Information AboutBodyline |
For information about the British code name Bodyline for the WWII V-2 Rocket , see Operation Crossbow Bodyline, also known as '''fast leg theory''', was a Cricket ing tactic devised by the English Cricket Team for their 1932–33 Ashes tour of Australia , specifically to combat the extraordinary Batting skill of Australia's Don Bradman . A Bodyline Bowler deliberately aimed the Cricket Ball at the body of the opposing Batsman , in the hope of creating Legside deflections that could be caught by one of several Fielders in the quadrant of the field behind Square Leg . Although several batsmen were hit during the series, as would be expected, no one was hit while a leg-theory field was set, but still it led to ill feeling between the two national teams, with the controversy eventually spilling into the diplomatic arena. Over the next two decades, several of the Laws Of Cricket were changed to prevent this tactic being repeated. It should be noted, however, that short pitched balls aimed at the batsmen are not and have never been illegal and are in widespread use today as a tactic. GENESIS The . Retrieved 30 November 2006. After the series, Douglas Jardine —who was later appointed England's Captain for the 1932–33 English tour of Australia—devised a plan with Nottinghamshire captain Arthur Carr and his two Fast Bowler s Harold Larwood and Bill Voce to combat Bradman's extraordinary skills. At a meeting in London 's Piccadilly Hotel, the Oxford -educated Jardine asked Larwood and Voce if they could bowl on leg Stump and make the ball come up into the body of the batsman. The bowlers agreed they could, and that it might prove effective. Transcript of interview with the cricket historian David Frith on the Australian ABC network. Accompanying this 1933. '' Cricinfo ''. It was occasionally an effective tactic, but sometimes made for boring watching, like the modern tactic of leg-spin or left-arm bowlers bowling into the rough area of the pitch outside leg stump to restrict a batsman's scoring opportunities. Larwood and Voce practised the plan over the next two seasons of English County Cricket , terrorising their opponents as Nottinghamshire finished near the top of the competition each year. By the time the English team left for Australia in October 1932 , Larwood and Voce, along with Bill Bowes from Yorkshire , had perfected their attack.Jardine, Douglas. ''In Quest for the Ashes'', p. ???? gives Jardine's own comments on the origination of leg theory bowling. ENGLISH TOUR 1932–33 (left) with Monty Noble (centre) and Tim Wall (right)]] The English players first tried their tactic in a First-class tour match against an Australian XI in Melbourne on 18–22 November, a game in which Jardine rested and gave the captaincy duties to his deputy Bob Wyatt . Seeing the bruising balls hit the Australian batsmen on several occasions in this game and the next angered the spectators.Frith, pp. 98, 106. The English players and management were consistent in referring to their tactic as ''fast leg theory'' because most of them considered it to be a variant of the established — and relatively harmless — Leg Theory tactic. The Australian press came up with the far more evocative and inflammatory term, ''Bodyline'' ( See Below ). The reporting of the series in England described the tactic as ''fast leg theory'', which caused serious misunderstandings, as neither the English public nor the Board of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) — the governing body of English cricket — could understand why the Australians were complaining about a commonly used tactic and came to the conclusion that the Australian cricket authorities and public were sore losers and "squealers".Frith, pp. 142, 222, 231–238. Of the four fast bowlers in the tour party, Gubby Allen was a voice of dissent in the English camp, refusing to bowl short on the leg side and writing several letters home to England critical of Jardine, although he did not express this in public in Australia.Frith, p. 116. A number of other players, while maintaining a united front in public, also deplored Bodyline in private. The amateurs Bob Wyatt (the vice-captain), Freddie Brown and the Nawab Of Pataudi opposed it, as did Walter Hammond and Les Ames among the professionals. E.W. Swanton . ''Sort of a Cricket Person'', William Collins & Sons, 1972, p19. In the Test matches, Bradman countered Bodyline by moving toward the leg side, away from the line of the ball, and cutting it into the vacant Off Side field. Whilst this was dubious in terms of Batting Technique , it seemed the best way to cope with the barrage, and Bradman Averaged 56.57 in the series (an excellent average for most, but well short of his career average of 99.94), while being struck above the waist by the ball only once. His team-mates fared worse, being unable to compile large scores. Bodyline statistics and averages. ''334notout.com''. Retrieved 30 November 2006. is hit in the head after Harold Larwood 's delivery deflected off his bat.]] Whilst successful as a tactic (England regained the Ashes with a 4-1 margin), the Australian crowds abhorred Bodyline as vicious and unsporting. Matters came to a head in the third Test at Adelaide , when Larwood struck Australian captain Bill Woodfull above the heart and fractured Wicket-keeper Bert Oldfield 's skull (although this was from a top Edge off a traditional non-Bodyline ball and Oldfield admitted it was his fault). Tension and feelings ran so high that a riot was narrowly averted as police stationed themselves between the players and enraged spectators. However, at the time England were not using the Bodyline tactics. Woodfull was struck when he was bent over his bat and wicket – and not when upright as often imagined. The crowd was incensed, and popular imagination blurred, when Jardine ordered his team to move to Bodyline positions immediately after Woodfull's injury. Bodyline: The History Section. ''334notout.com''. Retrieved 30 November 2006. In a famous quotation, Bill Woodfull said to the England tour manager Pelham Warner , when the latter came to express his sympathy for Woodfull's injury: At the end of the fourth day's play the Australian Board Of Control For Cricket sent the following cable to the MCC in London : Jardine however insisted his tactic was not designed to cause injury and that he was leading his team in a sportsmanlike and gentlemanly manner, arguing that it was up to the Australian batsmen to play their way out of trouble. He also secretly sent a telegram of sympathy to Bert Oldfield's wife and arranged for presents to be given to his young daughters,Frith, p. 201. a gesture open to a variety of interpretations. The situation escalated into a diplomatic incident between the countries as the MCC — supported by the British public and still of the opinion that their ''fast leg theory'' tactic was harmless — took serious offence at being branded "unsportsmanlike" and demanded a retraction. With World War I still fresh in people's memories and the first rumblings of World War II beginning, many people saw Bodyline as fracturing an international relationship that needed to remain strong.Frith, pp. 241–259. Jardine, and by extension the entire English team, threatened to withdraw from the fourth and fifth Tests unless the Australian Board withdrew the accusation of unsporting behaviour. Public reaction in both England and Australia was outrage directed at the other nation. The Governor of South Australia , Alexander Hore-Ruthven , who was in England at the time, expressed his concern to British Secretary Of State For Dominion Affairs James Henry Thomas that this would cause a significant impact on trade between the nations.Frith, p. 248. The standoff was settled only when Australian Prime Minister Joseph Lyons met with members of the Australian Board and outlined to them the severe economic hardships that could be caused in Australia if the British public boycotted Australian trade. Given this understanding, the Board withdrew the allegation of unsportsmanlike behaviour two days before the fourth Test, thus saving the tour.Frith, pp. 255–259. The English team continued to bowl Bodyline in the remaining two Tests, but slower pitches meant the Australians, although frequently bruised, sustained no further serious injuries. IN ENGLAND Bodyline continued to be bowled occasionally in the 1933 English season — most notably by Nottinghamshire , who had Carr, Voce and Larwood in their team. This gave the English crowds their first chance to see what all the fuss was about. Ken Farnes , the Cambridge University fast bowler also bowled it in the University Match , hitting a few Oxford batsmen. Jardine himself had to face Bodyline bowling in a Test match. The West Indian Cricket Team toured England in 1933, and, in the second Test at Old Trafford , Jackie Grant , their captain, decided to try Bodyline. He had a couple of fast bowlers, Manny Martindale and Learie Constantine . Facing Bodyline tactics for the first time, England first suffered, falling to 134 for 4, with Wally Hammond being hit on the chin, though he recovered to continue his innings. Then Jardine himself faced Martindale and Constantine. Jardine never flinched. He played right back to the bouncers, standing on tiptoe, and, no doubt partly because he didn't care for the Hook Shot , played them with a dead bat. Whilst the Old Trafford pitch was not as suited to Bodyline as the hard Australian wickets, Martindale did take 5 for 73, but Constantine only took 1 for 55. Jardine himself made 127, his only Test century. In the second West Indian innings, Clark bowled Bodyline back to the West Indians, taking 2 for 64. The match in the end was drawn; it was also the highest-profile game in which Bodyline was bowled in England.See Gibson, Alan. ''The Cricket Captains of England.'' p. ??? and ''Cricinfo'' for the scorecard of the Second Test between England and West Indies in 1933, from Cricinfo . ORIGIN OF THE TERM Although Jack Worrall claimed that he had invented the term "Bodyline", it is more likely that it was coined by Sydney journalist Hugh Buggy who worked for ''The Sun'' in 1932, and who happened to be a colleague of Jack Fingleton . Buggy sent a telegram to his newspaper from the Test after a day's play. As a substitute for "in the line of the body" he used the term "bodyline", to keep the cost down, and the new term quickly became established. Bodyline History - Why was it named as such and by who? ''334notout.com''. Retrieved 30 November 2006. CHANGES TO THE LAWS OF CRICKET As a direct consequence of the 1932–33 tour, the MCC introduced a new rule to the were now given the power — and the responsibility — to intervene if they considered a bowler was deliberately aiming at a batsman with intent to injure. Some 25 years later, another rule was introduced banning the placement of more than two fielders in the quadrant of the field behind square leg. Although this rule was not principally intended to prevent leg theory, it diluted the potency of short-pitched leg theory, as it allowed for fewer catching positions on the leg side. 1 |
|
|