, wanted to broadcast cricket on his television station but had been knocked-back by the Australian Cricket Board.

Packer decided on a bold move; he would pay the best players in the world a proper wage to turn their backs on test cricket and come and play in a series of Super Tests and one-day matches in Australia. England captain Tony Greig helped recruit the star turns for Packer’s cricketing circus and what became known as World Series Cricket was born. World Series Cricket took place between 1977 and 1979 and is widely recognised as being of a very high standard indeed, involving the best players from around the globe; including several great South African cricketers. At first the fuddy-duddy cricketing authorities reacted with anger and dismay to World Series Cricket, banning those players who had signed up. But in a famous court case the Test and County Cricket Board, which ran English cricket at the time, was found guilty of restraint of trade. What soon became apparent was that the only losers from this Mexican stand-off would be the game of cricket and the spectators. Soon enough, Packer was sold the rights to broadcast cricket in Australia and World Series Cricket was wound up. However, it did lead to some interesting innovations such as coloured clothing and day-night one-day contests.

The Basil D’Oliveira affair Basil D’Oliveira was a fine player, a brave and hard-hitting batsman, and an accurate medium pace bowler. ‘Dollie’, as he was affectionately known, hailed from South Africa but because he was defined as ‘coloured’ under the racist rules of apartheid South Africa he was barred from representing the country of his birth. So he came to England to play. He soon found himself selected for the England cricket team and put in several brilliant performances. Yet when the team to tour South Africa in 1969 was announced he was not named, despite having scored an innings of 158 runs in the previous match. Accusations were made that England’s cricketing authorities had caved into pressure from South Africa, who would be angry if Dollie toured. An injury to one of England’s tour party meant that Dollie was drafted into the squad to tour South Africa. The South African government reacted furiously, demanding that he be withdrawn. The upshot was that the tour was cancelled and in 1970 South Africa went into the cricketing wilderness for 21 years.

Ironically, just at the moment of exile, South Africa had produced its best ever side which had just thrashed Australia in a test series. Mixing politics and cricket: Zimbabwe High hopes abounded when Zimbabwe was allowed into the club of test-playing nations in 1991. The Zimbabwean cricket team had performed well in cricket World Cups and all seemed set fair. At first, the decision to admit Zimbabwe seemed to be justified. The team didn’t set the cricketing world on fire but it did hold its own, particularly in home test matches. But during the late 1990s and beyond, as the political and economic situation worsened in Zimbabwe, cricketing standards in the country went into freefall. The Mugabe regime took control of Zimbabwean cricket and the accusation was levied that selections were being made on racial grounds; this time black players being favoured over their white counterparts. The small groups of top notch, mainly white, players soon became disillusioned and the country started to lose very heavily indeed.

In addition, a few players, including fast bowler Henry Olonga, decided to make a protest at the country’s deteriorating political situation – characterised by alleged human rights abuses and election rigging – by wearing black armbands on the field of play. Olonga received threats and left the country soon afterwards. For a time, Zimbabwe was suspended from international cricket but then re-admitted. But it’s fair to say that the game in Zimbabwe is still in turmoil. Facing the whirlwind: The West Indian fast bowling machine In the 1970s and 1980s the West Indies reigned supreme. They beat absolutely everyone, including Australia. But the manner in which they went about beating their opponents courted controversy. The West Indies were blessed with a host of fast bowlers over a number of years: Michael Holding, Andy Roberts, Colin Croft, Joel Garner, Malcolm Marshall, Courtney Walsh and Curtley Ambrose. All these bowlers were greats, able to deliver the ball at speeds in excess of 90 mph. Teams have always had fast bowlers but never has a country been blessed by having so many at the same time.

Therefore, under successive captains Clive Lloyd and Vivian Richards, the West Indies would deploy four fast bowlers who would take turns frightening the living daylights out of the batsmen. You may think nothing is wrong with this, but ex-players and cricketing authorities around the globe had a different outlook. The West Indies’ fast bowlers used to take forever to bowl their overs – often they would struggle to bowl more than 11 or 12 an hour. Many people considered these slow over rates to be boring. What’s more, batting teams found it incredibly difficult to score runs due to the pace of the deliveries, regularly struggling to score 200 runs in a day’s play. Some players also felt that the bowling often targeted the batsman’s body, amounting in effect to intimidation. For many cricket lovers the period of West Indian dominance was one long yawn. Even the West Indies’ fans annoyed the cricket establishment in England, blowing horns and beating drums as they watched their heroes triumph.

In fact, whenever the West Indies’ cricket team toured England in the 1970s and 1980s the letters pages of the national newspapers would be chock-full of missives from retired colonels ordering umpires to get tough over slow over rates and intimidatory bowling. The ‘spot-fixing’ scandal During the fourth and final test of the England v Pakistan test series at Lord’s 2010, young fast bowler Mohammad Amir runs into bowl, and he bowls a no-ball; then he bowls another no-ball, and then a third. This was no accident: Amir was acting on the instructions of his captain. The whole episode had been set up by a tabloid reporter from the now defunct News of the World newspaper, who through a sting operation had persuaded the three Pakistan players Salman Butt (the captain) and bowlers Mohammed Asif and Mohammad Amir to alter their performance for money. The idea was to fix the outcome of specific deliveries so that money could be made from the spot betting market. Whichever way you cut it, though, it was an attempt to defraud bookmakers and brought the wider game of cricket into disrepute.

All three players were banned from cricket for differing periods of time, but even more seriously they were tried in an English court for conspiracy to cheat at gambling and conspiracy to accept corrupt payments, and in November 2011 jail terms were handed down of 30 months for Butt, one year for Asif, six months for Amir and two years eight months for businessman Mazhar Majeed, for his part in the syndicate. Following the scandal, the International Cricket Council put 80 previous matches – both in one day and test formats – on a list of those where there may have been suspicious activity. What’s more, the scourge of spot-fixing has reared its head more recently in the Indian Premier league, with several high-profile players being accused. The one silver lining is that it seems that at long last following the spot-fixing scandal and that of the earlier Hansie Cronje affair, the game of cricket is waking up to the dangers posed by the lure of bookmakers and professional gamblers. Gentlemen v Players For much of the history of English cricket a type of class discrimination existed between Gentlemen – who were amateurs – and Players, who were professionals.

The Gentlemen got plush changing rooms and, as they were often members of the landed gentry, were treated with deference being referred to as ‘Mister’ on scorecards. If they had a grander title such as ‘Sir’, ‘Lord’ or ‘The Honourable’ they were called that. The Players, on the other hand, were largely working-class and couldn’t afford to play the game for fun – they needed cold, hard cash. They had to make do with changing in outhouses and were referred to by just their surname and initial on the scorecard. But all this class snobbery didn’t stop ‘sham’ amateurism. The biggest sham amateur of the lot was England batsman WG Grace. He would claim ‘expenses’ which were roughly double what the best paid Player would get for a match. But as England’s best batsman, he knew he could add thousands onto attendances. Eventually, in 1881, the Players got fed up with this sham amateurism and some staged a strike. The strike didn’t last and the Players returned to work but the point had been made and gradually over the years the separation between Gentlemen and Players disappeared. Today, no amateurs play for county or national sides.

Classic Ashes Series: Bodyline 1932-33 Classic Ashes Series: Bodyline 1932-33 by KirbyMeehan @DustbinCricket Tribute 27 Jun 2013, 18:31 IST England captain Douglas Jardine making a point to his players following the fall of an Australian wicket during the 1st Test match in the infamous Bodyline series at the Sydney Cricket Ground, 2nd December 1932. England won by 10 wickets. ( Adelaide, January 1933: England’s tour manager Pelham Warner pays a visit to the Australian players’ dressing room with the intention of apologising to the Australian captain, Bill Woodfull, for the injuries received when he was struck repeatedly by English pace man, Harold Larwood. “I don’t want to see you, Mr Warner,” Woodfull reportedly said. “There are two teams out there. One is trying to play cricket, one is not.” This was the third test of the infamous Bodyline series and the one in which the style of bowling, called leg theory, really made an impact.

Interestingly, Larwood wasn’t actually bowling leg theory when Woodfull was hit and Bert Oldfield, who had his skull fractured in that same Test, always admitted that the injury was as much to do with his poor attempt to hit the ball as anything. None of this has stopped Bodyline from becoming a legend. The series took place in the Australian summer of 1932-33 and was characterised by England’s pure determination to win back the urn. Not for the first or last time in cricket history, the Australian team of the 1930s had a formidable batting line up, which included such names as Bill Woodfull, Stan McCabe, Bill Ponsford and, of course, Donald Bradman. Although Bradman’s first series for Australia ended in a comprehensive 4-0 victory for England. On the return tour to England in 1930, he had matured and gained more experience and it showed. Bradman made double centuries at the Oval and at Lord’s, and the infamous 334 in the third test at Headingley.

With the prospect of a tour Down Under with Australia’s already impressive batting line up as well as this enigma that was Bradman, England knew they would need something special. They found that something in leg theory bowling, or Bodyline as it became known. Bodyline was not just a style of bowling, but a combination of a certain style of bowling and certain field placements which together made it difficult for the batter to score. In short, the ball would be bowled so that it pitched short down the leg side and rose up at the batsman. The fielders were stacked behind the wicket and on the leg side with a view to taking a catch as the batter tried to defend himself from the ball. Add this tactic to a bowler like Larwood, who was devastatingly fast, and the often unpredictable Australian pitches, the English team had one hell of a weapon. Page 1 of 2 Next Bodyline | State Library of New South Wales View cigarette cards featuring the Bodyline cricketers Bodyline was an aggressive fast bowling style targeting the batsman's body rather than the wicket. Batsmen of the day wore little protection by modern standards.

With a packed leg-side field waiting for a catch, there was little even the great Bradman could do but move out of the way as fast as possible. Get the latest Flash player to view this interactive content. While the bodyline tactic succeeded in curtailing Australia's run rate, it caused much controversy. During the 3rd test at Adelaide Australian captain, Bill Woodfull, was struck down by a ball to the chest and the team wicketkeeper, Bert Oldfield, suffered a fractured skull. The new tactic even split the English side. The fast bowler George 'Gubby' Allen refused to bowl bodyline despite the urgings of his captain, Douglas Jardine. 'Gubby' Allen described Jardine as 'a perfect swine' in a letter to his parents, Sir Walter and Lady Allen. View Gubby Allen's letters home Allen's letters contrast sharply with reporting of the matches in England. A series of cables were transmitted to Radio Paris from a journalist in Australia, each day, giving a brief description of the day's play. This text of the cable was then broadcast across the Channel to English audiences. The typed transcripts of these broadcasts show that the cables were often censored to erase critical references to the new bodyline bowling tactic

Question: Who was the captain of the English Cricket Team during the controversial Bodyline series of 1932 and 1933?
Answer: DOUGLAS JARDINE