1961-06-22 — Page 9

THE CHINA · MAIL, THURSDAY, JUNE, 22, 1961.

DRAMAS OF THE ASHES

The Body-line War that finished Harold

Larwood

HE WON THE ASHES AND LOST HIS ENGLAND PLACE

By JOHN MELVIN

Some critics called it body-line, others leg-theory. Both names described the fast-bowling escapades which boiled up into and even the greatest cricket controversy of all time reached Government level.

In the season of 1932-33 Douglas Jardine. and his MCC side touring Australia became the "villains" of cricket. Upon Jardine and a slim 5 ft. 8 in. ex-miner called Harold Lar- wood was poured the scorn and wrath of a nation.

Australian erities were up in arms at an English tactle de- vised, they elaimed, at inti- miduting batsmen who could not be got on by fair methods.

The Irg-theory altack-In whleh a bowfer concentrates LE deliveries on the lex-

lump to make scoring more Introduced by difficult was

Jardine and bla team to res-

wicket-keeper. played a ball } In reply the MCC refuted the Inle his own face during ai suggestion that there had been sixth-wicket stand with Funsportsmanlike play and offer- Ponsford. For a moment led to cancel the rest of the Jooked as though the pitch lour. But in a further cable the would be lovaded by Trate Australians replied that the spectators.

sportsmanship of the England side was not In question.

Famous remark

trict brilliant young Donald Although an X-ray revealed Bradman, the Australian run-ja akull fracture, Oldfield al- scoring machine who had hit solved "Little Lu?" from blame. 074 runs in the previous series | "Larwood cotild not be held in England.

responsible for my injury," he wrote later. "A contributory reason was the Indequacy of the sight

at Adelaide Oval."

Either....or

some means!

IL

become had

obvious to very cricket enthusiast In Eng-i land that Listes were devised to get Bradman out at a fairly cheap price the chances of winning the Ashes were virtually nil, and that the MCC team might just as well have stayed at home.

So leg-theory was introduced --to be bowled in particular by the whippet-like "Little Lo Larwood, the 28-year-o Not tinghamshire player, whose 90 mph express deliveries could send the balls spinning 70 yards

or more.

Al Arst there was little hint of the uproar to come. England

serech

After Woodfull had been dis- missed later on, me of England's managers, "Pium" Warner, went to the Australian dressing room. to inquire how he was. The re- suit was that now-famuus re- mark: There are two teams in the Beld and one of them is not playing cricket."

Even more inflammable was the cable sent by the Australian Board to the MCC on January 16, 1933. Among other things it suid: "Body-line bowling has assured such proportions as to menace the besi interests of the In our opinion it is ame

.. Unless it is stopped at once unsportsmanlike

it is likely to relations the friendly Upset existing between Australia and

began in great style, winning the Brat Test by ten wickets. Larwood's contribution was ten for 124 against a teom weaken- England." nd by Bradman's absence through ill-health.

Nor did the second Test-al | Melbourne--provoke any de- monstrations. Bradman

reap- peared, faited To score in the first innings, then hit 103 not out which helped the home country to vintory by 111 runs. But the critics were already beginning to use the newly-coined ugly terin of "body-line".

The storm really broke during the third Test at Ade- laide. England. beginning badly, font four wickets in reaching 37, bat recovered so well that they were eventual- ly able to total 341.

The boiling point

Australia started equally bad- ly. With Larwood's attacking feld set close in on the leg side ready to gubble up the merest chance, the home team tumbled 10 51 for four.

Then came the incident thai brought the "Body-line bowling war" tu boling point. Australian captain Bill Woodfull was hit over the heart by the last bali of Larwoud's second over. Woodfull carried on after a short rest anul nimost fauned- ately Bradman was out--caught at short-leg off a Larwood ex- press.

Incensed at seeing their chief | batsmen dismissed cheaply, the 50,000-strung Adelaide crowd booed and Jeered. Each step of Larwood's 20-odd strides to the wleket brought a howl of deri- slon.

Worse was to come when Bert Oldfield, the Australian

Outsider wins Irish Derby

Curragh, June 21.

Your Highness, 33-1 English-

trained

outsider. earried

the pink and green colours

at Mira Stanhope

Joel

021

victory in the Irtatt Derby

here today.

The colt, a sun of Chamos- zalre, won in a photo-finish by half a length from Soysambu, owned by Canadian Max Bell, with Haven a further 24 lengths away third in a field of

18.

Your Highness, trained at Newmarket by Humphrey Coirill W08 ridden by Irish jockey orbert Holmes.

The mile and half classic was worth nearly £8,000 to the winner. Next year, however, when it will be known as the Irish Sweupe Derby, it is ilkely to be worth over £60,000 and will become Europưa", tletiest prico.

Last Year, the Isiah 2,000 Gulness winner, started Davourite at 2-1-Router.

Four D. Jones (TWO

BY MADDOCKS

I'M GETTING

OUT OF HERE,

MATE, A YOUNG

LAD CAN COME

TO HARM IN THIS PLACE

FERDINAND

NANCY

THREE

So the tour--and the public pulcry-continued. Larwood and Jardine were both the subjects of Press criticism; at Dae stage Larwood was even called a "murderet".

Hero

Denis Law to join Turin

Denis Law (left) and Turin agent Gigi Perenace, on their way to Haly. Denis Law, 21-year-old Manchester City and Scotland inside forward, ir joining the Italian clab Turin in a golden cloud of fire that makes him the costulent player ever to leave Britain Law spurned Manchester City's offer of £100 a week. Turin will pay City £90,000 for Law's two-year contract, and Law himself gets a down payment of £10,000.- London Express Photo.

For more than three hours Paynter defled the Australian attack under a broiling sun. He Yat such was the excitement was not

close. oul 24 at the of the fourth Test at Brisbane | After spending the night buck at that the body-line business was hospital. courageous Eddic re- temporarily inta the turned to the wicket to continue pushed

English hero the fight, background. The was te Eddle Payater, the Lancashire left-hander. who

Austraila made 310 in their Erst innings. Payuter, who con- tracted tonsilites, loy In a hus- pliul bed with a temperature thal wavered near the hundred mark. England made a shaky start, using five for 198.

was given sympathetic applause, by the crowd for missing his contury so narrowly, and it looked as though the unfortun ate body-line episode had been a storm in a ten-cup.

Agreement

The fought on to

optimists were wrong.

The controversy raged on until the summer of 1934. Then the MCC and Australian Board brought an end to the affair with an understanding that "a form of bowling which was obviously a direct attack by a bowler upon the bats- man would be an offence against the spirit of the game." In otter words, the onus lay with trom captains. And Hdrok Larwood never bowlest for England again.

With Hedley Verity as his was only included in the four partner. Paynter party, because Dulcepsinjbl was 183 n of a ninth-wicket sland While the rest of the MCC went unable to go.

of 112 before Bert Ironmongeron to New Zealand to complew claimed he wicket.

the four. Larwood and the Australia were tumbled out Nawab of Pataudi left Sydney for 175 In their second in- by train to entch the boat home.

England's demon bawler de England

More than the

100 nings.

scored

hooligans clared that he had been sacri- runs needed for the loss of boarded the train and tried ficed to pulitical Influences... only four wickets. And the unsuccessfully to force

their that he would not play against made the winning nian who

way Into Larwood's compartan Australing raplain who re- hit was ille Eddie Paynter,ment. They had to be content garded him as unsportsmanlike. who cracked McCabe over the with hurling abuse.

23 Larwood, who had taken

But time is a great healer of square-leg ropes for six.

the five Testa_ard | wounds. In 1959, Harold Lar- wickets In Larwood showed his paces ar was chiefly responsible for Eng-wood returned fr Australia

Jic land bringing back the Ashes where batsman in the Afth Test t

ance "Public Sydney. scoring 88 attractive said he would never visit Aus- Enemy No. 1"-and macle his runs before being caught. Hetralia again.

Despite protests from the stoff. Paynter tecided to hat. He left hospita! in pyjamas and dressing gown. walking to the wicket when "Cubby" Allen was eighth out at 216.

BOY---I PITCHED AN AWFUL GAME SUNDAY --

I HAD NOTHING ON THE BALL.

BRICK BRADFORD

A GRACESHIP? PERHAPS

YOU SAW A METEORITE

HIT THIS

ASTEROID!

-AND TODAY WHEN IT

DOESNT MATTER---

WE HAVE EVERY REASON TO BELIBYE IT WAS A SPACE.

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EXIT ONE TREMBLING AN EMPTY WALL IS SHATTERED.

TRAITOR TROTTING

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BOOKS AND SPORT

SWIM IN A DAY

By CHARLES STEPHEN

How long does it take to learn to swim? "Twenty- four hours" says Gerald Forsberg in his "First Strokes in Swimming" (Routledge and Kegan Paul, 12s 6d).

Advocating three-quarters of an

hour

Jetsons од alternate days, Mr Forsberg says that after about 24 hours the he

inrer should be able to swin 50 yards.

coach,

another American Phil Moriarty,

Finally, for the really technical-

minded

water-lover, whose equipment may include mask. Anx snorkel, weight belts, depthgauges, knife, goggle, compras, diving lung and ear plugs, I recommend "Basic Scuba (Van Nostrand, 643).

He points ou that this is QT! overage figure. If you are below average do not worry. Toke heart from the state- incat by world backstroke

toid-breaker Margaret Ed-Written wards. In "Swimming" (Stanley Paul, 25s.) she says; "I did not

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to the bath practically every day." She was then 10 years

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Illustrated

it is dificult to choose between recently-published books on swimming. Hut for students

Dí stroke-craft, I musi Acminate "Ilow to Swim Well (Hodder and Stoughton, 21s), written by Charles Sav., the American couch who has laught about 75,000 people to swim, and Charles Champlin,

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London Tennis

results

Lendon, June 21. Results of today's matches in the London Queen's Club Grass Court Tennis Champlonships

were:

MEN'S SINGLES

(Fourth round)

R. Laver (Australia) beat M. by Mozimapishvili (USSR) B-0.

0-3.

Here is a problem by J. R. Neukomm (Good Companions. 1923). White to play and matu in two moVEN.

Solution No. 6051: 1 RX#ti, QXR: 3 4×8 ch, B×Q: W Rch, HXR; 4, kt-R6 ch, and's KixQ.

London Expreza Berzina.

R. Emerson (Australia) beat C. Crawford (US) 0-0, 0-2.

D. Dell (US) beat W. Gogh- lam (Australia) 8-6. 0-3.

R. Mark (Australia) beat J. Douglas (US) 3-0, 8-2, 9.7.

W. Bond (US) beat F. Froch- ling (US) 3-6, 6-4, 6-1.

C. McKinley (US) beat T. Moe (Norway) 6-3, 6-2.

1 Soriano (Argentina) beat M. Riessen (US) 0-3, 0-4.

WOMEN'S SINGLES

(Third round)

C. Truman (Britain) beat S. Moore (US) 7-5, 6-1.

J. Lehane (Australia) beat A. Dmitrieva (USSR) -8, 0-2. M. Smith (Australis) boat L. Hutchings (South Abrien) 7-5, 6-0.

R. Schurman (South Africa) beat M. Gerson (South Africa) 6-4, 6-3.

A. Haydon (Britain) beat K Hantze (US) 6-3, 9-11, 8-2.

Turner (Australia) bent D. Lord (US) 6-3, 6-1.

N. Richey (US) beat K Chabot (US) 5-3, 2-0, 6-3, -- AJP.

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