The Ashes: Reliving the infamous Bodyline saga
1930 was the year in which Sir Don Bradman announced himself as the best batsman in the world. He scored 974 runs in the Ashes series in England- a series aggregate that has not been toppled till date.
Bradman scored 232 of those runs at The Oval, in the final Test of the series. He was eventually dismissed by a young Nottinghamshire bowler named Harold Larwood. Then Percy Hornibrook bowled Australia to an innings victory and they regained The Ashes from England.
The 243 run partnership between Bradman and Jackson made all the difference. While the partnership was in progress, Larwood did try to bowl some short-pitch stuff at Bradman ( not Bodyline, though). The Don didn't like the balls rising to his body.
But the real takeaway for Larwood was the fact that Bradman kept drawing away from the balls that could have hit him on the body. Most of the balls got an awkward lift from the good-length spot and Bradman was not comfortable in facing them. The entire England team noticed that and they did discuss about it at the end of day's play. Thus formed the genesis for cricket's most controversial strategy. Let us relive the events surrounding the infamous episode.
#5 Jardine's moment of epiphany
Douglas Jardine was not part of the England team for that match but, when the time came, he was shrewd enough to 'use' the discomfort Bradman found that day at The Oval to his advantage.
Jardine was born in India but got educated in Winchester College. There he developed his cricket under the experienced and watchful eyes of Harry Altham, Scofield Haigh and Rockley Wilson. Wilson was instrumental in shaping up Jardine as a superb strategist.
Extra Cover: The super villain of Test cricket - Douglas Jardine
As David Frith wrote in his superbly researched book titled Bodyline Autopsy, "As for the true genesis of Bodyline, the key moment had come some time earlier when D.R. Jardine, having watched film of the 1930 Oval Test match in the company of a gathering of MCC committeemen at Lord's, spotted Don Bradman's discomfort on the damp pitch and ejaculated, 'I've got it! He's yellow!"