Douglas Jardine
Encyclopedia
Douglas Robert Jardine ( 1900 – 1958) was an English cricket
er and captain
of the England cricket team from 1931 to 1933–34.When describing cricket seasons, the convention used is that a single year represents an English cricket season, while two years (e.g. 1933–34) represent a southern hemisphere cricket season because it takes place over two calendar years (e.g. September to February). See Cricket season
for more information. A right-handed batsman
, he played 22 Test matches
for England, captaining the side in 15 of those matches, winning nine, losing one and drawing five. Jardine is best known for captaining the English team during the 1932–33 Ashes tour of Australia
, in which his team employed Bodyline
tactics against Donald Bradman
and other opposing Australian batsmen. A Bodyline delivery was one where the cricket ball
was pitched short
so as to rise towards the body of the opposing batsman on the line of the leg stump
, in the hope of creating legside
deflections that could be caught by one of several fielders
on the leg side. This tactic was considered by many to be intimidatory and physically threatening, and Jardine is widely regarded by commentators and writers as the person responsible for the English strategy on that tour. A controversial figure among cricketers, Jardine was well known for his dislike of Australian players and crowds and was unpopular in Australia, particularly for his manner and especially after the Bodyline tour. On the other hand, many players captained by him regarded him as an excellent captain; not all regarded him as good at managing people. He was also famous in cricket circles for wearing a multi-coloured Harlequin
cap.
After establishing an early reputation as a prolific schoolboy batsman, Jardine played cricket for Winchester College
, attended the University of Oxford, playing for its cricket team
, and played for Surrey County Cricket Club
as an amateur
. He developed a defensive method of batting which was unusual for an amateur, receiving occasional criticism for negative batting. Despite this, Jardine was selected in Test matches for the first time in 1928, and went on to play with some success in the Test series in Australia in 1928–29. Following this tour, his business commitments prevented him from playing as much cricket. However, in 1931, he was asked to captain England in a Test against New Zealand. Although there were some initial misgivings about his captaincy, Jardine led England in the next three cricket seasons and on two overseas tours, one of which was the Australian tour of 1932–33. He retired from all first-class cricket
in 1934 following a tour to India.
Jardine was a qualified solicitor
but did not work much in law, working in banking and, later on, journalism. He joined the Territorial Army in the Second World War, most of which he spent in India. After the war, he worked as a secretary to a paper manufacturer and returned to journalism. While on a business trip in 1957, he became ill with what proved to be lung cancer and died aged 57 in 1958.
, to Scottish parents. His parents were Malcolm Jardine
, also a former first-class cricket
er but later a barrister, and Alison Moir. At the age of nine, Douglas was sent to stay with his mother's sister in St Andrews
, Scotland. She lived in a large mansion where he spent most of his school holidays while going to Horris Hill School
near Newbury, Berkshire
, from May 1910. The school had high standards and Jardine was moderately successful academically. From 1912, he played cricket for the school first eleven, enjoying success as a bowler and as a batsman. He captained
the team in his final term, when the team were unbeaten. Jardine was influenced by the writing of former England captain C. B. Fry on batting technique, which contradicted the advice of his coach at Horris Hill. The coach disapproved of Jardine's batting methods, but Jardine did not back down and quoted a book by Fry to support his viewpoint.
In 1914, Jardine entered Winchester College
. At the time, life at Winchester was arduous and austere; discipline was harsh. Sport and exercise were vital parts of the school day. In Jardine's time, preparing the pupils for war was also important. According to Jardine's biographer, Christopher Douglas, the pupils were "taught to be honest, impervious to physical pain, uncomplaining and civilised." All pupils were required to be academically competent and Jardine was able to get along without exhibiting brilliance; successful sportsmen, on the other hand, were revered. Jardine enjoyed a slightly better position than some other pupils, already possessing when he arrived a reputation as a cricketer and soon excelling at other sports, representing the school at football as a goalkeeper and rackets, and playing Winchester College football
, a sport which has resemblances to rugby union
. However, his main sporting reputation came from cricket. He was in the first eleven for three years from 1917 and received coaching from Harry Altham
, Rockley Wilson
and Schofield Haigh
, the latter two of whom were distinguished cricketers. Jardine later said that Wilson helped to develop his batting. In 1919, his final year, Jardine came top of the school batting average
s with 997 runs at an average of 66.46. He also became captain although there were doubts within the school about his ability to unify the team. Despite these doubts, Winchester won their annual match against Eton College
in 1919, a fixture in which Eton usually held the upper hand. Jardine's batting (35 and 89 in the match) and captaincy were believed by critics to be the key factors in his side's first victory over Eton for 12 years. After his retirement from cricket, he named his 89 in that match as his favourite innings. Jardine went on to score 135 not out
against Harrow School
.
Jardine's achievements in the season were widely reported in the local and national press. He went on to play in two representative schools matches at Lord's Cricket Ground
, where he scored 44, 91, 57 and 55 in two matches and won favourable reviews in the press. Wisden, in 1928, described Jardine at this time as being obviously of a much higher standard than his contemporaries, particularly in defence and on side
batting. However, at this stage in his batting, he was sometimes criticised for being too cautious and not using all the batting strokes of which he was capable. His good batting technique gave the impression that he could easily score more quickly.
, in September 1919 at a time when the university was more crowded than usual due to the arrival of men whose entrance had been delayed due to the war
. He still took part in several sports, representing New College as goalkeeper in matches between the colleges, and being given a trial for the University football team, although he was not chosen. He continued to play rackets and began to play real tennis
, making such progress and showing such promise that he went on to represent the University successfully and won his Blue. In cricket, Jardine came under the coaching of Tom Hayward
who influenced his footwork and defence. Wisden commented in 1928 that Jardine had come with an excellent reputation, but did not quite achieve the success which was expected. However, his batting ability, particularly defensively, remained unquestionable.
In the 1920 season
, Jardine made his first-class debut, played eight first-class matches and scored two fifties. Playing mainly as an opening batsman, he won his Blue, appearing in the University Match
against Cambridge
but fell short of expectations, according to Wisden. Although his batting technique was excellent, he received criticism from those who saw him bat as they believed him to be too cautious. At this stage in his career, Jardine did limit his strokes, not feeling confident enough to play them all safely enough. In all, he scored 217 runs at an average of 22.64. In the match for Oxford against Essex, he took six wickets for six runs in a bowling spell of 45 balls, bowling leg break
s, to have bowling figures of six for 28. It was the only occasion in his career where he took five or more wickets in an innings.
Playing more confidently and fluently in 1921
, Jardine began the season well, scoring three fifties in his first three first-class matches. Then Oxford played against the Australian touring side
which dominated the season. In the second innings, Jardine scored 96 not out to save the game but was unable to complete his century
before the game ended. Even so, the innings was praised by those who saw it. The tourists were criticised in the press for not allowing Jardine to reach his hundred, particularly as the match was reduced from three days to two days at the request of the Australians, who wished to have a rest day in between matches. The Australians had tried to help him with some easy bowling but the situation was confused by the batsmen's scores not being displayed on a scoreboard at the cricket ground
. There has been speculation that this incident led to Jardine's later hatred of Australians, although Christopher Douglas denies this was the case. Cricket historian David Frith
believed it is possible that Australian captain Warwick Armstrong
could have addressed sarcastic comments to Jardine but Wisden believed his slow approach cost him his century. The Australian manager expressed regret that he missed out. This innings was the highest that had been played to that point in the season against the Australians, and only one higher score was made before the first Test. It could have led to Jardine playing for England in 1921 as Plum Warner
, an influential figure who had recently captained Middlesex, suggested in The Cricketer
magazine that Jardine should play in the first Test, which followed the Oxford match. He had been impressed by Jardine on the other occasions he had seen him bat. He remained in Test contention for a short time, but was not selected. In the meantime, he scored his first first-class hundred in a match against The Army and another followed against Sussex
. Both innings were cautious, with defence his main priority for much of the innings, but he failed in the match against Cambridge. Jardine then went on to play for Surrey
, for whom he was qualified, replacing the injured Jack Hobbs
as an opening batsman before dropping down to number five in the batting order. Jardine played in a vital match against reigning County Champions Middlesex
which would determine the champions for the season. In a situation of great pressure, Jardine scored a vital 55 to hold the innings together after the loss of early wickets, although Surrey went on to lose the match. Jardine finished the season with 1,015 runs at an average of 39.03, although critics still did not believe his potential had been fulfilled.
Jardine missed most of the 1922 season
due to a serious knee injury, playing only four matches at a time when he was expected to make a big impression. There was speculation in the newspapers about whether he would be fit for the match against Cambridge, but he missed it and was also unable to play for Surrey that season. Even so, in 1922 he was selected by The Isis
as one of its men of the year. After some early problems with his troublesome knee, Jardine returned to cricket by May of the 1923 season
. He was not given the Oxford captaincy in his final year, which has led to speculation that his manner and unfriendliness prevented him from being made captain. However, his injury and the availability of other deserving candidates may have provided at least part of the explanation. After a cautious start on his return, Jardine gradually found his batting form, and contributed to Oxford's only win over Cambridge in the decade. During one innings of another match, he received criticism for using his pads to stop the ball from hitting the wickets: this was within the laws of the game but was controversial and seen by critics to be against the spirit of the game. Christopher Douglas traces Jardine's hostility towards the press and critics to this incident. He also received criticism for his slow batting for Oxford, again being singled out due to his known ability to play attacking shots. Partly this was because Jardine held a responsible position, the team often reliant on his success. The complaints were a manifestation of wider criticism of young amateur batting at the time for its lack of enterprise, as commentators began to hark back to the "golden age" before the war. Jardine left Oxford in 1923 having scored a total of 1,381 runs and a fourth class degree in modern history.
When Jardine went on to play for Surrey that season, a strong batting side, he played with more freedom and in a varied style. Batting at number five, he had to play different types of innings, either attacking or defensive, depending on the match situation. He made a success of it, playing long defensive innings or sacrificing his innings in an attempt to hit quick runs. His captain Percy Fender
seemed satisfied with his role, keeping him in it all season despite his reputation for caution. He scored his first century for Surrey against Yorkshire
and was awarded his County Cap, making 916 runs at an average of 38.16 in the whole season.
, due in large part to the stigma attached to professional cricketers being appointed as captain. There were professionals such as Jack Hobbs playing for Surrey who could have been made captain, but Jardine was preferred as an amateur. In that season, Jardine was selected for the Gentlemen v Players
match for the first time and came third in the Surrey averages. In all first-class matches, he scored 1,249 runs at an average of 40.29. The following season
, Jardine was less successful, scoring fewer runs at a lower average and with a highest score of 87 (1,020 runs at 30.90). It had also been suggested in the press that Jardine should captain the Gentlemen, with a view towards the future of the England Test team, but this did not happen. In fact, owing to an injury sustained playing village cricket at Ashtead
for a team called C.E. McIver's XI, he was unable to appear in the Gentlemen v Players match at Lord's. In 1926
, Jardine had his most successful season to date, with 1,473 runs (average 46.03), although he was again overshadowed by other players and by the attention given to the Ashes series being played. Towards the end of the season, his batting became more attractive and his rate of scoring increased as he began to play more shots. His assurance and judgement against all bowling, even international bowlers, became noticed and he scored 538 runs in his final ten innings.
In 1927
, Jardine achieved his highest average in a season, scoring 1,002 runs and averaging 91.09 in a very wet summer which led to difficult wickets to bat on. Wisden named him as one of its Cricketers of the Year
, commenting that he had improved his style and footwork. That season, he could only play 11 matches due to work commitments as a clerk with Barings Bank
, for whom he had worked since qualifying as a solicitor. Despite his lack of practice, he scored hundreds in his first three matches and came top of the Surrey batting averages. He scored a century in the Gentlemen v Players match, which impressed influential people at Lord's, and represented England in a trial match against The Rest. In this latter match, when Percy Chapman
withdrew at the last minute, Jardine took over the captaincy, earning praise in the press for his performance. By this stage, he was considered a certainty to tour Australia the following winter.
was similar to that from the previous season. He played 14 matches, but scored 1,133 runs at an average of 87.15. He also enjoyed success in high profile matches, scoring 193 for Gentlemen at the Oval, where the crowd had booed his slow start (at one stage, he took half an hour to score two runs) but later cheered him as his last fifty runs were scored in half an hour. For the same team at Lord's, he scored 86 and 40. He captained The Rest against England in a Test trial and made the highest score in each innings, scoring 74 not out in the fourth innings to help his team to draw the game on a difficult pitch, against international bowlers Maurice Tate
and Harold Larwood
.
Immediately after this match, Jardine made his Test debut against the West Indies who were touring England that season
. This was West Indies' first ever Test match. The team possessed several fast bowlers who bowled with hostility and enjoyed some success on the tour of England. Many batsmen only played them with difficulty, particularly on the occasional fast-paced pitch, but Jardine played them confidently in the Test series. Jardine played in the first two Tests, both of which were won by England by an innings, but missed the third for unknown reasons. He scored 22 on his debut, but was more successful in the second Test. He scored an eventful 83: when he had scored 26, he hit his wicket when setting off for a run, but was given not out. At the time, a batsman was not out if he had completed his shot and was setting off for a run. West Indian cricketer Learie Constantine
later recalled that Jardine would have been given out except that the batsman informed the umpire that he had already finished his shot. Jardine was later run out by Tate, a player with whom he did not enjoy a good relationship, when they were batting together in the England innings: Tate refused to go for a run causing Jardine to be run out.
Jardine was the centre of attention at the start of the tour. He began the tour with three consecutive hundreds and was seen as one of the main English threats. In his first hundred, the crowd engaged in some good-natured joking at Jardine's expense, but he was jeered by the crowd in his second hundred for batting too slowly. His third hundred was described by Bradman as one of the finest exhibitions of strokeplay that he had seen; Jardine accelerated after another slow start, during which he was again barracked, to play some excellent shots. The crowds took an increasing dislike to him, partially for his success with the bat, but mainly for his superior attitude and bearing, his awkward fielding, and particularly his choice of headwear. His first public action in South Australia was to take out the members of the South Australian team who had been to Oxford or Cambridge Universities. Then, he wore a Harlequin cap, given to people who played good cricket at Oxford. It was not unusual for Oxford and Cambridge cricketers to wear similar caps while batting, as both Jardine and M.C.C. captain Percy Chapman
did so on this tour, although it was slightly unorthodox to wear them while fielding. However, this was neither understood nor acceptable to the Australian crowds. They quickly took exception to the importance he seemed to place on class distinction. Although Jardine may simply have worn the cap out of superstition, it conveyed a negative impression to the spectators, with his general demeanour drawing one comment of "Where's the butler to carry the bat for you?" Jardine's cap became a focus for criticism and mockery from the crowds throughout the tour. Nevertheless, Jack Fingleton
later claimed that Jardine could still have brought the crowds onto his side by exchanging jokes or pleasantries with them. It is certain that Jardine by this stage had developed an intense dislike for Australian crowds. During his third century at the start of the tour, during a period of abuse from the spectators, he observed to a sympathetic Hunter Hendry
that "All Australians are uneducated, and an unruly mob". After the innings, when Patsy Hendren
said that the Australian crowds did not like Jardine, he replied "It's fucking mutual". Due to the large number of good close fielders in the side, Jardine did not field in the slips
, his usual position for Surrey, but next to the crowd on the boundary. There, he was roundly abused and mocked, particularly when chasing the ball: he was not a good fielder on the boundary. In one of the Test matches, he spat towards the crowd while fielding on the boundary as he changed position for the final time.
In the first Test, Jardine scored 35 and 65 not out. His first innings began with England in an uncertain position, having lost three wickets for 108 on a very good batting wicket. His innings led England to a stronger position. He played very cautiously, being troubled by Clarrie Grimmett
and Bert Ironmonger
, the Australian spinners. Jardine believed that Ironmonger threw the ball
, and this bowler gave him considerable trouble throughout his career. Thanks to the bowling of Harold Larwood, England took a huge first innings lead and Larwood's second innings, although he played well in his 65, Jardine was not under much pressure. He scored a large number of singles, giving his partners most of the bowling and building up the lead to the point where England achieved a massive victory by 675 runs. This victory surprised and troubled the Australian cricketing public. Jardine played a similar role in the second Test, batting with Wally Hammond
to retrieve a poor start for England in his only innings as they won by eight wickets. Jardine scored 62 in the third Test, supporting Hammond who made a double century. However, when Australia batted a second time, they built up a big lead and left England needing 332 to win on an exceptionally bad wicket which had been damaged by rain
. Jack Hobbs and Herbert Sutcliffe
, in one of their most famous partnerships, put on 105. Hobbs sent a message to the team that Jardine should be the next batsmen to come in, even though he usually batted later on, as he was the batsman most likely to survive in the conditions. When Hobbs was dismissed, Jardine came in to bat. He survived, although finding batting exceptionally difficult, until the day's play ended. Percy Fender believed that Jardine was the only batsman in the side who could have coped with the difficult conditions. He went on to make 33 next day, and England won by three wickets.
During the team's brief visit to Tasmania
, Jardine made his highest first-class score of 214. In the fourth Test, Jardine only scored one run in the first innings, before he was given out leg before wicket
(lbw) despite obviously hitting the ball. In the second innings, coming out to bat with the score 21 for two, Jardine scored 98 in a partnership of 262 with Hammond which was then the highest partnership for the third wicket in all Test matches. The scoring was very slow, and the crowd protested throughout Jardine's innings, even though he scored faster than Hammond. He was out when Wisden believed he looked certain to reach a century. England went on to win the match by 12 runs.
Jardine was not successful in the final Test, won by Australia. He was used as an opener, due to an injury to Sutcliffe, and made just 19 and a first ball duck
. Once both of his innings were completed, on the fifth day of a match which lasted eight days, he left the match and set off across Australia to catch a boat to India for a holiday. It is not clear if this was planned or if he had simply had enough. Jardine never provided an explanation, to the Australian press nor afterwards. Later, Jardine wrote about the Australian crowds, complaining over their involvement, but praising their knowledge and judgement of the game and describing them as more informed than English crowds. He also expressed later reservations to Bob Wyatt
about Percy Chapman, saying that he would have shot him if a gun was available. Jardine did not appear in first-class cricket in the 1929 season
due to business commitments.
, Jardine was offered the vice-captaincy of Surrey. He was unable to accept owing to business commitments and played just nine matches for the season, scoring 402 runs at an average of 36.54 and managing one century and one fifty. He was never in the running for Test selection that season, although his presence may have been missed as the English batting was unreliable in the Tests. Christopher Douglas argues that had Jardine been playing regularly, he would have been made captain for the final Test, when Chapman was dropped in favour of the sounder batsman Bob Wyatt
. The sensation of the Test series was Donald Bradman, who dominated the English bowling to score 974 runs at a speed and certainty which has never been equalled since, making the English selectors realise that something must be done to curb the problem. With Bradman at the fore, Australia regained the Ashes 2–1.
Jardine played a full season of cricket in 1931
. In June, he was appointed as captain for the Test against New Zealand (two more Tests were later added). The English selectors were searching for possible captains for the 1932–33 tour of Australia, with Bradman and Australia's strong batting line up foremost in their minds. Christopher Douglas believes that, as Jardine was not a regular county captain, the selectors wanted to assess his leadership ability but had probably not settled on him as a final choice. He was also chosen as a dependable, proven batsman. While Percy Fender approved of his appointment, The Times correspondent believed that he was unproven and others were more deserving of the leadership. Ian Peebles
, writing 40 years later, claimed that Jardine's appointment was popular but cricket administrators had misgivings. Alan Gibson believed that Jardine was chosen because the other candidates were either not worth their place in the side, too old or had controversy attached to them. Furthermore, Jardine impressed the chairman of selectors, Pelham Warner, who stated that he was very effective in selection meetings through his knowledge of cricket history and went into great detail to choose the correct players; it seems that Warner was the driving force behing Jardine's appointment.
In his first Test as captain, Jardine clashed with several players. Frank Woolley
was unhappy with his captain's manner, feeling humiliated at his treatment in the field at one point. He also rebuked Ian Peebles and Walter Robins
, two young amateur bowlers, for their amusement over an incident in the match. The home team's fortunes were mixed, as New Zealand put up a very good fight in their first Test in England, and both sides could have won. The New Zealanders were so successful that a further two Tests were arranged. Jardine was criticised in the press for not instructing his batsmen to score quickly enough to win in the fourth innings, although this strategy was unlikely to succeed, and the match was drawn. England won the second Test by an innings and the third Test was drawn, sealing the series 1–0. Jardine had a top score of just 38 in the series, but only batted four times and was not out in three of the innings. At the beginning of the following season, Wisden's editor believed that, as Jardine had failed to impress (unspecified) people with his captaincy, he was no longer a certainty to lead the side to Australia, and only Percy Chapman's lack of form prevented his reinstatement at Jardine's expense. As a batsman, Jardine was more impressive in Wisden's opinion, showing himself to be good in defence despite his lack of cricket in the past two seasons. A notable innings was his 104 for The Rest to prevent defeat against champion county Yorkshire. The opposition bowling, particularly from Bill Bowes
, was short and hostile, but Jardine survived for over four hours. He scored 1,104 first-class runs for the season at an average of 64.94.
At the beginning of the 1932 season
, Jardine became captain of Surrey. There was much speculation that Fender had been replaced due to disputes with the Surrey committee but it was some time before this, and Jardine's appointment, was confirmed. Fender was supportive of Jardine and happy to play under him. Jardine overcame a cautious beginning to develop a more aggressive captaincy style, and Surrey finished in their highest position in the championship for six years. England played one international match that season, India's first ever Test match, and Jardine was selected as captain. India possessed a very effective bowling attack on this tour, which surprised many teams, and England's batsmen struggled against them. Jardine, who had played a long innings against the tourists for M.C.C. earlier in the season, was the only English batsman to pass 30 in both innings. He scored 79 and 85 not out, and was praised for two excellent defensive innings in a difficult situation by Wisden and The Cricketer. During the match, Jardine again clashed with his team. He gave Bill Bowes and Bill Voce
the very unusual instruction to bowl one full toss
each over to take advantage of the batsmen's trouble seeing the ball against the crowd. The bowlers did not do so, and were later reprimanded by Jardine who told them to obey orders. Jardine himself went on to score 1,464 runs in the season at an average of 52.28.
, during Bradman's innings of 232, the wicket became difficult for a time following rain. Bradman was briefly seen to be uncomfortable facing deliveries that bounced higher than usual at a faster pace. Percy Fender was one of many cricketers who noticed, and he discussed this with Jardine in 1932. When Jardine later saw film footage of the Oval incident and noticed Bradman's discomfort, he shouted, "I've got it! He's yellow!" Further details that developed his plans came from letters Fender received from Australia in 1932 describing how Australian batsmen were increasingly moving across the stumps towards the off-side to play the ball on the on-side. Fender showed these letters to Jardine. It was also known in England that Bradman had shown some discomfort during the 1931–32 Australian season against pace bowling.
Following Jardine's appointment, a meeting was arranged with Nottinghamshire
captain Arthur Carr and his two fast bowler
s Larwood and Voce at London's Piccadilly Hotel. Jardine explained his belief that Bradman was weak against bowling directed at leg stump and that if this line of attack could be maintained, it would restrict Bradman's scoring to one side of the field, giving the bowlers greater control of his scoring. Jardine asked Larwood and Voce if they could bowl accurately on leg stump and make the ball rise up into the body of the batsman. The bowlers agreed that they could, and that it might prove effective, but Jardine stressed that bowling accurately was vitally important, or Bradman would dominate the bowling. Larwood believed that Jardine saw Bradman as his main target and wished to attack him psychologically as well as in a cricketing sense. At the same time, other Australian batsmen were also discussed. Larwood and Voce practised the plan over the remainder of the 1932 season with mixed success. Jardine also visited Frank Foster who had toured Australia in 1911–12 to discuss field placings appropriate to Australian conditions. Foster had bowled leg-theory on that tour with his fielders placed close in on the leg-side, as had George Hirst in 1903–04. During the second half of the season, the team to tour Australia was announced. The selection of four fast bowlers and a few medium pacers was very unusual at the time, and it was commented on by the hosts' media, including Bradman. The selection of Eddie Paynter
, who did not have a strong record, to replace the ill Kumar Shri Duleepsinhji
was very likely a choice of Jardine. He had a history of good performances against Yorkshire, and Jardine considered that a player's record against northern counties was a good indication of his potential at international level.
. He discussed tactics with Harold Larwood and other bowlers, spoke to Hedley Verity
about his role in the team, and he may have met batsmen Wally Hammond
and Herbert Sutcliffe
. Some players reported that Jardine told them to hate the Australians in order to defeat them, while instructing them to refer to Bradman as "the little bastard." At this stage, he seems to have settled on leg theory
, if not full Bodyline
, as his main tactic.
Once the team arrived in Australia, Jardine quickly alienated the press by refusing to give team details before a match and being uncooperative when interviewed by journalists. The press printed some negative stories as a result and the crowds barracked as they had done on his previous tour, which made him angry. Jardine still wore his Harlequin cap and began the tour well with 98 and 127 before the first Test. Once again, he clashed with paceman Bill Bowes, refusing to give his bowler the requested field placings in an early match. As a result, Bowes deliberately gave away easy runs in an attempt to get his way, but following a discussion, Bowes was converted to Jardine's tactics and ultimately to his ability as a captain. In a tour match, Jardine also instructed Hammond to attack the bowling of Chuck Fleetwood-Smith
, whom he considered dangerous and thus did not want him to play in the Tests. Up until this point, there had been little unusual about the English bowling except the number of fast bowlers. Larwood and Voce were given a light workload in the early matches by Jardine. This changed in the match against an Australian XI, from which Jardine rested himself, where the bowlers first used the tactics that came to be known as Bodyline. Under the captaincy of Bob Wyatt
, the bowlers bowled short and around leg stump, with fielders positioned close by on the leg side to catch any deflections. Wyatt later claimed that this was not planned beforehand and he simply passed on to Jardine what happened after the match. These tactics continued in the next match; several players were hit. Many commentators criticised this style of bowling; although bowlers had previously used leg theory bowling, where bowlers bowled outside leg stump with a concentration of fielders on the leg side, using these tactics with fast bowlers dropping the ball short was almost unprecedented. It was seen as dangerous and against the spirit of the game. In a letter, Jardine told Fender that his information about the Australian batting technique was correct and that it meant he was having to move more and more fielders onto the leg side
. He said that "if this goes on I shall have to move the whole bloody lot to the leg side." Jardine increasingly came into disagreement with Warner over Bodyline as the tour progressed, but his tactics were successful in one respect: in six innings against the tourists ahead of the Tests, Bradman had scored only 103 runs, causing concern among the Australian public who expected much more from him.
was scoring 187 not out, Jardine was briefly seen to be unsettled as runs came quickly, and he may not have been fully convinced that the tactics would be successful. England eventually won the match comfortably. In the second Test, Jardine completely misjudged the pitch and left out a specialist spinner when conditions later in the match favoured one. The match seemed to be going well when Bill Bowes unexpectedly bowled the returning Bradman first ball in the first innings; Jardine was seen to be so delighted that he had clasped his hands above his head and performed a "war dance". This was an extremely unusual reaction in the 1930s, particularly from Jardine who rarely showed any emotion while playing cricket. In the second innings, Bradman scored an unbeaten century which helped Australia to win the match and level the series at one match each. This made it seem to critics that Bodyline was not quite the threat that had been perceived and Bradman's reputation, which had suffered slightly with his earlier failures, was restored. On the other hand, the pitch was slightly slower than was customary throughout the series, and Larwood was suffering from problems with his boots which reduced his effectiveness.
He had clashed with more of his team by this stage: he had argued with Gubby Allen
at least twice about that bowler's refusal to bowl Bodyline (although he did bowl bouncers and fielded in the "leg trap", the fielders who waited for catches close in on the leg side); and the Nawab of Pataudi
had refused to field in the "leg trap", to which Jardine responded, "I see his highness is a conscientious objector", and subsequently allowed Pataudi to play little part in the tour.
The teams went into the third Test with the series level; England won that match but the controversy nearly ended the tour. Jardine, concerned by his poor run of batting form, had promoted himself to open the batting but was part of a drastic England collapse to 30 for four in the first innings. However, the trouble began when Bill Woodfull
was struck on the chest by a Larwood delivery, drawing the comment from Jardine of "Well bowled, Harold", aimed mainly at Bradman who was also batting at the time. For the next ball faced by Woodfull, at the start of Larwood's next over, the fielders moved into the Bodyline fielding positions for the next ball he faced. Jardine wrote that Larwood had asked for the field to be moved, while Larwood said that it was Jardine's decision. The crowd became noisily angry as the ill feeling caused by the English bowling tactics spilled out, and Jardine later expressed regret that he had moved the fielders when he did. There was further anger later in the innings when Bert Oldfield
suffered a fractured skull. At this point, several of the players feared that there may be a riot and that the crowd would jump onto the field to attack them; mounted police were deployed as a precaution, but the spectators remained behind the fences. Jardine then batted very slowly in an innings of 56, during which he was continuously barracked by the crowd. Despite England's win, Wisden believed that it was probably the most unpleasant match ever played. However, it commended Jardine's courage, claimed that praise of his leadership was unanimous, and said that "above all he captained his team in this particular match like a genius". In the immediate aftermath, journalists in England and Australia took up viewpoints both for and against Jardine. The M.C.C. sent a telegram congratulating him on winning the match.
Following the third Test, strongly worded cables
passed between the Australian Board of Control
and the M.C.C. at Lord's. The Australian Board accused the English team of unsportsmanlike tactics, stating that "Bodyline bowling has assumed such proportions as to menace the best interests of the game, making protection of the body the main consideration." The M.C.C. responded angrily to the accusations of unsporting conduct, played down the Australian claims about the danger of Bodyline and threatened to call off the tour. The series was becoming a major diplomatic incident by this stage, and many people saw Bodyline as damaging to an international relationship that needed to remain strong. 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. The standoff was settled only when Australian Prime Minister
Joseph Lyons
met 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. However, correspondence continued for almost a year. Jardine was shaken by the events and by the hostile reactions that his team were receiving. Stories appeared in the press, possibly leaked by the disenchanted Nawab of Pataudi, about fights and arguments between the England players. Jardine offered to stop using Bodyline if the team did not support him, but after a private meeting (not attended by Jardine or either of the team managers) the players released a statement fully supporting Jardine and the Bodyline tactics. It was subsequently revealed that several of the players had private reservations, but they did not express them publicly at the time. Even so, Jardine would not have played in the fourth Test without the withdrawal of the unsportsmanlike accusation.
Once the fourth Test got underway, England won the match to take the series. Partly prompted by Jardine, Eddie Paynter
scored 83 having released himself from hospital. Jardine went on to make a painstaking 24, at one point facing 82 balls
without scoring a single run. He was not proud of his batting performance, being shamefaced to Australian Test opener and journalist Jack Fingleton
, and describing his batting to Bill O'Reilly
as being "like an old maid defending her virginity." England also won the final Test ending on 28 February, with a final clash taking place between Jardine and Larwood. After a long bowling spell, Larwood was furious when Jardine sent him in to bat as nightwatchman
but went on to score 98 runs. Later, Larwood broke his foot while bowling in the second innings, but Jardine was not convinced that he was seriously injured. He made him stay on the field until Bradman was out. Larwood, partly through this injury and partly through political repercussions from this series, never played another Test. Also in this match, Jardine enraged Harry Alexander
by asking him not to run on the pitch as he was damaging it and giving his side an advantage. He proceeded to bowl hostile bouncers at Jardine, who was struck painfully to the delight of the crowd.
While Jardine won the series as captain, he contributed just 199 runs at an average of 22.11 in the Tests, and 628 runs (average 36.94) in all first-class cricket in Australia. Jardine only played in the first Test of the short series which followed in New Zealand, due to rheumatism. All the players enjoyed the short tour although rain ruined the cricket, and Jardine was observed to show signs of paranoia towards all things Australian. Pelham Warner, although he later stated that he disapproved of Bodyline bowling, praised Jardine's captaincy on the tour and believed that he was cruelly treated by the Australian crowds. He further believed that Jardine was convinced that the tactics were legitimate.
. He continued to captain Surrey during his infrequent first-class appearances that summer, although business commitments prevented him from playing a full season. He was cheered by the crowd or given a standing ovation when he came out to bat as M.C.C. captain against the West Indians in May, at Sheffield
for Surrey against Yorkshire, and in the first and second Test matches. In all first-class cricket that season, Jardine scored 779 runs at an average of 51.93, including three hundreds. One of these centuries came in the second Test (Jardine missed the third with an injury that ended his season).
Some bowlers had experimented with Bodyline in the season, and the West Indian team, 1–0 down in the series and frustrated by the lack of pace in the pitches, decided to experiment with the tactic. Facing a good West Indies total, England suffered a batting collapse, at one point falling to 134 for four. With Les Ames
in difficulty against the short-pitched bowling, Jardine said, "You get yourself down this end, Les. I'll take care of this bloody nonsense." He went right back to the bouncers, standing on tiptoe, and stopped them with a dead bat, sometimes playing the ball one handed for more control. Wisden described how he never flinched despite facing the greatest amount of Bodyline. It also believed that he played it "probably better than any other man in the world was capable of doing." He batted for nearly five hours, scoring 127, his only Test century. England then retaliated by bowling Bodyline in the West Indies' second innings, but the slow pitch meant that the match was drawn. However, this performance played a large part in turning English opinion against Bodyline. The Times used the word "Bodyline", without using inverted commas or using the qualification "so-called", for the first time. Wisden said that "most of those watching it for the first time must have come to the conclusion that, while strictly within the law, it was not nice."
England won the Test series 2–0. Jardine contributed three fifties in four innings in the series, scoring 221 runs at an average of 73.66. He scored 60, 61 and 65 before his final Test innings ended at 35 not out. Jardine scored 831 first-class runs on the Indian leg of the tour—he played one match in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka)—averaging 55.40. Although Jardine enjoyed the tour, there were still clashes evident. There was an argument with the Viceroy
over Jardine selecting the Maharaja of Patiala to play for the M.C.C. in one match; in a subsequent match, Jardine complained that the pitch was rolled for too long. He also clashed, later on, with the umpire Frank Tarrant
, initially due to suspicion over the number of lbw decisions given against the M.C.C., but also because Tarrant had warned him against using Bodyline and was employed by Indian princes. Jardine threatened to stop him umpiring and sent a telegram to Lord's, with the result that Tarrant, having officiated the first two Tests, was not used in the third. For much of the time, Jardine used different tactics to those employed in Australia. Slow bowling, particularly that of Hedley Verity, played a key part in the bowling attack. At times, the faster bowlers Nobby Clark
and Stan Nichols
bowled Bodyline, resulting in several injuries. In this case, the Indian bowlers Mohammad Nissar
and Amar Singh
retaliated with Bodyline bowling of their own.
As the tour went on, there was discussion at a high level over Jardine's future. The M.C.C. authorities had realised that Bodyline was dangerous and should not be continued, but some figures such as Lord Hawke
did not want to let Jardine down. Australians saw him as more of a problem; the likes of Alexander Hore-Ruthven
wanted guarantees that Jardine would not use Bodyline and even that he not play. Plum Warner also believed that Jardine should no longer captain. Jardine himself saved the English selectors from any possible dilemma. In March 1934, he first told Surrey that he would be unable to play regularly any more and he resigned as captain. Then in an announcement in the Evening Standard, he stated that "I have neither the intention nor the desire to play cricket against Australia this summer." It is unclear whether this was due to the pressure over Bodyline, over assurances that the M.C.C. may have asked him to give or simply due to financial worries. This decision effectively ended his first-class career. He never played another Test and played only two more first-class matches in England, in 1937 and 1948, and one in India in 1943–44.
Jardine played in 22 Test matches for England, scoring 1,296 runs at an average of 48.00. In his first-class cricket
career, he played 262 matches, scoring 14,848 runs at an average of 46.83. His occasional bowling brought him 48 wickets at an average of 31.10.
believed that Jardine had modelled himself on C. B. Fry. He also noted that Jardine displayed good concentration, a strong desire to improve his batting and a fighting spirit that brought out his best in a crisis. He also said that Jardine could play every recognised cricket shot, but would not do so in a match and Robertson-Glasgow believed it was Jardine's one weakness as a batsman. The more important the occasion, the more defensive and restricted Jardine's batting became: "In general, as the task grew greater, the strokes grew fewer."
Christopher Douglas argues that Jardine liked to make his runs when his side was in difficulty and enjoyed being tested; his approach would often lead his team to recovery from an unfavourable situation. Douglas comments that Jardine held his place in the England side despite strong competition from other batsmen. His defensive technique rescued England from weak positions in around a dozen innings and only played in two losses with England (which were his two least successful games with the bat). He also excelled in the main Gentlemen v Players fixture at Lord's, making a good score in each of his appearances in this match. Jack Hobbs classed him as a great batsman and believed that he was under-rated by his contemporaries.
Wisden believed that Jardine's effective batting technique meant that fast bowlers troubled him less than other batsmen. He did have difficulties with a few bowlers. Alec Kennedy, a medium paced inswing bowler, took Jardine's wicket eleven times, eight of these occasions before the batsman had scored 20 runs. Kennedy found that Jardine had slightly slow footwork, often bowling him or trapping him leg before wicket
. Bert Ironmonger also troubled Jardine, taking his wicket in five of the eleven Test innings in which they faced each other. Jardine displayed a slight weakness against Australian slow bowlers, not moving his feet well enough against them. In 16 Test innings in Australia, he was out to slow bowlers ten times, but he rarely experienced similar difficulties against English spinners. One other bowler to cause Jardine problems was the Australian paceman Tim Wall
, who took his wicket five times on the nine occasions he bowled to him.
was impressed by Jardine's tactical understanding and named his son Douglas after the captain. Bill Bowes expressed approval of his leadership after initial misgivings, and went on to call him England's greatest captain. Nevertheless, some players such as Arthur Mitchell
who played under Jardine believed he was intolerant and unsupportive of players of lesser talent, expecting everyone to perform at world-class standards.
Jardine insisted on strict discipline from his players but in return he went to great lengths to look after them, such as organising dental treatment or providing champagne for his tired bowlers. Critics praised his skill in field placing, which was sometimes interpreted as panic when he made frequent changes if the batsmen were on top. He also displayed great physical courage, such as when he was struck by a ball hard enough to draw blood on the Bodyline tour, but refused to show pain before reaching the dressing room. On the same tour, he instructed his men not to be friendly or to socialise with the Australian players; Gubby Allen even claimed that Jardine instructed the team to hate the Australians. Robertson-Glasgow wrote that Jardine made thorough preparation for games in which he was captain, studying individual batsmen at great length to find weaknesses. He had very clear plans, judged the strengths and weaknesses of his teams and knew how to get the best out of individual players. However, Robertson-Glasgow considered it a grave misjudgement to make Jardine captain of England, particularly given his known antipathy towards Australia. Pelham Warner described how Jardine "was a master of tactics and strategy, and was especially adept in managing fast bowlers and thereby preserving their energy. He possessed a great capacity for taking pains, which, it has been said, is the mark of a genius ... As a field tactician and selector of teams he was, I consider, surpassed by no one and equalled by few, if any."
Laurence Le Quesne argues that one of Jardine's greatest talents, and at the same time greatest weaknesses, was his ability to formulate a winning strategy without consideration of wider contexts such as the social aspect of the game. On the Bodyline tour, he ignored the diplomacy required of an M.C.C. delegation. Instead, he embarked, according to Le Quesne, to win the Tests and settle personal scores with the Australians. Jardine was personally incapable of reacting to the crowds or responding to the controversy in a way that would have eased tensions, and so was not a good choice as captain given what the selectors already knew of him. Nevertheless, Le Quesne believed that when trouble arose, Jardine conducted himself with "great moral courage and an impressive degree of dignity and restraint."
In his Wisden obituary, Jardine was described as one of England's best captains, while Jack Hobbs rated him the second best captain after Percy Fender. Warner also said that he was a fine captain on and off the field, and in dealing with administrators. In fact, he stated that, "If ever there was a cricket match between England and the rest of the world and the fate of England depended upon its result, I would pick Jardine as England captain every time."
as being "provocative, austere, brusque, shy, humble, thoughtful, kindly, proud, sensitive, single-minded and possessed of immense moral and physical courage," and Frith argues that these varied qualities are easily proven by what was said about him.
Harold Larwood maintained great respect for Jardine, treasuring a gift his captain gave him after the Bodyline tour and believing him to be a great man. Jardine showed affection for Larwood in return even after both of their retirements; he expressed his concern for the way Larwood was treated, hosted a lunch for the former fast bowler shortly before he emigrated to Australia and met him there in 1954. On the other hand, Donald Bradman would never speak to journalists about Bodyline or Jardine, and refused to give a tribute when Jardine died in 1958. Jack Fingleton admitted that he had liked Jardine and stated that he and Larwood had each done their job on the Bodyline tour, and expressed regret at the way both left cricket in acrimonious circumstances. Fingleton also described Jardine as an aloof individual who preferred to take his time in judging a person before befriending them, a quality that caused problems in Australia. Bill O'Reilly stated that he disliked Jardine at the time of Bodyline, but on meeting him later found him agreeable and even charming.
Alan Gibson said that Jardine had "irony rather than humour". He sent Herbert Sutcliffe an umbrella as a joke on the day of his benefit match
, when rain would have ruined the match and lost Sutcliffe a considerable amount of money. Many people who knew Jardine later in his life described him as having a sense of humour. Robertson-Glasgow noted that while he could curse very eloquently, Jardine displayed "dislike of waste in material or words." He also commented that "if he has sometimes been a fierce enemy, he has also been a wonderful friend."
. His writing for the press, and in a follow-up book on the series, was critical of selectors but less so of the players. In 1936, he penned Cricket: how to succeed, which was written as an instruction book for the National Union of Teachers
. There was a possibility of his going to Australia as a journalist to cover the M.C.C. tour of 1936–37, to the dismay of Hore-Ruthven, but nothing came of this. With alterations to the law in 1935, changing the leg before wicket
law and preventing Bodyline bowling, Jardine became increasingly disillusioned with top-level cricket. He had grown uncomfortable with the nationalism stirred up by Tests, the greed of clubs and the large public following of individual players, particularly Bradman. At the same time, Jardine seemed to be ostracised by cricket writers and commentators, who simply ignored him. For example, Wisden made no mention of his retirement. Christopher Douglas believes that Jardine was used as a scapegoat for Bodyline once the M.C.C. stopped supporting the tactic and that a stigma was attached to him for the rest of his life and beyond.
Although Jardine had retired from regular first-class competition, he continued to play club cricket. Jardine and his wife initially lived in Kensington but moved to Reading after the birth of their first child, daughter Fianach. A second daughter, Marion, followed but the family suffered from financial worries. Jardine, as well as working in journalism, earned money from playing bridge
. The family also tried unsuccessfully to engage in market gardening
. To make more money, Jardine became a salesman with Cable & Wireless
before working for a coal mining company in the late 1930s. In 1939, he returned to cricket journalism and according to Christopher Douglas, achieved his highest standard as a writer.
and went with the British Expeditionary Force
to France. He served at Dunkirk
, where he was fortunate to escape but suffered some injuries. After serving as staff captain at St. Albans, he was posted to India for the remainder of the war. He served in Quetta
, then Simla
as a major
in the Central Provisions Directorate. He became fluent in the Hindustani language
and although friendly, never formed close relationships with other officers. He gave lectures and played some cricket while in India. He left the army in 1945 only to find his job with the coal mining company was no longer available.
In the meantime, his wife had moved to Somerset. In 1940, she gave birth to a son, Euan, who had many medical problems, and in 1943 she bore a third daughter, Iona. The pressure of running the household and caring for Euan led Isla to have a nervous breakdown after Iona's birth. When Jardine returned from the war, the family moved to Radlett
to be closer to London. Isla recovered and Jardine found a job with paper manufacturers Wiggins Teape
. In 1946, Jardine was chosen to play for Old England in a popular and successful fund raising match against Surrey. He displayed much of his old batting skill but did not show much involvement with his team-mates. By 1948, Jardine was more accepted in the cricket world. This was partly due to English perception of the short-pitched fast bowling of Australian pairing Ray Lindwall
and Keith Miller
as being hostile. England's poor performance in the 1946–47 and 1948 Ashes
also caused writers to remember Jardine more fondly as an icon of past English success.
and expressed a high opinion of Len Hutton
's captaincy. He also did some broadcasting and wrote short stories to supplement his income; Isla was in poor health and her medical care was expensive. In the same year, he became the first President of the Umpires Association, while from 1955 to 1957 he was President of the Oxford University Cricket Club. In 1953, he travelled, with some trepidation, as a board member of the Scottish Australian Company to inspect some land in Australia. While there, he struck up a friendship with Jack Fingleton
and was surprised to be well received in the country, in his own words, as "an old so-and-so who got away with it."
In 1957, Jardine travelled to Rhodesia
, again to inspect some land, with his daughter Marion. While there, he became ill with tick fever. He showed no improvement upon his return to England and further tests revealed that he had advanced lung cancer. After some treatment, he travelled with his wife to a clinic in Switzerland but it was discovered that the cancer had spread and was incurable. He died in Switzerland on 1958 and his ashes were scattered over the top of Craigs Cross mountain in Perthshire, Scotland. His family had enquired about having his ashes dispersed at Lord's, but this honour was restricted to war dead. When he died, his estate
was valued at just over £71,000, which would have been worth around £1¼ million in 2008.
wrote in 1989 that "It is no exaggeration to say that, among Australians, Douglas Jardine is probably the most disliked of cricketers." In the view of Christopher Douglas, his name "stands for the legendary British qualities of cool-headed determination, implacable resolve, patrician disdain for crowds and critics alike – if you're English that is. To Australians the name is synonymous with the legendary British qualities of snobbishness, cynicism and downright Pommie arrogance." He also argues that Bodyline, which was legal at the time, was a necessary step to overcome the unfair advantage which batsmen of the time enjoyed.
After the Bodyline tour, according to cricket writer Gideon Haigh
, Jardine was seen as "the most reviled man in sport." This perception faded from the 1950s onwards, and in more recent times, Jardine has been viewed more sympathetically. In 2002, the England captain Nasser Hussain
was compared to Jardine as a compliment when he displayed ruthlessness against the opposition.
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er and captain
Captain (cricket)
The captain of a cricket team often referred to as the skipper is the appointed leader, having several additional roles and responsibilities over and above those of a regular player...
of the England cricket team from 1931 to 1933–34.When describing cricket seasons, the convention used is that a single year represents an English cricket season, while two years (e.g. 1933–34) represent a southern hemisphere cricket season because it takes place over two calendar years (e.g. September to February). See Cricket season
Cricket season
Cricket seasons are the times of the year when cricket is played.Because top-class cricket is almost always played outdoors, on uncovered pitches, and rain prevents play, the seasons in each country are geared to coincide with the driest months of the year. The hours of daylight and the temperature...
for more information. A right-handed batsman
Batting (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, batting is the act or skill of hitting the cricket ball with a cricket bat to score runs or prevent the loss of one's wicket. A player who is currently batting is denoted as a batsman, while the act of hitting the ball is called a shot or stroke...
, he played 22 Test matches
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
for England, captaining the side in 15 of those matches, winning nine, losing one and drawing five. Jardine is best known for captaining the English team during the 1932–33 Ashes tour of Australia
English cricket team in Australia in 1932-33
A cricket team representing England toured Australia in the 1932-33 season. The tour was organised by the Marylebone Cricket Club and matches outside the Tests were played under the MCC name. The tour included five Test matches in Australia, and England won The Ashes by four games to one...
, in which his team employed Bodyline
Bodyline
Bodyline, also known as fast leg theory bowling, was a cricketing 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...
tactics against Donald Bradman
Donald Bradman
Sir Donald George Bradman, AC , often referred to as "The Don", was an Australian cricketer, widely acknowledged as the greatest batsman of all time...
and other opposing Australian batsmen. A Bodyline delivery was one where the cricket ball
Cricket ball
A cricket ball is a hard, solid leather ball used to play cricket. Constructed of cork and leather, a cricket ball is heavily regulated by cricket law at first class level...
was pitched short
Good length ball
A good length ball is a type of delivery in cricket that pitches at a distance from the batsman that makes it difficult to score runs. Furthermore, such a delivery is difficult for the batsman to judge whether to play on the back-foot or on the front-foot...
so as to rise towards the body of the opposing batsman on the line of the leg stump
Stump (cricket)
Stump is a term used in the sport of cricket where it has three different meanings:# part of the wicket# a manner of dismissing a batsman# the end of the day's play .-Part of the wicket:...
, in the hope of creating legside
Leg side
The leg side, or on side, is defined to be a particular half of the field used to play the sport of cricket.From the point of view of a right-handed batsman facing the bowler, it is the left hand side of the cricket field...
deflections that could be caught by one of several fielders
Fielding (cricket)
Fielding in the sport of cricket is the action of fielders in collecting the ball after it is struck by the batsman, in such a way as to either limit the number of runs that the batsman scores or get the batsman out by catching the ball in flight or running the batsman out.Cricket fielding position...
on the leg side. This tactic was considered by many to be intimidatory and physically threatening, and Jardine is widely regarded by commentators and writers as the person responsible for the English strategy on that tour. A controversial figure among cricketers, Jardine was well known for his dislike of Australian players and crowds and was unpopular in Australia, particularly for his manner and especially after the Bodyline tour. On the other hand, many players captained by him regarded him as an excellent captain; not all regarded him as good at managing people. He was also famous in cricket circles for wearing a multi-coloured Harlequin
Harlequins cricket team
The Harlequins Cricket Club is a wandering cricket club formed in 1852 by fellows of Merton College, Oxford. The club is made up exclusively of current and former Oxford University first-class cricketers and according to the rules of the club only a maximum of twenty members can be resident at the...
cap.
After establishing an early reputation as a prolific schoolboy batsman, Jardine played cricket for Winchester College
Winchester College
Winchester College is an independent school for boys in the British public school tradition, situated in Winchester, Hampshire, the former capital of England. It has existed in its present location for over 600 years and claims the longest unbroken history of any school in England...
, attended the University of Oxford, playing for its cricket team
Oxford University Cricket Club
Oxford University Cricket Club is a first-class cricket team, representing the University of Oxford. It plays its home games at the University Parks in Oxford, England...
, and played for Surrey County Cricket Club
Surrey County Cricket Club
Surrey County Cricket Club is one of the 18 professional county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Surrey. Its limited overs team is called the Surrey Lions...
as an amateur
History of English amateur cricket
The history of English amateur cricket describes the concept and importance of amateur players in English cricket.-Co-development of amateur and professional cricket to 1800:...
. He developed a defensive method of batting which was unusual for an amateur, receiving occasional criticism for negative batting. Despite this, Jardine was selected in Test matches for the first time in 1928, and went on to play with some success in the Test series in Australia in 1928–29. Following this tour, his business commitments prevented him from playing as much cricket. However, in 1931, he was asked to captain England in a Test against New Zealand. Although there were some initial misgivings about his captaincy, Jardine led England in the next three cricket seasons and on two overseas tours, one of which was the Australian tour of 1932–33. He retired from all first-class cricket
First-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
in 1934 following a tour to India.
Jardine was a qualified solicitor
Solicitor
Solicitors are lawyers who traditionally deal with any legal matter including conducting proceedings in courts. In the United Kingdom, a few Australian states and the Republic of Ireland, the legal profession is split between solicitors and barristers , and a lawyer will usually only hold one title...
but did not work much in law, working in banking and, later on, journalism. He joined the Territorial Army in the Second World War, most of which he spent in India. After the war, he worked as a secretary to a paper manufacturer and returned to journalism. While on a business trip in 1957, he became ill with what proved to be lung cancer and died aged 57 in 1958.
Early life
Douglas Jardine was born on 23 October 1900 in Bombay, British IndiaBritish Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
, to Scottish parents. His parents were Malcolm Jardine
Malcolm Jardine
Malcolm Robert Jardine was an English first-class cricketer who played 46 matches, mainly for Oxford University. Although his first-class record was not impressive, he scored 140 in the University Match of 1892 using an unorthodox batting method...
, also a former first-class cricket
First-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
er but later a barrister, and Alison Moir. At the age of nine, Douglas was sent to stay with his mother's sister in St Andrews
St Andrews
St Andrews is a university town and former royal burgh on the east coast of Fife in Scotland. The town is named after Saint Andrew the Apostle.St Andrews has a population of 16,680, making this the fifth largest settlement in Fife....
, Scotland. She lived in a large mansion where he spent most of his school holidays while going to Horris Hill School
Horris Hill School
Horris Hill, is a boarding and day preparatory school for boys, situated in the far north of Hampshire in England, south of Newbury in West Berkshire and near the village of Newtown. The school was founded on its present site in 1888 by A. H. Evans, a master at Winchester College...
near Newbury, Berkshire
Newbury, Berkshire
Newbury is a civil parish and the principal town in the west of the county of Berkshire in England. It is situated on the River Kennet and the Kennet and Avon Canal, and has a town centre containing many 17th century buildings. Newbury is best known for its racecourse and the adjoining former USAF...
, from May 1910. The school had high standards and Jardine was moderately successful academically. From 1912, he played cricket for the school first eleven, enjoying success as a bowler and as a batsman. He captained
Captain (cricket)
The captain of a cricket team often referred to as the skipper is the appointed leader, having several additional roles and responsibilities over and above those of a regular player...
the team in his final term, when the team were unbeaten. Jardine was influenced by the writing of former England captain C. B. Fry on batting technique, which contradicted the advice of his coach at Horris Hill. The coach disapproved of Jardine's batting methods, but Jardine did not back down and quoted a book by Fry to support his viewpoint.
In 1914, Jardine entered Winchester College
Winchester College
Winchester College is an independent school for boys in the British public school tradition, situated in Winchester, Hampshire, the former capital of England. It has existed in its present location for over 600 years and claims the longest unbroken history of any school in England...
. At the time, life at Winchester was arduous and austere; discipline was harsh. Sport and exercise were vital parts of the school day. In Jardine's time, preparing the pupils for war was also important. According to Jardine's biographer, Christopher Douglas, the pupils were "taught to be honest, impervious to physical pain, uncomplaining and civilised." All pupils were required to be academically competent and Jardine was able to get along without exhibiting brilliance; successful sportsmen, on the other hand, were revered. Jardine enjoyed a slightly better position than some other pupils, already possessing when he arrived a reputation as a cricketer and soon excelling at other sports, representing the school at football as a goalkeeper and rackets, and playing Winchester College football
Winchester College Football
Winchester College Football, also known as Winkies, WinCoFo or simply "Our Game", is a code of football played at Winchester College. It is akin to the Eton Field and Wall Games and the Harrow Game in that it enjoys a large following from Wykehamists and old Wykehamists but is not played outside...
, a sport which has resemblances to rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
. However, his main sporting reputation came from cricket. He was in the first eleven for three years from 1917 and received coaching from Harry Altham
Harry Altham
Harry Surtees Altham, CBE, DSO, MC was an English cricketer who became an important figure in the game as an administrator, historian and coach. His Wisden obituary described him as "among the best known personalities in the world of cricket"...
, Rockley Wilson
Rockley Wilson
Evelyn Rockley Wilson was an English amateur first-class cricketer, who played for Cambridge University Cricket Club, Yorkshire, and England.-Life:...
and Schofield Haigh
Schofield Haigh
Schofield Haigh was a Yorkshire and England cricketer. He played for eighteen seasons for Yorkshire County Cricket Club, for England from the 1898/99 tour to 1912, and was a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1901....
, the latter two of whom were distinguished cricketers. Jardine later said that Wilson helped to develop his batting. In 1919, his final year, Jardine came top of the school batting average
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
s with 997 runs at an average of 66.46. He also became captain although there were doubts within the school about his ability to unify the team. Despite these doubts, Winchester won their annual match against Eton College
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
in 1919, a fixture in which Eton usually held the upper hand. Jardine's batting (35 and 89 in the match) and captaincy were believed by critics to be the key factors in his side's first victory over Eton for 12 years. After his retirement from cricket, he named his 89 in that match as his favourite innings. Jardine went on to score 135 not out
Not out
In cricket, a batsman will be not out if he comes out to bat in an innings and has not been dismissed by the end of the innings. One may similarly describe a batsman as not out while the innings is still in progress...
against Harrow School
Harrow School
Harrow School, commonly known simply as "Harrow", is an English independent school for boys situated in the town of Harrow, in north-west London.. The school is of worldwide renown. There is some evidence that there has been a school on the site since 1243 but the Harrow School we know today was...
.
Jardine's achievements in the season were widely reported in the local and national press. He went on to play in two representative schools matches at Lord's Cricket Ground
Lord's Cricket Ground
Lord's Cricket Ground is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and Wales Cricket Board , the European Cricket Council and, until August 2005, the...
, where he scored 44, 91, 57 and 55 in two matches and won favourable reviews in the press. Wisden, in 1928, described Jardine at this time as being obviously of a much higher standard than his contemporaries, particularly in defence and on side
Leg side
The leg side, or on side, is defined to be a particular half of the field used to play the sport of cricket.From the point of view of a right-handed batsman facing the bowler, it is the left hand side of the cricket field...
batting. However, at this stage in his batting, he was sometimes criticised for being too cautious and not using all the batting strokes of which he was capable. His good batting technique gave the impression that he could easily score more quickly.
Oxford University
Jardine entered New College, OxfordNew College, Oxford
New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom.- Overview :The College's official name, College of St Mary, is the same as that of the older Oriel College; hence, it has been referred to as the "New College of St Mary", and is now almost always...
, in September 1919 at a time when the university was more crowded than usual due to the arrival of men whose entrance had been delayed due to the war
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. He still took part in several sports, representing New College as goalkeeper in matches between the colleges, and being given a trial for the University football team, although he was not chosen. He continued to play rackets and began to play real tennis
Real tennis
Real tennis – one of several games sometimes called "the sport of kings" – is the original indoor racquet sport from which the modern game of lawn tennis , is descended...
, making such progress and showing such promise that he went on to represent the University successfully and won his Blue. In cricket, Jardine came under the coaching of Tom Hayward
Tom Hayward
Thomas Walter Hayward was a cricketer who played for Surrey and England between the 1890s and the outbreak of World War I. He was primarily an opening batsman, noted especially for the quality of his off-drive...
who influenced his footwork and defence. Wisden commented in 1928 that Jardine had come with an excellent reputation, but did not quite achieve the success which was expected. However, his batting ability, particularly defensively, remained unquestionable.
In the 1920 season
1920 English cricket season
The 1920 English cricket season had no Test cricket as the post-war recovery continued. Middlesex rose from 13th in 1919 to take the first of two back-to-back titles...
, Jardine made his first-class debut, played eight first-class matches and scored two fifties. Playing mainly as an opening batsman, he won his Blue, appearing in the University Match
The University Match (cricket)
The University Match in a cricketing context is generally understood to refer to the annual fixture between Oxford University Cricket Club and Cambridge University Cricket Club...
against Cambridge
Cambridge University Cricket Club
Cambridge University Cricket Club is a first-class cricket team. It now plays all but one of its first-class cricket matches as part of the Cambridge University Centre of Cricketing Excellence , which includes Anglia Ruskin University...
but fell short of expectations, according to Wisden. Although his batting technique was excellent, he received criticism from those who saw him bat as they believed him to be too cautious. At this stage in his career, Jardine did limit his strokes, not feeling confident enough to play them all safely enough. In all, he scored 217 runs at an average of 22.64. In the match for Oxford against Essex, he took six wickets for six runs in a bowling spell of 45 balls, bowling leg break
Leg break
A leg break is a type of delivery in the sport of cricket. A delivery of a right-handed leg spin bowler. Leg breaks are also colloquially known as leggies or wrist spinners, as the wrist is the body part which is primarily used to impart spin on the ball, as opposed to the fingers in the case of...
s, to have bowling figures of six for 28. It was the only occasion in his career where he took five or more wickets in an innings.
Playing more confidently and fluently in 1921
1921 English cricket season
In the 1921 English cricket season, Australia emphasised a post-war superiority that it owed in particular to the pace duo of Gregory and McDonald...
, Jardine began the season well, scoring three fifties in his first three first-class matches. Then Oxford played against the Australian touring side
Australian cricket team in England in 1921
Australia won the 1921 Ashes series held in England. They won the first three matches against England, which meant that they had won eight in succession, an unequalled sequence in Ashes Tests, following the 5-0 drubbing they had administered to England in the 1920-21 season in Australia...
which dominated the season. In the second innings, Jardine scored 96 not out to save the game but was unable to complete his century
Century (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a batsman reaches his century when he scores 100 or more runs in a single innings. The term is also included in "century partnership" which occurs when two batsmen add 100 runs to the team total when they are batting together. A century is regarded as a landmark score for...
before the game ended. Even so, the innings was praised by those who saw it. The tourists were criticised in the press for not allowing Jardine to reach his hundred, particularly as the match was reduced from three days to two days at the request of the Australians, who wished to have a rest day in between matches. The Australians had tried to help him with some easy bowling but the situation was confused by the batsmen's scores not being displayed on a scoreboard at the cricket ground
Cricket field
A cricket field consists of a large circular or oval-shaped grassy ground on which the game of cricket is played. There are no fixed dimensions for the field but its diameter usually varies between 450 feet to 500 feet...
. There has been speculation that this incident led to Jardine's later hatred of Australians, although Christopher Douglas denies this was the case. Cricket historian David Frith
David Frith
David Edward John Frith is a leading cricket writer and historian. Cricinfo describes him as "an author, historian, and founding editor of Wisden Cricket Monthly".-Life and career:...
believed it is possible that Australian captain Warwick Armstrong
Warwick Armstrong
Warwick Windridge Armstrong was an Australian cricketer who played 50 Test matches between 1902 and 1921. An all-rounder, he captained Australia in ten Test matches between 1920 and 1921 and was undefeated, winning eight Tests and drawing two...
could have addressed sarcastic comments to Jardine but Wisden believed his slow approach cost him his century. The Australian manager expressed regret that he missed out. This innings was the highest that had been played to that point in the season against the Australians, and only one higher score was made before the first Test. It could have led to Jardine playing for England in 1921 as Plum Warner
Plum Warner
Sir Pelham Francis Warner MBE , affectionately and better known as Plum Warner, or even "the Grand Old Man" of English cricket was a Test cricketer....
, an influential figure who had recently captained Middlesex, suggested in The Cricketer
The Cricketer
The Cricketer was an English cricket magazine published between 1921 and 2003 when it was merged with Wisden Cricket Monthly and relaunched as The Wisden Cricketer....
magazine that Jardine should play in the first Test, which followed the Oxford match. He had been impressed by Jardine on the other occasions he had seen him bat. He remained in Test contention for a short time, but was not selected. In the meantime, he scored his first first-class hundred in a match against The Army and another followed against Sussex
Sussex County Cricket Club
Sussex County Cricket Club is the oldest of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Sussex. The club was founded as a successor to Brighton Cricket Club which was a representative of the county of Sussex as a...
. Both innings were cautious, with defence his main priority for much of the innings, but he failed in the match against Cambridge. Jardine then went on to play for Surrey
Surrey County Cricket Club
Surrey County Cricket Club is one of the 18 professional county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Surrey. Its limited overs team is called the Surrey Lions...
, for whom he was qualified, replacing the injured Jack Hobbs
Jack Hobbs
Sir John Berry "Jack" Hobbs was an English professional cricketer who played for Surrey from 1905 to 1934 and for England in 61 Test matches from 1908 to 1930....
as an opening batsman before dropping down to number five in the batting order. Jardine played in a vital match against reigning County Champions Middlesex
Middlesex County Cricket Club
Middlesex County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Middlesex. It was announced in February 2009 that Middlesex changed their limited overs name from the Middlesex Crusaders, to the...
which would determine the champions for the season. In a situation of great pressure, Jardine scored a vital 55 to hold the innings together after the loss of early wickets, although Surrey went on to lose the match. Jardine finished the season with 1,015 runs at an average of 39.03, although critics still did not believe his potential had been fulfilled.
Jardine missed most of the 1922 season
1922 English cricket season
The 1922 English cricket season saw Yorkshire recover the County Championship and begin a run of four successive titles.- Honours :*County Championship - Yorkshire*Minor Counties Championship - Buckinghamshire...
due to a serious knee injury, playing only four matches at a time when he was expected to make a big impression. There was speculation in the newspapers about whether he would be fit for the match against Cambridge, but he missed it and was also unable to play for Surrey that season. Even so, in 1922 he was selected by The Isis
Isis magazine
The Isis Magazine was established at Oxford University in 1892 . Traditionally a rival to the student newspaper Cherwell, it was finally acquired by the latter's publishing house, OSPL, in the late 1990s...
as one of its men of the year. After some early problems with his troublesome knee, Jardine returned to cricket by May of the 1923 season
1923 English cricket season
-Honours:*County Championship - Yorkshire*Minor Counties Championship - Buckinghamshire*Wisden - Arthur Gilligan, Roy Kilner, George Macaulay, Cecil Parkin, Maurice Tate-External sources:*...
. He was not given the Oxford captaincy in his final year, which has led to speculation that his manner and unfriendliness prevented him from being made captain. However, his injury and the availability of other deserving candidates may have provided at least part of the explanation. After a cautious start on his return, Jardine gradually found his batting form, and contributed to Oxford's only win over Cambridge in the decade. During one innings of another match, he received criticism for using his pads to stop the ball from hitting the wickets: this was within the laws of the game but was controversial and seen by critics to be against the spirit of the game. Christopher Douglas traces Jardine's hostility towards the press and critics to this incident. He also received criticism for his slow batting for Oxford, again being singled out due to his known ability to play attacking shots. Partly this was because Jardine held a responsible position, the team often reliant on his success. The complaints were a manifestation of wider criticism of young amateur batting at the time for its lack of enterprise, as commentators began to hark back to the "golden age" before the war. Jardine left Oxford in 1923 having scored a total of 1,381 runs and a fourth class degree in modern history.
When Jardine went on to play for Surrey that season, a strong batting side, he played with more freedom and in a varied style. Batting at number five, he had to play different types of innings, either attacking or defensive, depending on the match situation. He made a success of it, playing long defensive innings or sacrificing his innings in an attempt to hit quick runs. His captain Percy Fender
Percy Fender
Percy George Herbert Fender was an English all-round cricketer who played 13 Tests for England. He was a middle order batsman and bowled mainly leg spin.-Biography:...
seemed satisfied with his role, keeping him in it all season despite his reputation for caution. He scored his first century for Surrey against Yorkshire
Yorkshire County Cricket Club
Yorkshire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Yorkshire as one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure....
and was awarded his County Cap, making 916 runs at an average of 38.16 in the whole season.
County cricketer
Once Jardine left Oxford, he began to qualify as a solicitor while still playing for Surrey. He made steady progress over the next three seasons but was overshadowed by other amateur batsmen. His contemporaries at Oxford and Cambridge attracted much attention in the press, as did the next generation of amateur batsmen. He was appointed vice-captain to Fender for the 1924 season1924 English cricket season
Yorkshire secured a hat-trick of titles in the 1924 English cricket season, while England, in its first home series since 1921, proved too strong for South Africa.-Honours:*County Championship - Yorkshire*Minor Counties Championship - Berkshire...
, due in large part to the stigma attached to professional cricketers being appointed as captain. There were professionals such as Jack Hobbs playing for Surrey who could have been made captain, but Jardine was preferred as an amateur. In that season, Jardine was selected for the Gentlemen v Players
Gentlemen v Players
The Gentlemen v Players game was a first-class cricket match that was generally played on an annual basis between one team consisting of amateurs and one of professionals . The first two games took place in 1806 but the fixture was not revived until 1819. It was more or less annual thereafter...
match for the first time and came third in the Surrey averages. In all first-class matches, he scored 1,249 runs at an average of 40.29. The following season
1925 English cricket season
The 1925 English cricket season did not have a Test series and the focus was ostensibly upon the County Championship, except that proceedings were dominated by Jack Hobbs who scored a then-record 16 centuries and 3024 runs. Along the way, Hobbs equalled and then surpassed the career record for...
, Jardine was less successful, scoring fewer runs at a lower average and with a highest score of 87 (1,020 runs at 30.90). It had also been suggested in the press that Jardine should captain the Gentlemen, with a view towards the future of the England Test team, but this did not happen. In fact, owing to an injury sustained playing village cricket at Ashtead
Ashtead
Ashtead is a village situated within the Metropolitan Green Belt of Surrey, England, and is just outside of the suburbia of London. It is separated from Leatherhead by the M25, and from Epsom by Ashtead Common.- History :...
for a team called C.E. McIver's XI, he was unable to appear in the Gentlemen v Players match at Lord's. In 1926
1926 English cricket season
The 1926 English cricket season saw England regain the Ashes. Lancashire overcame its eternal rivals and began a hat-trick sequence of county titles.-Honours:*County Championship - Lancashire*Minor Counties Championship - Durham...
, Jardine had his most successful season to date, with 1,473 runs (average 46.03), although he was again overshadowed by other players and by the attention given to the Ashes series being played. Towards the end of the season, his batting became more attractive and his rate of scoring increased as he began to play more shots. His assurance and judgement against all bowling, even international bowlers, became noticed and he scored 538 runs in his final ten innings.
In 1927
1927 English cricket season
Five years before Bodyline, top of the averages in the 1927 English cricket season were Douglas Jardine and Harold Larwood. The season is notable for being the last one to date in which there was no Test series, apart from the years of World War II and 1970 .-Honours:*County...
, Jardine achieved his highest average in a season, scoring 1,002 runs and averaging 91.09 in a very wet summer which led to difficult wickets to bat on. Wisden named him as one of its Cricketers of the Year
Wisden Cricketers of the Year
The Wisden Cricketers of the Year are cricketers selected for the honour by the annual publication Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, based primarily on their "influence on the previous English season"...
, commenting that he had improved his style and footwork. That season, he could only play 11 matches due to work commitments as a clerk with Barings Bank
Barings Bank
Barings Bank was the oldest merchant bank in London until its collapse in 1995 after one of the bank's employees, Nick Leeson, lost £827 million due to speculative investing, primarily in futures contracts, at the bank's Singapore office.-History:-1762–1890:Barings Bank was founded in 1762 as the...
, for whom he had worked since qualifying as a solicitor. Despite his lack of practice, he scored hundreds in his first three matches and came top of the Surrey batting averages. He scored a century in the Gentlemen v Players match, which impressed influential people at Lord's, and represented England in a trial match against The Rest. In this latter match, when Percy Chapman
Percy Chapman
Arthur Percy Frank Chapman was an English cricketer who captained England to a then English-record-equalling seven consecutive Test match wins, a record that was not surpassed until Michael Vaughan's team won eight in a row in 2004...
withdrew at the last minute, Jardine took over the captaincy, earning praise in the press for his performance. By this stage, he was considered a certainty to tour Australia the following winter.
Test cricketer
Jardine's batting performance in 19281928 English cricket season
The 1928 English cricket season was notable for the first Test series in England by a West Indies team.-Honours:*County Championship - Lancashire*Minor Counties Championship - Berkshire...
was similar to that from the previous season. He played 14 matches, but scored 1,133 runs at an average of 87.15. He also enjoyed success in high profile matches, scoring 193 for Gentlemen at the Oval, where the crowd had booed his slow start (at one stage, he took half an hour to score two runs) but later cheered him as his last fifty runs were scored in half an hour. For the same team at Lord's, he scored 86 and 40. He captained The Rest against England in a Test trial and made the highest score in each innings, scoring 74 not out in the fourth innings to help his team to draw the game on a difficult pitch, against international bowlers Maurice Tate
Maurice Tate
Maurice William Tate was a Sussex and England cricketer of the 1920s and 1930s and the leader of England's Test bowling attack for a long time during this period...
and Harold Larwood
Harold Larwood
Harold Larwood was an English cricket player, an extremely accurate fast bowler best known for his key role as the implementer of fast leg theory in the infamous "bodyline" Ashes Test series of 1932–33....
.
Immediately after this match, Jardine made his Test debut against the West Indies who were touring England that season
West Indian cricket team in England in 1928
The West Indian cricket team that toured England in the 1928 season was the first to play Test cricket. The team was not very successful, losing all three Tests by an innings and winning only five of the 30 first-class matches played....
. This was West Indies' first ever Test match. The team possessed several fast bowlers who bowled with hostility and enjoyed some success on the tour of England. Many batsmen only played them with difficulty, particularly on the occasional fast-paced pitch, but Jardine played them confidently in the Test series. Jardine played in the first two Tests, both of which were won by England by an innings, but missed the third for unknown reasons. He scored 22 on his debut, but was more successful in the second Test. He scored an eventful 83: when he had scored 26, he hit his wicket when setting off for a run, but was given not out. At the time, a batsman was not out if he had completed his shot and was setting off for a run. West Indian cricketer Learie Constantine
Learie Constantine
Learie Nicholas Constantine, Baron Constantine MBE was a West Indian cricketer who played 18 Test matches before the Second World War. He took West Indies' first wicket in Test cricket and was the team's leading all-rounder and opening bowler for the entirety of his career...
later recalled that Jardine would have been given out except that the batsman informed the umpire that he had already finished his shot. Jardine was later run out by Tate, a player with whom he did not enjoy a good relationship, when they were batting together in the England innings: Tate refused to go for a run causing Jardine to be run out.
First tour to Australia
Jardine was selected to tour Australia with the M.C.C. team in 1928–29 as part of a very strong batting side, playing in all five Test matches and scoring 341 runs at an average of 42.62. In all first-class matches, he scored 1,168 runs (average 64.88). He was also on the five-man selection committee for the tour, which chose teams to play in specific games but had not chosen the touring party. Wisden judged that he had been as great a success as had been expected and impressed everyone with the strength of his defensive shots and his play on the back foot. It said that he played some delightful innings. Percy Fender, covering the tour as a journalist, believed that Jardine never had the chance to play a normal innings in the Test, having to provide the stability to the batting, and often seeming to come out to bat in a crisis.Jardine was the centre of attention at the start of the tour. He began the tour with three consecutive hundreds and was seen as one of the main English threats. In his first hundred, the crowd engaged in some good-natured joking at Jardine's expense, but he was jeered by the crowd in his second hundred for batting too slowly. His third hundred was described by Bradman as one of the finest exhibitions of strokeplay that he had seen; Jardine accelerated after another slow start, during which he was again barracked, to play some excellent shots. The crowds took an increasing dislike to him, partially for his success with the bat, but mainly for his superior attitude and bearing, his awkward fielding, and particularly his choice of headwear. His first public action in South Australia was to take out the members of the South Australian team who had been to Oxford or Cambridge Universities. Then, he wore a Harlequin cap, given to people who played good cricket at Oxford. It was not unusual for Oxford and Cambridge cricketers to wear similar caps while batting, as both Jardine and M.C.C. captain Percy Chapman
Percy Chapman
Arthur Percy Frank Chapman was an English cricketer who captained England to a then English-record-equalling seven consecutive Test match wins, a record that was not surpassed until Michael Vaughan's team won eight in a row in 2004...
did so on this tour, although it was slightly unorthodox to wear them while fielding. However, this was neither understood nor acceptable to the Australian crowds. They quickly took exception to the importance he seemed to place on class distinction. Although Jardine may simply have worn the cap out of superstition, it conveyed a negative impression to the spectators, with his general demeanour drawing one comment of "Where's the butler to carry the bat for you?" Jardine's cap became a focus for criticism and mockery from the crowds throughout the tour. Nevertheless, Jack Fingleton
Jack Fingleton
John "Jack" Henry Webb Fingleton OBE was an Australian cricketer who was trained as a journalist and became a political and cricket commentator after the end of his playing career...
later claimed that Jardine could still have brought the crowds onto his side by exchanging jokes or pleasantries with them. It is certain that Jardine by this stage had developed an intense dislike for Australian crowds. During his third century at the start of the tour, during a period of abuse from the spectators, he observed to a sympathetic Hunter Hendry
Hunter Hendry
Hunter Scott Thomas Laurie Hendry was a cricketer who played for New South Wales, Victoria and Australia national cricket team.Nicknamed Stork, he was a formidable batsman who bowlers found difficulty in delivering to...
that "All Australians are uneducated, and an unruly mob". After the innings, when Patsy Hendren
Patsy Hendren
Elias Henry Hendren better known as Patsy Hendren was an English cricketer. Patsy was one of the most prolific English batsmen of the period between the wars, averaging 47.63 in his 51 Test matches...
said that the Australian crowds did not like Jardine, he replied "It's fucking mutual". Due to the large number of good close fielders in the side, Jardine did not field in the slips
Slip (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a slip fielder is placed behind the batsman on the off side of the field. They are placed with the aim of catching an edged ball which is beyond the wicket-keeper's reach. Many teams employ two or three slips...
, his usual position for Surrey, but next to the crowd on the boundary. There, he was roundly abused and mocked, particularly when chasing the ball: he was not a good fielder on the boundary. In one of the Test matches, he spat towards the crowd while fielding on the boundary as he changed position for the final time.
In the first Test, Jardine scored 35 and 65 not out. His first innings began with England in an uncertain position, having lost three wickets for 108 on a very good batting wicket. His innings led England to a stronger position. He played very cautiously, being troubled by Clarrie Grimmett
Clarrie Grimmett
Clarence Victor "Clarrie" Grimmett was a cricketer; although born in New Zealand, he played most of his cricket in Australia. He is thought by many to be one of the finest early spin bowlers, and usually credited as the developer of the flipper.Grimmett was born in Caversham a suburb of Dunedin,...
and Bert Ironmonger
Bert Ironmonger
Herbert Ironmonger was a Victorian and Australian cricketer....
, the Australian spinners. Jardine believed that Ironmonger threw the ball
Throwing (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, throwing, commonly referred to as chucking, is an illegal bowling action which occurs when a bowler straightens their arm when delivering the ball. The Laws of Cricket specify that a bowler's arm must be fully extended and rotated about the shoulder to impart velocity to...
, and this bowler gave him considerable trouble throughout his career. Thanks to the bowling of Harold Larwood, England took a huge first innings lead and Larwood's second innings, although he played well in his 65, Jardine was not under much pressure. He scored a large number of singles, giving his partners most of the bowling and building up the lead to the point where England achieved a massive victory by 675 runs. This victory surprised and troubled the Australian cricketing public. Jardine played a similar role in the second Test, batting with Wally Hammond
Wally Hammond
Walter Reginald "Wally" Hammond was an English Test cricketer who played for Gloucestershire in a career that lasted from 1920 to 1951. Beginning his career as a professional, he later became an amateur and was appointed captain of England...
to retrieve a poor start for England in his only innings as they won by eight wickets. Jardine scored 62 in the third Test, supporting Hammond who made a double century. However, when Australia batted a second time, they built up a big lead and left England needing 332 to win on an exceptionally bad wicket which had been damaged by rain
Sticky wicket
Sticky wicket is a metaphor used to describe a difficult circumstance; it originates from difficult circumstances in the sport of cricket.-Origins:...
. Jack Hobbs and Herbert Sutcliffe
Herbert Sutcliffe
Herbert Sutcliffe was an English professional cricketer who represented Yorkshire and England as an opening batsman. Apart from one match in 1945, his first-class career spanned the period between the two World Wars...
, in one of their most famous partnerships, put on 105. Hobbs sent a message to the team that Jardine should be the next batsmen to come in, even though he usually batted later on, as he was the batsman most likely to survive in the conditions. When Hobbs was dismissed, Jardine came in to bat. He survived, although finding batting exceptionally difficult, until the day's play ended. Percy Fender believed that Jardine was the only batsman in the side who could have coped with the difficult conditions. He went on to make 33 next day, and England won by three wickets.
During the team's brief visit to Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
, Jardine made his highest first-class score of 214. In the fourth Test, Jardine only scored one run in the first innings, before he was given out leg before wicket
Leg before wicket
In the sport of cricket, leg before wicket is one of the ways in which a batsman can be dismissed. An umpire will rule a batsman out LBW under a series of circumstances which primarily include the ball striking the batsman's body when it would otherwise have continued on to hit the batsman's...
(lbw) despite obviously hitting the ball. In the second innings, coming out to bat with the score 21 for two, Jardine scored 98 in a partnership of 262 with Hammond which was then the highest partnership for the third wicket in all Test matches. The scoring was very slow, and the crowd protested throughout Jardine's innings, even though he scored faster than Hammond. He was out when Wisden believed he looked certain to reach a century. England went on to win the match by 12 runs.
Jardine was not successful in the final Test, won by Australia. He was used as an opener, due to an injury to Sutcliffe, and made just 19 and a first ball duck
Duck (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a duck refers to a batsman's dismissal for a score of zero.-Origin of the term:The term is a shortening of the term "duck's egg", the latter being used long before Test cricket began...
. Once both of his innings were completed, on the fifth day of a match which lasted eight days, he left the match and set off across Australia to catch a boat to India for a holiday. It is not clear if this was planned or if he had simply had enough. Jardine never provided an explanation, to the Australian press nor afterwards. Later, Jardine wrote about the Australian crowds, complaining over their involvement, but praising their knowledge and judgement of the game and describing them as more informed than English crowds. He also expressed later reservations to Bob Wyatt
Bob Wyatt
Robert "Bob" Elliott Storey Wyatt was an English cricket player. He played for Warwickshire, Worcestershire, and the English cricket team....
about Percy Chapman, saying that he would have shot him if a gun was available. Jardine did not appear in first-class cricket in the 1929 season
1929 English cricket season
The 1929 English cricket season featured a tour by the South African team. In domestic cricket, Nottinghamshire overcame their two northern rivals, Lancashire and Yorkshire, to win the County Championship.-Honours:*County Championship - Nottinghamshire...
due to business commitments.
Appointment as captain
At the beginning of the 1930 season1930 English cricket season
The 1930 English cricket season will always be remembered for the remarkable batting performances of Australia's Don Bradman.-Honours:*County Championship - Lancashire*Minor Counties Championship - Durham...
, Jardine was offered the vice-captaincy of Surrey. He was unable to accept owing to business commitments and played just nine matches for the season, scoring 402 runs at an average of 36.54 and managing one century and one fifty. He was never in the running for Test selection that season, although his presence may have been missed as the English batting was unreliable in the Tests. Christopher Douglas argues that had Jardine been playing regularly, he would have been made captain for the final Test, when Chapman was dropped in favour of the sounder batsman Bob Wyatt
Bob Wyatt
Robert "Bob" Elliott Storey Wyatt was an English cricket player. He played for Warwickshire, Worcestershire, and the English cricket team....
. The sensation of the Test series was Donald Bradman, who dominated the English bowling to score 974 runs at a speed and certainty which has never been equalled since, making the English selectors realise that something must be done to curb the problem. With Bradman at the fore, Australia regained the Ashes 2–1.
Jardine played a full season of cricket in 1931
1931 English cricket season
-Honours:*County Championship - Yorkshire*Minor Counties Championship - Leicestershire II*Wisden - Bill Bowes, Charles Dempster, James Langridge, Nawab of Pataudi, senior, Hedley Verity-Test series:...
. In June, he was appointed as captain for the Test against New Zealand (two more Tests were later added). The English selectors were searching for possible captains for the 1932–33 tour of Australia, with Bradman and Australia's strong batting line up foremost in their minds. Christopher Douglas believes that, as Jardine was not a regular county captain, the selectors wanted to assess his leadership ability but had probably not settled on him as a final choice. He was also chosen as a dependable, proven batsman. While Percy Fender approved of his appointment, The Times correspondent believed that he was unproven and others were more deserving of the leadership. Ian Peebles
Ian Peebles
Ian Alexander Ross Peebles was a cricketer who played for Oxford University, Middlesex, Scotland and England. After retiring from cricket he became a cricket writer, working as a journalist on The Sunday Times and as the author of many books on cricket.Peebles had one of the strangest...
, writing 40 years later, claimed that Jardine's appointment was popular but cricket administrators had misgivings. Alan Gibson believed that Jardine was chosen because the other candidates were either not worth their place in the side, too old or had controversy attached to them. Furthermore, Jardine impressed the chairman of selectors, Pelham Warner, who stated that he was very effective in selection meetings through his knowledge of cricket history and went into great detail to choose the correct players; it seems that Warner was the driving force behing Jardine's appointment.
In his first Test as captain, Jardine clashed with several players. Frank Woolley
Frank Woolley
Frank Edward Woolley was an English cricketer, one of the finest all-rounders the game has seen. In a career lasting more than thirty years, he scored more first-class runs than anyone but Sir Jack Hobbs, and took over 2,000 wickets at an average of under 20...
was unhappy with his captain's manner, feeling humiliated at his treatment in the field at one point. He also rebuked Ian Peebles and Walter Robins
Walter Robins
Robert Walter Vivian Robins was a dynamic English cricketer and footballer.Walter Robins was born in Stafford and was educated at Highgate School and Cambridge University. He played football for Nottingham Forest and first-class cricket for Middlesex, Cambridge University and England...
, two young amateur bowlers, for their amusement over an incident in the match. The home team's fortunes were mixed, as New Zealand put up a very good fight in their first Test in England, and both sides could have won. The New Zealanders were so successful that a further two Tests were arranged. Jardine was criticised in the press for not instructing his batsmen to score quickly enough to win in the fourth innings, although this strategy was unlikely to succeed, and the match was drawn. England won the second Test by an innings and the third Test was drawn, sealing the series 1–0. Jardine had a top score of just 38 in the series, but only batted four times and was not out in three of the innings. At the beginning of the following season, Wisden's editor believed that, as Jardine had failed to impress (unspecified) people with his captaincy, he was no longer a certainty to lead the side to Australia, and only Percy Chapman's lack of form prevented his reinstatement at Jardine's expense. As a batsman, Jardine was more impressive in Wisden's opinion, showing himself to be good in defence despite his lack of cricket in the past two seasons. A notable innings was his 104 for The Rest to prevent defeat against champion county Yorkshire. The opposition bowling, particularly from Bill Bowes
Bill Bowes
Bill Bowes was one of the best bowlers of the interwar period and, for a time, the most important force behind Yorkshire's dominance of the County Championship...
, was short and hostile, but Jardine survived for over four hours. He scored 1,104 first-class runs for the season at an average of 64.94.
At the beginning of the 1932 season
1932 English cricket season
The 1932 English cricket season saw the beginning of England's Test matches against India. A team known as "All-India" toured, with one Test played, 25 other first-class matches and 12 lesser games...
, Jardine became captain of Surrey. There was much speculation that Fender had been replaced due to disputes with the Surrey committee but it was some time before this, and Jardine's appointment, was confirmed. Fender was supportive of Jardine and happy to play under him. Jardine overcame a cautious beginning to develop a more aggressive captaincy style, and Surrey finished in their highest position in the championship for six years. England played one international match that season, India's first ever Test match, and Jardine was selected as captain. India possessed a very effective bowling attack on this tour, which surprised many teams, and England's batsmen struggled against them. Jardine, who had played a long innings against the tourists for M.C.C. earlier in the season, was the only English batsman to pass 30 in both innings. He scored 79 and 85 not out, and was praised for two excellent defensive innings in a difficult situation by Wisden and The Cricketer. During the match, Jardine again clashed with his team. He gave Bill Bowes and Bill Voce
Bill Voce
Bill Voce was an English cricketer. He played for the Nottinghamshire and England, and was an instrumental part of England's infamous Bodyline tour of Australia in 1932–1933.-Life and career:...
the very unusual instruction to bowl one full toss
Full toss
A full toss is a type of delivery in the sport of cricket. It describes any delivery that reaches the batsman without bouncing on the pitch first....
each over to take advantage of the batsmen's trouble seeing the ball against the crowd. The bowlers did not do so, and were later reprimanded by Jardine who told them to obey orders. Jardine himself went on to score 1,464 runs in the season at an average of 52.28.
Planning for the 1932–33 tour
A week after the Test, it was announced that Jardine would captain the M.C.C. team to Australia that winter, although he seemed to have had last minute doubts about accepting. Others were also concerned about whether he was the best choice. For example, Rockley Wilson is reputed to have said that with Jardine as captain, "We shall win the Ashes ... but we may well lose a Dominion". However, the selectors thought that a determined leader was needed to defeat the Australians and a more disciplined approach than that of Percy Chapman on the previous tour was needed. Jardine began to plan tactics from this point, discussing ideas with various people. He was aware that Bradman, Australia's star batsman and the main worry of the selectors, had occasionally shown vulnerability to pace bowling. During the final Test of the 1930 Ashes at the OvalThe Oval
The Kia Oval, still commonly referred to by its original name of The Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, in the London Borough of Lambeth. In the past it was also sometimes called the Kennington Oval...
, during Bradman's innings of 232, the wicket became difficult for a time following rain. Bradman was briefly seen to be uncomfortable facing deliveries that bounced higher than usual at a faster pace. Percy Fender was one of many cricketers who noticed, and he discussed this with Jardine in 1932. When Jardine later saw film footage of the Oval incident and noticed Bradman's discomfort, he shouted, "I've got it! He's yellow!" Further details that developed his plans came from letters Fender received from Australia in 1932 describing how Australian batsmen were increasingly moving across the stumps towards the off-side to play the ball on the on-side. Fender showed these letters to Jardine. It was also known in England that Bradman had shown some discomfort during the 1931–32 Australian season against pace bowling.
Following Jardine's appointment, a meeting was arranged with Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club
Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Nottinghamshire, and the current county champions. Its limited overs team is called the Nottinghamshire Outlaws...
captain Arthur Carr and his two fast bowler
Fast bowling
Fast bowling, sometimes known as pace bowling, is one of the two main approaches to bowling in the sport of cricket. The other is spin bowling...
s Larwood and Voce at London's Piccadilly Hotel. Jardine explained his belief that Bradman was weak against bowling directed at leg stump and that if this line of attack could be maintained, it would restrict Bradman's scoring to one side of the field, giving the bowlers greater control of his scoring. Jardine asked Larwood and Voce if they could bowl accurately on leg stump and make the ball rise up into the body of the batsman. The bowlers agreed that they could, and that it might prove effective, but Jardine stressed that bowling accurately was vitally important, or Bradman would dominate the bowling. Larwood believed that Jardine saw Bradman as his main target and wished to attack him psychologically as well as in a cricketing sense. At the same time, other Australian batsmen were also discussed. Larwood and Voce practised the plan over the remainder of the 1932 season with mixed success. Jardine also visited Frank Foster who had toured Australia in 1911–12 to discuss field placings appropriate to Australian conditions. Foster had bowled leg-theory on that tour with his fielders placed close in on the leg-side, as had George Hirst in 1903–04. During the second half of the season, the team to tour Australia was announced. The selection of four fast bowlers and a few medium pacers was very unusual at the time, and it was commented on by the hosts' media, including Bradman. The selection of Eddie Paynter
Eddie Paynter
Edward "Eddie" Paynter was an English cricketer: an attacking batsman and excellent fielder. His Test batting average of 59.23 is the fifth highest of all time, and second only to Herbert Sutcliffe amongst Englishmen; against Australia alone Paynter averaged an extraordinary 84.42.Born in...
, who did not have a strong record, to replace the ill Kumar Shri Duleepsinhji
Kumar Shri Duleepsinhji
Kumar Shri Duleepsinhji Jadeja was a cricketer who played for England. He was educated at the Rajkumar College, Rajkot, India.-Career:...
was very likely a choice of Jardine. He had a history of good performances against Yorkshire, and Jardine considered that a player's record against northern counties was a good indication of his potential at international level.
Beginning of the tour
In Jardine's obituary, Wisden described this tour as "probably the most controversial tour in history. England won four of the five Tests, but it was the methods they employed rather than the results which caused so much discussion and acrimony." On the journey to Australia, by the boat Orontes, Jardine kept away from his team. He issued some instructions on their conduct, such as giving autographs or keeping out of the sun. He also began to have disagreements with Plum Warner, who was one of the two team managers along with Richard PalairetRichard Palairet
Richard Cameron North Palairet, born 25 June 1871 at Grange-over-Sands, then in Lancashire and died 11 February 1955 at Budleigh Salterton, Devon was a cricketer who played first-class cricket for Oxford University and Somerset...
. He discussed tactics with Harold Larwood and other bowlers, spoke to Hedley Verity
Hedley Verity
Hedley Verity was a professional cricketer who played first-class cricket for Yorkshire and England between 1930 and 1939. A slow left arm orthodox bowler, he took 1,956 wickets in first-class cricket at an average of 14.90 and in 40 Tests he took 144 wickets at an average of 24.37...
about his role in the team, and he may have met batsmen Wally Hammond
Wally Hammond
Walter Reginald "Wally" Hammond was an English Test cricketer who played for Gloucestershire in a career that lasted from 1920 to 1951. Beginning his career as a professional, he later became an amateur and was appointed captain of England...
and Herbert Sutcliffe
Herbert Sutcliffe
Herbert Sutcliffe was an English professional cricketer who represented Yorkshire and England as an opening batsman. Apart from one match in 1945, his first-class career spanned the period between the two World Wars...
. Some players reported that Jardine told them to hate the Australians in order to defeat them, while instructing them to refer to Bradman as "the little bastard." At this stage, he seems to have settled on leg theory
Leg theory
Leg theory is a bowling tactic in the sport of cricket. The term leg theory is somewhat archaic and seldom used any more, but the basic tactic still plays a part in modern cricket....
, if not full Bodyline
Bodyline
Bodyline, also known as fast leg theory bowling, was a cricketing 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...
, as his main tactic.
Once the team arrived in Australia, Jardine quickly alienated the press by refusing to give team details before a match and being uncooperative when interviewed by journalists. The press printed some negative stories as a result and the crowds barracked as they had done on his previous tour, which made him angry. Jardine still wore his Harlequin cap and began the tour well with 98 and 127 before the first Test. Once again, he clashed with paceman Bill Bowes, refusing to give his bowler the requested field placings in an early match. As a result, Bowes deliberately gave away easy runs in an attempt to get his way, but following a discussion, Bowes was converted to Jardine's tactics and ultimately to his ability as a captain. In a tour match, Jardine also instructed Hammond to attack the bowling of Chuck Fleetwood-Smith
Chuck Fleetwood-Smith
Leslie O'Brien "Chuck" Fleetwood-Smith was a cricketer who played for Victoria and Australia. Known universally as "Chuck", he was the "wayward genius" of Australian cricket during the 1930s...
, whom he considered dangerous and thus did not want him to play in the Tests. Up until this point, there had been little unusual about the English bowling except the number of fast bowlers. Larwood and Voce were given a light workload in the early matches by Jardine. This changed in the match against an Australian XI, from which Jardine rested himself, where the bowlers first used the tactics that came to be known as Bodyline. Under the captaincy of Bob Wyatt
Bob Wyatt
Robert "Bob" Elliott Storey Wyatt was an English cricket player. He played for Warwickshire, Worcestershire, and the English cricket team....
, the bowlers bowled short and around leg stump, with fielders positioned close by on the leg side to catch any deflections. Wyatt later claimed that this was not planned beforehand and he simply passed on to Jardine what happened after the match. These tactics continued in the next match; several players were hit. Many commentators criticised this style of bowling; although bowlers had previously used leg theory bowling, where bowlers bowled outside leg stump with a concentration of fielders on the leg side, using these tactics with fast bowlers dropping the ball short was almost unprecedented. It was seen as dangerous and against the spirit of the game. In a letter, Jardine told Fender that his information about the Australian batting technique was correct and that it meant he was having to move more and more fielders onto the leg side
Leg side
The leg side, or on side, is defined to be a particular half of the field used to play the sport of cricket.From the point of view of a right-handed batsman facing the bowler, it is the left hand side of the cricket field...
. He said that "if this goes on I shall have to move the whole bloody lot to the leg side." Jardine increasingly came into disagreement with Warner over Bodyline as the tour progressed, but his tactics were successful in one respect: in six innings against the tourists ahead of the Tests, Bradman had scored only 103 runs, causing concern among the Australian public who expected much more from him.
Test matches
When the first Test began, Jardine persisted with Bodyline tactics, even though Bradman, the main target, did not play in the match. David Frith has pointed out that Bradman would have been watching and seeing the tactics that England were using. However, when Stan McCabeStan McCabe
Stanley Joseph McCabe was an Australian cricketer who played 39 Test matches for Australia from 1930 to 1938. A short, stocky right-hander,...
was scoring 187 not out, Jardine was briefly seen to be unsettled as runs came quickly, and he may not have been fully convinced that the tactics would be successful. England eventually won the match comfortably. In the second Test, Jardine completely misjudged the pitch and left out a specialist spinner when conditions later in the match favoured one. The match seemed to be going well when Bill Bowes unexpectedly bowled the returning Bradman first ball in the first innings; Jardine was seen to be so delighted that he had clasped his hands above his head and performed a "war dance". This was an extremely unusual reaction in the 1930s, particularly from Jardine who rarely showed any emotion while playing cricket. In the second innings, Bradman scored an unbeaten century which helped Australia to win the match and level the series at one match each. This made it seem to critics that Bodyline was not quite the threat that had been perceived and Bradman's reputation, which had suffered slightly with his earlier failures, was restored. On the other hand, the pitch was slightly slower than was customary throughout the series, and Larwood was suffering from problems with his boots which reduced his effectiveness.
He had clashed with more of his team by this stage: he had argued with Gubby Allen
Gubby Allen
Sir George Oswald Browning "Gubby" Allen, CBE was a cricketer who played for Middlesex, Cambridge University, MCC and England. Australian-born, Allen was a fast bowler and hard-hitting lower-order batsman, who captained England in eleven Test matches...
at least twice about that bowler's refusal to bowl Bodyline (although he did bowl bouncers and fielded in the "leg trap", the fielders who waited for catches close in on the leg side); and the Nawab of Pataudi
Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi
Iftikhar Ali Khan , sometimes I.A.K. Pataudi was the 8th Nawab of Pataudi and captain of the Indian cricket team. He was one of few cricketers to have played for two countries, having also played for the English Test side...
had refused to field in the "leg trap", to which Jardine responded, "I see his highness is a conscientious objector", and subsequently allowed Pataudi to play little part in the tour.
The teams went into the third Test with the series level; England won that match but the controversy nearly ended the tour. Jardine, concerned by his poor run of batting form, had promoted himself to open the batting but was part of a drastic England collapse to 30 for four in the first innings. However, the trouble began when Bill Woodfull
Bill Woodfull
William Maldon "Bill" Woodfull OBE was an Australian cricketer of the 1920s and 1930s. He captained both Victoria and Australia, and was best known for his dignified and moral conduct during the tumultuous bodyline series in 1932–33 that almost saw the end of Anglo-Australian cricketing ties...
was struck on the chest by a Larwood delivery, drawing the comment from Jardine of "Well bowled, Harold", aimed mainly at Bradman who was also batting at the time. For the next ball faced by Woodfull, at the start of Larwood's next over, the fielders moved into the Bodyline fielding positions for the next ball he faced. Jardine wrote that Larwood had asked for the field to be moved, while Larwood said that it was Jardine's decision. The crowd became noisily angry as the ill feeling caused by the English bowling tactics spilled out, and Jardine later expressed regret that he had moved the fielders when he did. There was further anger later in the innings when Bert Oldfield
Bert Oldfield
William Albert Stanley "Bert" Oldfield was an Australian cricket player. He played for New South Wales and the Australian cricket team as wicket-keeper....
suffered a fractured skull. At this point, several of the players feared that there may be a riot and that the crowd would jump onto the field to attack them; mounted police were deployed as a precaution, but the spectators remained behind the fences. Jardine then batted very slowly in an innings of 56, during which he was continuously barracked by the crowd. Despite England's win, Wisden believed that it was probably the most unpleasant match ever played. However, it commended Jardine's courage, claimed that praise of his leadership was unanimous, and said that "above all he captained his team in this particular match like a genius". In the immediate aftermath, journalists in England and Australia took up viewpoints both for and against Jardine. The M.C.C. sent a telegram congratulating him on winning the match.
Telegraphy
Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages via some form of signalling technology. Telegraphy requires messages to be converted to a code which is known to both sender and receiver...
passed between the Australian Board of Control
Cricket Australia
Cricket Australia, formerly known as the Australian Cricket Board, is the governing body for professional and amateur cricket in Australia. It was originally formed in 1905 as the Australian Board of Control for International Cricket...
and the M.C.C. at Lord's. The Australian Board accused the English team of unsportsmanlike tactics, stating that "Bodyline bowling has assumed such proportions as to menace the best interests of the game, making protection of the body the main consideration." The M.C.C. responded angrily to the accusations of unsporting conduct, played down the Australian claims about the danger of Bodyline and threatened to call off the tour. The series was becoming a major diplomatic incident by this stage, and many people saw Bodyline as damaging to an international relationship that needed to remain strong. Public reaction in both England and Australia was outrage directed at the other nation. The Governor
Governors of South Australia
The Governor of South Australia is the representative in the Australian state of South Australia of Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia. The Governor performs the same constitutional and ceremonial functions at the state level as does the Governor-General of Australia at the national level.In...
of South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
, Alexander Hore-Ruthven
Alexander Hore-Ruthven, 1st Earl of Gowrie
Brigadier General Alexander Gore Arkwright Hore-Ruthven, 1st Earl of Gowrie VC, GCMG, CB, DSO & Bar, PC was a British soldier and colonial governor and the tenth Governor-General of Australia. Serving for 9 years and 7 days, he is the longest serving Governor-General in Australia's history...
, who was in England at the time, expressed his concern to British Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs
Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs
The position of Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs was a British cabinet level position created in 1925 responsible for British relations with the Dominions — Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Newfoundland, and the Irish Free State, as well as the self-governing colony of...
James Henry Thomas
James Henry Thomas
James Henry "Jimmy" Thomas was a British trade unionist and Labour politician. He was involved in a political scandal involving budget leaks.-Early career and Trade Union activities:...
that this would cause a significant impact on trade between the nations. The standoff was settled only when Australian Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Australia
The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
Joseph Lyons
Joseph Lyons
Joseph Aloysius Lyons, CH was an Australian politician. He was Labor Premier of Tasmania from 1923 to 1928 and a Minister in the James Scullin government from 1929 until his resignation from the Labor Party in March 1931...
met 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. However, correspondence continued for almost a year. Jardine was shaken by the events and by the hostile reactions that his team were receiving. Stories appeared in the press, possibly leaked by the disenchanted Nawab of Pataudi, about fights and arguments between the England players. Jardine offered to stop using Bodyline if the team did not support him, but after a private meeting (not attended by Jardine or either of the team managers) the players released a statement fully supporting Jardine and the Bodyline tactics. It was subsequently revealed that several of the players had private reservations, but they did not express them publicly at the time. Even so, Jardine would not have played in the fourth Test without the withdrawal of the unsportsmanlike accusation.
Once the fourth Test got underway, England won the match to take the series. Partly prompted by Jardine, Eddie Paynter
Eddie Paynter
Edward "Eddie" Paynter was an English cricketer: an attacking batsman and excellent fielder. His Test batting average of 59.23 is the fifth highest of all time, and second only to Herbert Sutcliffe amongst Englishmen; against Australia alone Paynter averaged an extraordinary 84.42.Born in...
scored 83 having released himself from hospital. Jardine went on to make a painstaking 24, at one point facing 82 balls
Delivery (cricket)
A delivery or ball in cricket is a single action of bowling a cricket ball towards the batsman.During play of the game, a member of the fielding team is designated as the bowler, and bowls deliveries towards the batsman...
without scoring a single run. He was not proud of his batting performance, being shamefaced to Australian Test opener and journalist Jack Fingleton
Jack Fingleton
John "Jack" Henry Webb Fingleton OBE was an Australian cricketer who was trained as a journalist and became a political and cricket commentator after the end of his playing career...
, and describing his batting to Bill O'Reilly
Bill O'Reilly (cricketer)
William Joseph "Bill" O'Reilly , often known as Tiger O'Reilly, was an Australian cricketer, rated as one of the greatest bowlers in the history of the game. Following his retirement from playing, he became a well-respected cricket writer and broadcaster.O'Reilly was one of the best spin bowlers to...
as being "like an old maid defending her virginity." England also won the final Test ending on 28 February, with a final clash taking place between Jardine and Larwood. After a long bowling spell, Larwood was furious when Jardine sent him in to bat as nightwatchman
Nightwatchman (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a nightwatchman is a lower-order batsman who comes in to bat higher up the order than usual near the end of the day's play...
but went on to score 98 runs. Later, Larwood broke his foot while bowling in the second innings, but Jardine was not convinced that he was seriously injured. He made him stay on the field until Bradman was out. Larwood, partly through this injury and partly through political repercussions from this series, never played another Test. Also in this match, Jardine enraged Harry Alexander
Harry Alexander
Harry Houston "Bull" Alexander was an Australian cricketer who played in one Test match, the fifth of the 1933 "bodyline series" against England at the Sydney Cricket Ground, as a fast, right-arm opening bowler.He played for Victoria in 41 Sheffield Shield matches between 1928 and 1936, plus 89...
by asking him not to run on the pitch as he was damaging it and giving his side an advantage. He proceeded to bowl hostile bouncers at Jardine, who was struck painfully to the delight of the crowd.
While Jardine won the series as captain, he contributed just 199 runs at an average of 22.11 in the Tests, and 628 runs (average 36.94) in all first-class cricket in Australia. Jardine only played in the first Test of the short series which followed in New Zealand, due to rheumatism. All the players enjoyed the short tour although rain ruined the cricket, and Jardine was observed to show signs of paranoia towards all things Australian. Pelham Warner, although he later stated that he disapproved of Bodyline bowling, praised Jardine's captaincy on the tour and believed that he was cruelly treated by the Australian crowds. He further believed that Jardine was convinced that the tactics were legitimate.
Aftermath and 1933 season
Controversy over Bodyline continued throughout the following summer. Jardine himself contributed his opinion in a book, In Quest for the Ashes, a first-hand account of the Bodyline tour. He defended his tactics and heavily criticised the Australian barrackers, to the extent of suggesting that fixtures between England and Australia should be halted until this problem was solved. While arguments continued to rage in print and discussion, even at government level, Jardine received a hero's welcome on his return to England, making several public appearances. Despite his fears that the M.C.C. might sack him in the face of criticism, he was appointed as England captain for the series against the West Indies in 19331933 English cricket season
In the 1933 English cricket season, Yorkshire's dominance continued with a third successive championship.-Honours:*County Championship - Yorkshire*Minor Counties Championship - undecided...
. He continued to captain Surrey during his infrequent first-class appearances that summer, although business commitments prevented him from playing a full season. He was cheered by the crowd or given a standing ovation when he came out to bat as M.C.C. captain against the West Indians in May, at Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
for Surrey against Yorkshire, and in the first and second Test matches. In all first-class cricket that season, Jardine scored 779 runs at an average of 51.93, including three hundreds. One of these centuries came in the second Test (Jardine missed the third with an injury that ended his season).
Some bowlers had experimented with Bodyline in the season, and the West Indian team, 1–0 down in the series and frustrated by the lack of pace in the pitches, decided to experiment with the tactic. Facing a good West Indies total, England suffered a batting collapse, at one point falling to 134 for four. With Les Ames
Les Ames
Leslie Ethelbert George Ames, CBE was an outstanding wicket-keeper and batsman for the England cricket team and Kent County Cricket Club. In his obituary, the Wisden of 1991 described him as the greatest wicket-keeper-batsman of all time...
in difficulty against the short-pitched bowling, Jardine said, "You get yourself down this end, Les. I'll take care of this bloody nonsense." He went right back to the bouncers, standing on tiptoe, and stopped them with a dead bat, sometimes playing the ball one handed for more control. Wisden described how he never flinched despite facing the greatest amount of Bodyline. It also believed that he played it "probably better than any other man in the world was capable of doing." He batted for nearly five hours, scoring 127, his only Test century. England then retaliated by bowling Bodyline in the West Indies' second innings, but the slow pitch meant that the match was drawn. However, this performance played a large part in turning English opinion against Bodyline. The Times used the word "Bodyline", without using inverted commas or using the qualification "so-called", for the first time. Wisden said that "most of those watching it for the first time must have come to the conclusion that, while strictly within the law, it was not nice."
Retirement
During the 1933 season, Jardine was appointed as captain for the M.C.C. tour of India that winter which would feature the hosts' first Tests at home. This continued support for Jardine in the face of growing unhappiness towards Bodyline bowling came with some reservations, as the President and Secretary of the M.C.C. met Jardine for discussions prior to his appointment. This was probably about the need for diplomacy and tact on what may have proved to be a sensitive tour. With only two players from the Bodyline tour, Jardine and Verity, taking part, it was not a full-strength side but won the Test series 2–0. India were weaker than expected, and lacked a large group of quality players. Jardine nevertheless won praise from Wisden for his captaincy and his batting. He approached the matches with a very competitive spirit, seeking to gain every advantage with his tactics and research. At the same time, he was far more willing to take up speaking engagements than on the Bodyline tour, showed an appreciation and regard for Indian crowds which he had never extended to Australia, and played the diplomatic role that was usually expected of a captain of the M.C.C. at the time. He often spoke of his affection for India, describing it as the land of his birth and seemed to be relaxed and happy on this tour.England won the Test series 2–0. Jardine contributed three fifties in four innings in the series, scoring 221 runs at an average of 73.66. He scored 60, 61 and 65 before his final Test innings ended at 35 not out. Jardine scored 831 first-class runs on the Indian leg of the tour—he played one match in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka)—averaging 55.40. Although Jardine enjoyed the tour, there were still clashes evident. There was an argument with the Viceroy
Governor-General of India
The Governor-General of India was the head of the British administration in India, and later, after Indian independence, the representative of the monarch and de facto head of state. The office was created in 1773, with the title of Governor-General of the Presidency of Fort William...
over Jardine selecting the Maharaja of Patiala to play for the M.C.C. in one match; in a subsequent match, Jardine complained that the pitch was rolled for too long. He also clashed, later on, with the umpire Frank Tarrant
Frank Tarrant
Frank Tarrant Frank Tarrant Frank Tarrant (in full Francis Alfred Tarrant (Melbourne, Australia, 11 December 1880 – 29 January 1951 in Melbourne) was an Australian all-rounder who played with great success for Middlesex in the County Championship in the years before World War I.His record is...
, initially due to suspicion over the number of lbw decisions given against the M.C.C., but also because Tarrant had warned him against using Bodyline and was employed by Indian princes. Jardine threatened to stop him umpiring and sent a telegram to Lord's, with the result that Tarrant, having officiated the first two Tests, was not used in the third. For much of the time, Jardine used different tactics to those employed in Australia. Slow bowling, particularly that of Hedley Verity, played a key part in the bowling attack. At times, the faster bowlers Nobby Clark
Edward Clark (cricketer)
Edward Winchester 'Nobby' Clark was a Northamptonshire cricketer of the inter-war period during which they were one of the weakest counties ever to play in the County Championship...
and Stan Nichols
Stan Nichols
Stan Nichols was the leading all-rounder in English cricket for much of the 1930s.-Career:In his youth primarily a football goalkeeper who played for some time with Queen's Park Rangers,...
bowled Bodyline, resulting in several injuries. In this case, the Indian bowlers Mohammad Nissar
Mohammad Nissar
Shaikh Mohammad Nissar was a cricketer, who played as a fast bowler for the pre-partition Indian cricket team and domestic teams in India and Pakistan. He was born in Hoshiarpur, Punjab, and is considered the fastest pre-partition Indian pace bowler. He was arguably one of the fastest bowlers in...
and Amar Singh
Amar Singh (cricketer)
Ladhabhai Nakum Amar Singh Lodha was an Indian Test cricketer.A right-arm fast-medium bowler and effective lower-order batsman, Amar Singh Lodha played in seven Tests for India before World War II. He took 28 wickets in these matches. He was the first Indian Fast bowler and All-rounder, and the...
retaliated with Bodyline bowling of their own.
As the tour went on, there was discussion at a high level over Jardine's future. The M.C.C. authorities had realised that Bodyline was dangerous and should not be continued, but some figures such as Lord Hawke
Martin Hawke, 7th Baron Hawke
Martin Bladen Hawke, 7th Baron Hawke of Towton , generally known as Lord Hawke, was an English amateur cricketer who played major roles in the sport's administration....
did not want to let Jardine down. Australians saw him as more of a problem; the likes of Alexander Hore-Ruthven
Alexander Hore-Ruthven, 1st Earl of Gowrie
Brigadier General Alexander Gore Arkwright Hore-Ruthven, 1st Earl of Gowrie VC, GCMG, CB, DSO & Bar, PC was a British soldier and colonial governor and the tenth Governor-General of Australia. Serving for 9 years and 7 days, he is the longest serving Governor-General in Australia's history...
wanted guarantees that Jardine would not use Bodyline and even that he not play. Plum Warner also believed that Jardine should no longer captain. Jardine himself saved the English selectors from any possible dilemma. In March 1934, he first told Surrey that he would be unable to play regularly any more and he resigned as captain. Then in an announcement in the Evening Standard, he stated that "I have neither the intention nor the desire to play cricket against Australia this summer." It is unclear whether this was due to the pressure over Bodyline, over assurances that the M.C.C. may have asked him to give or simply due to financial worries. This decision effectively ended his first-class career. He never played another Test and played only two more first-class matches in England, in 1937 and 1948, and one in India in 1943–44.
Jardine played in 22 Test matches for England, scoring 1,296 runs at an average of 48.00. In his first-class cricket
First-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
career, he played 262 matches, scoring 14,848 runs at an average of 46.83. His occasional bowling brought him 48 wickets at an average of 31.10.
Batting
Jardine was seen as having a classical technique. While batting, he stood very straight and side on to the bowler. His off-driving was powerful, his defence was excellent, and he was superb at judging the line of the ball and letting it pass by if it was going to miss his wickets. His on-side play was also excellent, being able to place the ball between fielders for easy runs. Christopher Douglas described Jardine as "the epitome of the old-fashioned amateur". However, he also comments that his approach to batting was like that of a professional and that his back-foot batting was of a quality that few amateurs could manage. In 1928, Wisden's correspondent described Jardine as the most secure amateur batsman of the time, and identified his greatest strength as his defence and his "mental gifts." He played very straight and hit the ball hard in defence, but could not play all the strokes, particularly on the off side. R. C. Robertson-GlasgowR. C. Robertson-Glasgow
Raymond Charles 'Crusoe' Robertson-Glasgow was a British cricketer and cricket writer....
believed that Jardine had modelled himself on C. B. Fry. He also noted that Jardine displayed good concentration, a strong desire to improve his batting and a fighting spirit that brought out his best in a crisis. He also said that Jardine could play every recognised cricket shot, but would not do so in a match and Robertson-Glasgow believed it was Jardine's one weakness as a batsman. The more important the occasion, the more defensive and restricted Jardine's batting became: "In general, as the task grew greater, the strokes grew fewer."
Christopher Douglas argues that Jardine liked to make his runs when his side was in difficulty and enjoyed being tested; his approach would often lead his team to recovery from an unfavourable situation. Douglas comments that Jardine held his place in the England side despite strong competition from other batsmen. His defensive technique rescued England from weak positions in around a dozen innings and only played in two losses with England (which were his two least successful games with the bat). He also excelled in the main Gentlemen v Players fixture at Lord's, making a good score in each of his appearances in this match. Jack Hobbs classed him as a great batsman and believed that he was under-rated by his contemporaries.
Wisden believed that Jardine's effective batting technique meant that fast bowlers troubled him less than other batsmen. He did have difficulties with a few bowlers. Alec Kennedy, a medium paced inswing bowler, took Jardine's wicket eleven times, eight of these occasions before the batsman had scored 20 runs. Kennedy found that Jardine had slightly slow footwork, often bowling him or trapping him leg before wicket
Leg before wicket
In the sport of cricket, leg before wicket is one of the ways in which a batsman can be dismissed. An umpire will rule a batsman out LBW under a series of circumstances which primarily include the ball striking the batsman's body when it would otherwise have continued on to hit the batsman's...
. Bert Ironmonger also troubled Jardine, taking his wicket in five of the eleven Test innings in which they faced each other. Jardine displayed a slight weakness against Australian slow bowlers, not moving his feet well enough against them. In 16 Test innings in Australia, he was out to slow bowlers ten times, but he rarely experienced similar difficulties against English spinners. One other bowler to cause Jardine problems was the Australian paceman Tim Wall
Tim Wall
Thomas Welbourn 'Tim' Wall was an Australian Test cricketer who played eighteen Tests between 1929 and 1934. Wall died in 1981 after a long battle with Parkinson's disease. Wall's 10-36 in February 1933 remains the best first-class figures recorded in Australia...
, who took his wicket five times on the nine occasions he bowled to him.
Captaincy
As a captain, Jardine inspired great loyalty in his players, even if they did not approve of his tactics. Christopher Douglas judges that Jardine did very well to keep the team united and loyal on the Bodyline tour. He points out that team spirit was always excellent and the players showed great determination and resolve. Jardine particularly impressed Yorkshiremen who played under him, as they believed he thought about cricket in a similar way to their county colleagues. He became close to Herbert Sutcliffe during the Bodyline tour, even though Sutcliffe was sceptical about Jardine on the previous Australian tour in 1928–29. Hedley VerityHedley Verity
Hedley Verity was a professional cricketer who played first-class cricket for Yorkshire and England between 1930 and 1939. A slow left arm orthodox bowler, he took 1,956 wickets in first-class cricket at an average of 14.90 and in 40 Tests he took 144 wickets at an average of 24.37...
was impressed by Jardine's tactical understanding and named his son Douglas after the captain. Bill Bowes expressed approval of his leadership after initial misgivings, and went on to call him England's greatest captain. Nevertheless, some players such as Arthur Mitchell
Arthur Mitchell (cricketer)
Arthur "Ticker" Mitchell was an English first-class cricketer, who played both for Yorkshire County Cricket Club and England....
who played under Jardine believed he was intolerant and unsupportive of players of lesser talent, expecting everyone to perform at world-class standards.
Jardine insisted on strict discipline from his players but in return he went to great lengths to look after them, such as organising dental treatment or providing champagne for his tired bowlers. Critics praised his skill in field placing, which was sometimes interpreted as panic when he made frequent changes if the batsmen were on top. He also displayed great physical courage, such as when he was struck by a ball hard enough to draw blood on the Bodyline tour, but refused to show pain before reaching the dressing room. On the same tour, he instructed his men not to be friendly or to socialise with the Australian players; Gubby Allen even claimed that Jardine instructed the team to hate the Australians. Robertson-Glasgow wrote that Jardine made thorough preparation for games in which he was captain, studying individual batsmen at great length to find weaknesses. He had very clear plans, judged the strengths and weaknesses of his teams and knew how to get the best out of individual players. However, Robertson-Glasgow considered it a grave misjudgement to make Jardine captain of England, particularly given his known antipathy towards Australia. Pelham Warner described how Jardine "was a master of tactics and strategy, and was especially adept in managing fast bowlers and thereby preserving their energy. He possessed a great capacity for taking pains, which, it has been said, is the mark of a genius ... As a field tactician and selector of teams he was, I consider, surpassed by no one and equalled by few, if any."
Laurence Le Quesne argues that one of Jardine's greatest talents, and at the same time greatest weaknesses, was his ability to formulate a winning strategy without consideration of wider contexts such as the social aspect of the game. On the Bodyline tour, he ignored the diplomacy required of an M.C.C. delegation. Instead, he embarked, according to Le Quesne, to win the Tests and settle personal scores with the Australians. Jardine was personally incapable of reacting to the crowds or responding to the controversy in a way that would have eased tensions, and so was not a good choice as captain given what the selectors already knew of him. Nevertheless, Le Quesne believed that when trouble arose, Jardine conducted himself with "great moral courage and an impressive degree of dignity and restraint."
In his Wisden obituary, Jardine was described as one of England's best captains, while Jack Hobbs rated him the second best captain after Percy Fender. Warner also said that he was a fine captain on and off the field, and in dealing with administrators. In fact, he stated that, "If ever there was a cricket match between England and the rest of the world and the fate of England depended upon its result, I would pick Jardine as England captain every time."
Personality
Jardine divided opinion among those with whom he played. He could be charming and witty or ruthless and harsh, while many people who knew him believed him to be innately shy. David Frith describes him as a complex figure who could change moods quickly. Although he could be friendly off the field, he became hostile and determined once he stepped onto the field. At his memorial service, he was described by Hubert AshtonHubert Ashton
Sir Hubert Ashton KBE MC was an English cricketer and politician...
as being "provocative, austere, brusque, shy, humble, thoughtful, kindly, proud, sensitive, single-minded and possessed of immense moral and physical courage," and Frith argues that these varied qualities are easily proven by what was said about him.
Harold Larwood maintained great respect for Jardine, treasuring a gift his captain gave him after the Bodyline tour and believing him to be a great man. Jardine showed affection for Larwood in return even after both of their retirements; he expressed his concern for the way Larwood was treated, hosted a lunch for the former fast bowler shortly before he emigrated to Australia and met him there in 1954. On the other hand, Donald Bradman would never speak to journalists about Bodyline or Jardine, and refused to give a tribute when Jardine died in 1958. Jack Fingleton admitted that he had liked Jardine and stated that he and Larwood had each done their job on the Bodyline tour, and expressed regret at the way both left cricket in acrimonious circumstances. Fingleton also described Jardine as an aloof individual who preferred to take his time in judging a person before befriending them, a quality that caused problems in Australia. Bill O'Reilly stated that he disliked Jardine at the time of Bodyline, but on meeting him later found him agreeable and even charming.
Alan Gibson said that Jardine had "irony rather than humour". He sent Herbert Sutcliffe an umbrella as a joke on the day of his benefit match
Benefit (sports)
A benefit or testimonial is a match or season of activities granted by a sporting body to a loyal sportsman to boost their income before retirement. Often this is in the form of a match for which all the ticket proceeds are given to the player in question.There have been occasions when a...
, when rain would have ruined the match and lost Sutcliffe a considerable amount of money. Many people who knew Jardine later in his life described him as having a sense of humour. Robertson-Glasgow noted that while he could curse very eloquently, Jardine displayed "dislike of waste in material or words." He also commented that "if he has sometimes been a fierce enemy, he has also been a wonderful friend."
Career after cricket
Shortly before the tour of India in 1933–34, Jardine became engaged and on 1934, married Irene "Isla" Margaret Peat in London. She had met Jardine at shooting parties at her father's Norfolk home. According to Gerald Howat, Jardine's marriage was the probable reason for his giving up playing first-class cricket. Jardine's father-in-law was keen for him to pursue his law career but he instead continued as a bank clerk and began to work as a journalist. He reported on the 1934 Ashes for the Evening StandardEvening Standard
The Evening Standard, now styled the London Evening Standard, is a free local daily newspaper, published Monday–Friday in tabloid format in London. It is the dominant regional evening paper for London and the surrounding area, with coverage of national and international news and City of London...
. His writing for the press, and in a follow-up book on the series, was critical of selectors but less so of the players. In 1936, he penned Cricket: how to succeed, which was written as an instruction book for the National Union of Teachers
National Union of Teachers
The National Union of Teachers is a trade union for school teachers in England, Wales, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. It is a member of the Trades Union Congress...
. There was a possibility of his going to Australia as a journalist to cover the M.C.C. tour of 1936–37, to the dismay of Hore-Ruthven, but nothing came of this. With alterations to the law in 1935, changing the leg before wicket
Leg before wicket
In the sport of cricket, leg before wicket is one of the ways in which a batsman can be dismissed. An umpire will rule a batsman out LBW under a series of circumstances which primarily include the ball striking the batsman's body when it would otherwise have continued on to hit the batsman's...
law and preventing Bodyline bowling, Jardine became increasingly disillusioned with top-level cricket. He had grown uncomfortable with the nationalism stirred up by Tests, the greed of clubs and the large public following of individual players, particularly Bradman. At the same time, Jardine seemed to be ostracised by cricket writers and commentators, who simply ignored him. For example, Wisden made no mention of his retirement. Christopher Douglas believes that Jardine was used as a scapegoat for Bodyline once the M.C.C. stopped supporting the tactic and that a stigma was attached to him for the rest of his life and beyond.
Although Jardine had retired from regular first-class competition, he continued to play club cricket. Jardine and his wife initially lived in Kensington but moved to Reading after the birth of their first child, daughter Fianach. A second daughter, Marion, followed but the family suffered from financial worries. Jardine, as well as working in journalism, earned money from playing bridge
Contract bridge
Contract bridge, usually known simply as bridge, is a trick-taking card game using a standard deck of 52 playing cards played by four players in two competing partnerships with partners sitting opposite each other around a small table...
. The family also tried unsuccessfully to engage in market gardening
Market gardening
A market garden is the relatively small-scale production of fruits, vegetables and flowers as cash crops, frequently sold directly to consumers and restaurants. It is distinguishable from other types of farming by the diversity of crops grown on a small area of land, typically, from under one acre ...
. To make more money, Jardine became a salesman with Cable & Wireless
Cable & Wireless
Cable & Wireless Worldwide PLC is a global telecommunications company headquartered in Bracknell, United Kingdom. Cable & Wireless specialises in providing communication networks and services to large corporates, governments, carrier customers and resellers...
before working for a coal mining company in the late 1930s. In 1939, he returned to cricket journalism and according to Christopher Douglas, achieved his highest standard as a writer.
Career in the Second World War
Jardine joined the Territorial Army in August 1939. Once World War II began, he was commissioned into the Royal Berkshire RegimentRoyal Berkshire Regiment
The Royal Berkshire Regiment was an infantry regiment of the line in the British Army, formed in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 49th Regiment of Foot and the 66th Regiment of Foot.The regiment was originally formed as The Princess Charlotte of Wales's , taking the...
and went with the British Expeditionary Force
British Expeditionary Force (World War II)
The British Expeditionary Force was the British force in Europe from 1939–1940 during the Second World War. Commanded by General Lord Gort, the BEF constituted one-tenth of the defending Allied force....
to France. He served at Dunkirk
Battle of Dunkirk
The Battle of Dunkirk was a battle in the Second World War between the Allies and Germany. A part of the Battle of France on the Western Front, the Battle of Dunkirk was the defence and evacuation of British and allied forces in Europe from 26 May–4 June 1940.After the Phoney War, the Battle of...
, where he was fortunate to escape but suffered some injuries. After serving as staff captain at St. Albans, he was posted to India for the remainder of the war. He served in Quetta
Quetta
is the largest city and the provincial capital of the Balochistan Province of Pakistan. Known as the "Fruit Garden of Pakistan" due to the diversity of its plant and animal wildlife, Quetta is home to the Hazarganji Chiltan National Park, which contains some of the rarest species of wildlife in the...
, then Simla
Shimla
Shimla , formerly known as Simla, is the capital city of Himachal Pradesh. In 1864, Shimla was declared the summer capital of the British Raj in India. A popular tourist destination, Shimla is often referred to as the "Queen of Hills," a term coined by the British...
as a major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
in the Central Provisions Directorate. He became fluent in the Hindustani language
Hindustani language
Hindi-Urdu is an Indo-Aryan language and the lingua franca of North India and Pakistan. It is also known as Hindustani , and historically, as Hindavi or Rekhta...
and although friendly, never formed close relationships with other officers. He gave lectures and played some cricket while in India. He left the army in 1945 only to find his job with the coal mining company was no longer available.
In the meantime, his wife had moved to Somerset. In 1940, she gave birth to a son, Euan, who had many medical problems, and in 1943 she bore a third daughter, Iona. The pressure of running the household and caring for Euan led Isla to have a nervous breakdown after Iona's birth. When Jardine returned from the war, the family moved to Radlett
Radlett
Radlett is a small town in the county of Hertfordshire between St Albans and Borehamwood on Watling Street with a population of approximately 8,000. It is located in the council district of Hertsmere and is covered by two wards, Aldenham East and Aldenham West...
to be closer to London. Isla recovered and Jardine found a job with paper manufacturers Wiggins Teape
Arjo Wiggins
Arjo Wiggins is a leading producer of paper products. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and used to be a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index but is now owned by Worms & Cie.-History:...
. In 1946, Jardine was chosen to play for Old England in a popular and successful fund raising match against Surrey. He displayed much of his old batting skill but did not show much involvement with his team-mates. By 1948, Jardine was more accepted in the cricket world. This was partly due to English perception of the short-pitched fast bowling of Australian pairing Ray Lindwall
Ray Lindwall
Raymond Russell Lindwall MBE was a cricketer who represented Australia in 61 Tests from 1946 to 1960. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest fast bowlers of all time. He also played top-flight rugby league football with St...
and Keith Miller
Keith Miller
Keith Ross Miller MBE was an Australian Test cricketer and a Royal Australian Air Force pilot during World War II. Miller is widely regarded as Australia's greatest ever all-rounder. Because of his ability, irreverent manner and good looks he was a crowd favourite...
as being hostile. England's poor performance in the 1946–47 and 1948 Ashes
1948 Ashes series
The 1948 Ashes series was that year's edition of the long-standing cricket rivalry between England and Australia. Starting on 10 June 1948, England and Australia played five Tests. Australia had not lost a Test since the Second World War and were strong favourites...
also caused writers to remember Jardine more fondly as an icon of past English success.
Final years
In 1953, Jardine resumed journalism for the Ashes seriesAustralian cricket team in England in 1953
The Australian cricket team toured England in the 1953 season to play a five-match Test series against England for The Ashes.England won the final Test to take the series 1-0 after the first four Tests were all drawn. England therefore recovered the Ashes for the first time since losing them in...
and expressed a high opinion of Len Hutton
Len Hutton
Sir Leonard "Len" Hutton was an English Test cricketer, who played for Yorkshire County Cricket Club and England in the years around the Second World War as an opening batsman. He was described by Wisden Cricketer's Almanack as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket...
's captaincy. He also did some broadcasting and wrote short stories to supplement his income; Isla was in poor health and her medical care was expensive. In the same year, he became the first President of the Umpires Association, while from 1955 to 1957 he was President of the Oxford University Cricket Club. In 1953, he travelled, with some trepidation, as a board member of the Scottish Australian Company to inspect some land in Australia. While there, he struck up a friendship with Jack Fingleton
Jack Fingleton
John "Jack" Henry Webb Fingleton OBE was an Australian cricketer who was trained as a journalist and became a political and cricket commentator after the end of his playing career...
and was surprised to be well received in the country, in his own words, as "an old so-and-so who got away with it."
In 1957, Jardine travelled to Rhodesia
Rhodesia
Rhodesia , officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state located in southern Africa that existed between 1965 and 1979 following its Unilateral Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom on 11 November 1965...
, again to inspect some land, with his daughter Marion. While there, he became ill with tick fever. He showed no improvement upon his return to England and further tests revealed that he had advanced lung cancer. After some treatment, he travelled with his wife to a clinic in Switzerland but it was discovered that the cancer had spread and was incurable. He died in Switzerland on 1958 and his ashes were scattered over the top of Craigs Cross mountain in Perthshire, Scotland. His family had enquired about having his ashes dispersed at Lord's, but this honour was restricted to war dead. When he died, his estate
Estate (law)
An estate is the net worth of a person at any point in time. It is the sum of a person's assets - legal rights, interests and entitlements to property of any kind - less all liabilities at that time. The issue is of special legal significance on a question of bankruptcy and death of the person...
was valued at just over £71,000, which would have been worth around £1¼ million in 2008.
Legacy
Jardine is inextricably associated with Bodyline. John ArlottJohn Arlott
Leslie Thomas John Arlott OBE was an English journalist, author and cricket commentator for the BBC's Test Match Special. He was also a poet, wine connoisseur and former police officer in Hampshire...
wrote in 1989 that "It is no exaggeration to say that, among Australians, Douglas Jardine is probably the most disliked of cricketers." In the view of Christopher Douglas, his name "stands for the legendary British qualities of cool-headed determination, implacable resolve, patrician disdain for crowds and critics alike – if you're English that is. To Australians the name is synonymous with the legendary British qualities of snobbishness, cynicism and downright Pommie arrogance." He also argues that Bodyline, which was legal at the time, was a necessary step to overcome the unfair advantage which batsmen of the time enjoyed.
After the Bodyline tour, according to cricket writer Gideon Haigh
Gideon Haigh
Gideon Clifford Jeffrey Davidson Haigh is an English-born Australian journalist, who writes about sport and business. He was born in London of a Yorkshire father and an Australian mother, and was raised in Geelong, Victoria.- Career :Haigh has been writing about sport and business for over...
, Jardine was seen as "the most reviled man in sport." This perception faded from the 1950s onwards, and in more recent times, Jardine has been viewed more sympathetically. In 2002, the England captain Nasser Hussain
Nasser Hussain
Nasser Hussain OBE is a former Essex and England cricketer.Beginning his career in a strong Essex side in the late 1980s, he was an outstanding fielder and a stylish but inconsistent batsman. In first-class cricket from 1987 to 2004 Hussain scored 20,698 runs in 334 matches at an average of 42.06,...
was compared to Jardine as a compliment when he displayed ruthlessness against the opposition.