Third Test, 1932–33 Ashes series
Encyclopedia
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...
in a cricket
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...
series between Australia and England. The match was played at the Adelaide Oval
Adelaide Oval
The Adelaide Oval is a sports ground in Adelaide, South Australia, located in the parklands between the Central Business District and North Adelaide...
in Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
from 13 to 19 January 1933, with a rest day on 15 January. England won the match by 338 runs to take a series lead of 2 Tests to 1 with 2 Tests to play.
The Test was noted as the one in which the controversy over the use of 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 by the English team came to a head. These tactics, employed by the England fast bowlers 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....
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:...
on the direction of their captain, Douglas Jardine
Douglas Jardine
Douglas Robert Jardine was an English cricketer 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 represent a southern hemisphere cricket season because it...
, engendered much ill-feeling.
Background
Douglas Jardine
Douglas Robert Jardine was an English cricketer 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 represent a southern hemisphere cricket season because it...
toured Australia and won the Ashes in a highly acrimonious series known as the 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...
series. It has been described as the most controversial period in Australian cricket history, and voted the most important Australian moment by a panel of Australian cricket identities.
The English team used controversial bowling tactics where the English fast bowlers
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...
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....
, 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:...
and 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...
bowled the cricket ball roughly on the line of leg stump. The deliveries
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...
were often short pitched
Bouncer (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a bouncer is a type of delivery, usually bowled by a fast bowler. It is pitched short so that it bounces on the pitch well short of the batsman and rears up to chest or head height as it reaches the batsman.Bouncers are used tactically to drive the batsman back on to his...
, bouncing as high as the head and torso of the batsman, with four or five fielders close by on 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...
waiting to catch deflections off the bat. The tactics were difficult for batsmen to counter. The only options for a batsman were to duck, carrying the risk of being hit on pitches with irregular bounce, or to play the ball. However, defensive shots risked a catch in the cordon, while hooking carried the danger of being hit in the head at dangerous speeds. The bowling was designed to be intimidatory, causing controversy and ill-feeling among the Australian players and crowds. The primary target of Bodyline was 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...
who had overwhelmed the English bowling in the 1930 Ashes series
The Ashes
The Ashes is a Test cricket series played between England and Australia. It is one of the most celebrated rivalries in international cricket and dates back to 1882. It is currently played biennially, alternately in the United Kingdom and Australia. Cricket being a summer sport, and the venues...
. Generally regarded as the greatest batsman of all time, Bradman had scored a world record 974 Test runs during that series, a feat which remains unsurpassed.. English cricket commentators feared that Bradman would be unstoppable on good Australian batting wickets in 1932–33 and looked for weaknesses.
On the journey to Australia, Jardine discussed tactics with Larwood and other bowlers, and he may have met senior 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. While Jardine's unfriendly approach and superior manner caused some friction with the press and spectators, the early tour matches were uncontroversial and Larwood and Voce had a light workload in preparation for the Test series. This changed in the match against an Australian XI where the bowlers first used Bodyline tactics. 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....
, Jardine having rested from the match, the England attack 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 pre-planned and he simply passed on to Jardine what happened after the match. The Bodyline tactics continued in the next match and several players were hit. The Australian press were shocked and criticised the hostility of Larwood in particular. Former players joined the criticism by saying that the tactics were ethically wrong. However, at this stage, not everyone was opposed. The Australian Board of Control believed the English bowlers had not bowled unfairly when Bradman expressed his concern to them. Jardine increasingly came into disagreement with tour manager 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....
over Bodyline as the tour progressed. Warner opposed Bodyline but would not speak out against it. However, he was accused of hypocrisy for not taking a stand on either side, particularly after expressing sentiments at the start of the tour that cricket "has become a synonym for all that is true and honest. To say 'that is not cricket' implies something underhand, something not in keeping with the best ideals ... all who love it as players, as officials or spectators must be careful lest anything they do should do it harm." Furthermore, he had criticised bowler 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...
for using short-pitched bowling against 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....
in a match at the end of the 1932 season.
Earlier tests
Jardine's 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. He missed the first Test, worn out by constant cricket and the ongoing argument. Australia lost heavily by ten wickets as Larwood took ten wickets, as the English bowlers used Bodyline intermittently, to the crowd's vocal displeasure. The only Australian batsman to make an impact was 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,...
, who hooked and pulled everything aimed at his upper body, undeterred by the prospect of taking a potentially lethal blow to the head. He scored 187 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...
in four hours, an innings described by leading 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:...
as "among the most stirring innings Test cricket has ever produced". Behind the scenes, administrators began to express concerns to each other. Yet the English tactics did not earn universal disapproval; former Australian captain Monty Noble
Monty Noble
Montague Alfred Noble was an Australian cricketer who played for New South Wales and Australia. A right-hand batsman, right-handed bowler who could deliver both medium pace and off-break bowling, capable fieldsman and tactically sound captain, Noble is considered as one of the great Australian...
praised the English bowling. For the second Test, Bradman returned to the team after his newspaper employers released him from his contract. England continued to use Bodyline tactics. Bradman was dismissed by his first ball in the first innings, bowled by Bowes. Jardine was observed to be so delighted that he 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. However, in the second innings, against the full bodyline attack, Bradman scored an unbeaten century, his only one of the series, which helped Australia to win the match and level the series at one match each.
The victory was met by widespread public jubilation, as many believed that Australia had found a means of overcoming the tactics. Critics began to believe 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.
Woodfull's approach
Meanwhile, Woodfull's physical courage, stoic and dignified leadership won him many admirers. He refused to employ retaliatory tactics and did not publicly complain even though he and his men were repeatedly hit— according to Ken PiesseKen Piesse
Ken Piesse is a Melbourne-based Australian sports journalist, commentator and after-dinner speaker. He has written many publications, mostly focusing on cricket and Australian rules football....
, 34 times in all. Woodfull, was being encouraged to retaliate to the short-pitched English attack. However, the Australian captain refused to consider doing so. Before the Second Test in Melbourne, he had to wait until minutes before the game before he was confirmed as captain by the selectors, causing the toss to be delayed and leading to speculation that the Australian Board of Control wanted to remove Woodfull because of his refusal to allow his bowlers to retaliate. His deputy Victor Richardson advocated retaliation along with several other players. Richardson recalled Woodfull's private response: "There is no way I will be influenced to adopt such tactics which bring such discredit to the game. I know Tim
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...
could do it but I am not going to participate in actions that can only hurt the game."
The media advocated the selection of Eddie Gilbert
Eddie Gilbert
Edward Gilbert may refer to:*Eddie Gilbert , Australian Aboriginal cricketer*Eddie Gilbert , American wrestler*Ed Gilbert *Edward Gilbert, U.S...
, an indigenous bowler of extreme pace, in order to return the Bodyline barrage. In one tour match, Gilbert had bloodied Jardine and left a bruise the size of a saucer. Another suggested means of retaliation was Laurie Nash
Laurie Nash
Laurence John "Laurie" Nash was a Test cricketer and Australian rules footballer. An inductee into the Australian Football Hall of Fame, Nash was a member of South Melbourne's 1933 premiership team, captained South Melbourne in 1937 and was the team's leading goal kicker in 1937 and 1945...
, a footballer
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
and paceman whose notoriously abrasive personality and aggression saw him regarded as a thug. However, Woodfull was totally unmoved by such suggestions.
Team selection
In the build up to the third Test, Jardine banned spectators from watching his players at net practice after he had been barracked. The press were unable to watch and therefore give detailed previews before the match started. The tourists' preparations were also hampered by stories in the press that Maurice TateMaurice 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 Jardine had come to blows, which Tate later denied was true or even realistic. There were questions over the form of Jardine, who had scored just 28 runs in his three innings in the series, Jardine suggested that he should stand down from the team. The rest of the tour selection committee, 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...
, Bob Wyatt
Bob Wyatt
Robert "Bob" Elliott Storey Wyatt was an English cricket player. He played for Warwickshire, Worcestershire, and the English cricket team....
, 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...
and Warner would not consider dropping the captain. However, taking into account Jardine's nervousness before going in to bat, the senior players persuaded Jardine to open the batting with Sutcliffe. Sutcliffe and Jardine had occasionally opened together on the 1928–29 tour with some success.
The English selectors were concerned by the domination of the Australian spinners of 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...
and Bert Ironmonger
Bert Ironmonger
Herbert Ironmonger was a Victorian and Australian cricketer....
, who had reduced the tourists to strokelessness in the second Test. To counter this, 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...
was introduced into the side in the hope that his aggressive style and left handed batting (in contrast to the rest of the batting line-up which was right-handed) would disrupt the Australian bowlers. He replaced 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...
whose earlier successes, including a century on his Test match debut, were offset by his slow scoring. However, Pataudi's refusal to field close on the leg-side in the Bodyline field setting, his friendliness with the opposition and the mutual antipathy between him and Jardine may also have contributed to the loss of his place. England made one other change. Although Bowes had dismissed Bradman in the second Test, he took no other wickets; Jardine believed that the Adelaide pitch was not helpful to fast bowlers, while spinner Jack White
Jack White (cricketer)
John Cornish White, known as "Farmer" or "Jack", was an English cricketer who played for Somerset and England. White was named Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1929...
had taken thirteen wickets in the equivalent match four years previously. Consequently, 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...
replaced Bowes in the team. Australia made just one change to the team which won the second Test. Leo O'Brien
Leo O'Brien
For the former US congressman from New York, see Leo W. O'BrienFor the former Wisconsin politician, see Leo P. O'BrienLeo Patrick Joseph O'Brien was an Australian cricketer who played in 5 Tests from 1932 to 1936.He attended both Xavier College and St Patrick's College, Ballarat....
, who had scored 10 and 11 in that match, was relegated to twlefth man and Bill Ponsford
Bill Ponsford
William Harold "Bill" Ponsford MBE was an Australian cricketer. Usually playing as an opening batsman, he formed a successful and long-lived partnership opening the batting for Victoria and Australia with Bill Woodfull, his friend and state and national captain...
returned to the side.
13 January: Day One
Jardine won the toss and chose to bat. Clem HillClem Hill
Clement "Clem" Hill was an Australian cricketer who played 49 Test matches as a specialist batsman between 1896 and 1912. He captained the Australian team in ten Tests, winning five and losing five...
remarked to Jardine that it should be a close game, but Jardine joked that he obviously had not seen who had won the toss. There had been rain on the day before the match and moisture was still present when Sutcliffe and Jardine went out to bat, which made the pitch difficult for batting that morning. Australia had played three spinners, so leg spin
Leg spin
Leg spin is a type of spin bowling in the sport of cricket. A leg spinner bowls right-arm with a wrist spin action, causing the ball to spin from right to left in the cricket pitch, at the point of delivery. When the ball bounces, the spin causes the ball to deviate sharply from right to left, that...
ner O'Reilly took the new ball with the solitary paceman Tim Wall. The fourth ball, from Wall, bounced unexpectedly and hit Sutcliffe's shoulder, to the crowd's pleasure. After twenty minutes play, England had scored just four runs when Jardine was bowled off his pads trying to glance a swinging
Swing bowling
Swing bowling is a technique used for bowling in the sport of cricket. Practitioners are known as swing bowlers. Swing bowling is generally classed as a subtype of fast bowling.-Physics of swing bowling:...
delivery from Wall. Hammond came in and looked uncomfortable as Wall bowled some short-pitched deliveries. He had to duck underneath one ball and departed after slashing wildly at a quick delivery and with the score at 16, he was caught by Wicket-keeper
Wicket-keeper
The wicket-keeper in the sport of cricket is the player on the fielding side who stands behind the wicket or stumps being guarded by the batsman currently on strike...
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....
, standing further back than usual, diving across in front of first slip
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...
. Umpire George Hele
George Hele
George Alfred Hele was a cricket Test match umpire.-Biography:Hele was born in 1891 to Andrew William Hele and Elizabeth Ann Hele, née Patterson...
believed Hammond may have deliberately got out. Jardine believed the ball had bounced lower than usual. As he walked off, disturbed by the frequency of short bowling, Hammond was heard to say "If that's what the bloody game's coming to, I've had enough of it." A second wicket fell without a run added as Sutcliffe, after 46 minutes batting, played a weak shot and hit O'Reilly in the air. Wall, at short square leg, dived forward to take a one-handed catch. 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...
, who was in poor batting form, also looked uncomfortable. He batted unconvincingly for 39 minutes for three runs and did not score for 20 minutes; in that time, he edged the ball several times and was bowled by a no ball
No ball
In the sport of cricket a no ball is a penalty against the fielding team, usually as a result of an illegal delivery by the bowler. The delivery of a no ball results in one run to be added to the batting team's score, and an additional ball must be bowled...
from O'Reilly. Just as it appeared he was settling down, he was bowled by a faster ball from left arm orthodox spinner Bert Ironmonger
Bert Ironmonger
Herbert Ironmonger was a Victorian and Australian cricketer....
. England's score was four wickets for 30 runs (4/30). The crowd were delighted by the course of the morning session; England had not expected to lose so many wickets so quickly and 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...
and 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...
, both due to bat lower in the order, were seen rushing to the dressing room to change in case they were needed to bat quickly. Maurice Leyland
Maurice Leyland
Maurice Leyland , christened 'Morris Leyland', was an English cricketer who played 41 Test matches between 1928 and 1938 and proved himself one of the best left-handers of his generation....
and Bob Wyatt
Bob Wyatt
Robert "Bob" Elliott Storey Wyatt was an English cricket player. He played for Warwickshire, Worcestershire, and the English cricket team....
took England to lunch without losing any more wickets and the score was 4/37 after 90 minutes play.
Leyland and Wyatt began a recovery after the interval, batting beyond tea in putting on a 156-run partnership and turning the match back towards England. During this stand, the pitch settled down and became easy to bat on as the moisture in the pitch dried out. Leyland began with a hooked four from Wall and began advancing down the pitch to 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,...
. Jardine had told the pair to bat cautiously, but Wyatt hit three sixes, two off Grimmett; usually, he was a dour, defensive batsman. After the second six, Wyatt saw Jardine leave his seat on the pavilion balcony and return to the dressing room. The third six, a hook off the bowling of Wall, was nearly caught by Bradman at long leg. At one point during the stand, Leyland complained to the umpires that Ironmonger was using resin on the ball to increase his grip and allow him to spin the ball more. Ironmonger emptied his pocket to show there was nothing there, and Leyland apologised. However, Ironmonger seemed less effective after the challenge and umpire Hele remembered that Ironmonger emptied the wrong pocket and Leyland did not ask him to empty the other. Later in the day, Jardine sent out a message to the umpires pointing out that Richardson was changing his position behind the batsmen's backs. Wall tried bowling tried bowling 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....
against Wyatt, but without a packed legside field, but Wyatt hooked the ball over the fielders' heads. Leyland and Wyatt added 100 runs in 90 minutes and the tea interval was taken with the score 4/154. The only possibility of a wicket was 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....
failed to stump Leyland off Grimmett's bowling when the batsman had scored around 30.
After tea, O'Reilly bowled with five fielders on the leg side before dismissing Leyland when the batsman tried to hit a faster ball which bowled him via the bat and pad. Jardine wrote that "no praise can be too high for this exceedingly fine effort". He scored 83 from 190 balls in three hours. In all, he hit thirteen fours and his driving on the off-side was praised by Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom...
, while Wilfred Rhodes
Wilfred Rhodes
Wilfred Rhodes was an English professional cricketer who played 58 Test matches for England between 1899 and 1930. In Tests, Rhodes took 127 wickets in and scored 2,325 runs, becoming the first Englishman to complete the double of 1,000 runs and 100 wickets in Test matches...
, writing in England, believed that Leyland ought to become Sutcliffe's regular opening partner. Wyatt was dismissed soon afterwards, hitting a poor shot to mid off where Richardson held the catch. He said later that he should have hit the ball for four instead of getting out. He had scored 78 in 164 minutes from 176 balls. Jardine believed it was the best innings Wyatt had played, showing a more adventurous approach than usual for Wyatt and praised his driving, as well as his more familiar cuts and hooks. Jardine wrote that it was "a truly excellent display at a critical time". Wisden noted that Leyland and Wyatt "if enjoying a certain amount of luck, batted, in the circumstances, uncommonly well". The score was 6/196 and the innings was in danger of collapse. Australia took the new 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...
with the score at 200. 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...
held the innings together until the close of play, scoring 25 runs, using good footwork to attack Grimmett. However, after twice cutting Stan McCabe
Stan McCabe
Stanley Joseph McCabe was an Australian cricketer who played 39 Test matches for Australia from 1930 to 1938. A short, stocky right-hander,...
for four, Gubby Allen was 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) to Grimmett for 15 at 7/228. England reached the close of play at 7/236 with Verity on five. Jardine praised the bowling of Wall on the first day, but noted that by the final session, he was too tired to be effective.
14 January: Day Two
The second day's was watched by a record Adelaide OvalAdelaide Oval
The Adelaide Oval is a sports ground in Adelaide, South Australia, located in the parklands between the Central Business District and North Adelaide...
crowd of 50,962. Before play began, Paynter had been shaken when, en route to the cricket ground, an assailant knocked him to the floor before running away. Nevertheless, he and Verity resumed their overnight partnership and batted until lunch. Paynter frequently stretched forward to smother the spin bowling of O'Reilly and was not troubled by Grimmett. He was able to score by hitting the ball into the covers, while Verity concentrated on defence apart from a drive through point off Ironmonger. Both men looked to take quick runs as the fielders moved in to gather the ball. The only dangers came when Paynter slipped and Fingleton missed a chance to run him out when his throw missed the stumps, and Verity edged the ball past O'Reilly, standing too close at slip, from the bowling of Ironmonger. By the first interval of the day, the overnight batsmen had added 79 in the morning session, taking the total to 7/315.
A short ball from Wall removed Paynter for 77 when the Lancastrian tried to pull and was caught behind square leg. He received an excellent reception from the crowd and had added 96 with Verity. Wall then bowled Voce, who moved too far across the pitch and left his leg stump exposed, and had Verity caught by Richardson after scoring 45 in two-and-a-half hours. The English innings ended at 341, a substantial recovery after the poor start. Wall had figures of five wickets for 72 (5/72), while O'Reilly had bowled 50 overs two wickets. Jardine was disappointed that Larwood and Voce did not extend the innings, conscious that England now faced a long session of fielding as tea was taken between the innings.
Woodfull now opened Australia's batting with Jack Fingleton. Fingleton did not last long. Jardine believed that he, along wth Richardson and McCabe, was showing an increasing mastery over Bodyline. However, Jardine had noted that Fingleton had shown some uncertainty outside his off-stump against 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...
during his innings of 83 at Melbourne. He now used Allen, bowling into the wind, to attack Fingleton. In Allen's second over, Fingleton was dismissed for a duck, touching a ball which was caught behind by Ames. Bradman now came to the middle, to an excellent reception.
Meanwhile, Larwood was surprised to find that he was making the ball swing into Woodfull, instead of away from right handers as he usually did. Larwood bowled the third over of the innings; the fifth ball narrowly missed Woodfull's head. The final ball was short and on the line of middle stump and struck Woodfull over the heart. The batsman dropped his bat and staggered away holding his chest and bent over in pain. The England players surrounded Woodfull to offer sympathy but the crowd began to protest noisily. Jardine called to Larwood: "Well bowled, Harold!" Although the comment was aimed at unnerving Bradman, Woodfull was appalled. Play was briefly delayed while Woodfull recovered and continued once it was certain he could carry on. Larwood's over had ended and Woodfull did not face the bowling of Allen in the next over. However, when Larwood was ready to bowl at Woodfull again, play was again halted. Subsequently, Jardine claimed that Larwood requested a field change, Larwood said that Jardine had done so. The fielders were moved into Bodyline positions, causing the crowd to protest and call abuse at the England team, even more so than when Woodfull was hit. Many commentators condemned the alteration of the field as unsporting, and the spectators became extremely volatile from anger. They viewed it as hitting a man when he was down. Mass hooting and jeering occurred after almost every ball. Some English players later expressed fears that a large-scale riot and that the police would not be able to stop the irate home crowd, who were worried that Woodfull or Bradman could be killed, from attacking them. Jardine, although writing that Woodfull could have retired hurt if he was unfit, later expressed his regret at making the field change at that moment. It is likely that Jardine wished to press home his team's advantage in the match, while the Bodyline field was usually employed at that stage of an innings.
Shortly afterwards, a delivery from Larwood knocked Woodfull's bat from his hands and the Australian captain seemed unsettled. Two quick wickets fell before Ponsford joined Woodfull in the middle, but having been struck by short balls several more times, Woodfull was bowled by Allen for 22, having batted for an hour and a half. Vic Richardson
Vic Richardson
Victor York Richardson OBE was a leading Australian sportsman of the 1920s and 1930s, captaining the Australian cricket team and the South Australian Australian rules football team, representing Australia in baseball and South Australia in golf, winning the South Australian state tennis title and...
replaced him at the crease. When an injury to Voce required a request for a doctor, many in the crowd believed it was Woodfull who required assistance, leading to a renewal of protest.
At the other end, Bradman was trying to defend stoutly with a straight bat over the ball, but with extra bounce, Larwood was causing the vertically-challenger Bradman difficulty. Bradman was unable to keep one defensive shot down and it flew to Allen at short leg. Bradman was out for eight and McCabe came in at 2/18. McCabe felt that there was too much bounce for vertical-bat defensive shots to be effective and he tried to counterattack like he had in Sydney. On this occasion, he mistimed a hook from Larwood and was caught by Jardine at midwicket for eight.
Australia were 3/34 when Bill Ponsford
Bill Ponsford
William Harold "Bill" Ponsford MBE was an Australian cricketer. Usually playing as an opening batsman, he formed a successful and long-lived partnership opening the batting for Victoria and Australia with Bill Woodfull, his friend and state and national captain...
came in to join his Victorian captain.
Woodfull battled it out for 89 minutes, collecting more bruises before Allen bowled him for 22, leaving the score at 4/51. Later in the day, the English team manager Pelham Warner visited the Australian dressing room to express his sympathies to Woodfull. Woodfull had remained calm in public, refusing to complain about Jardine's tactics. Woodfull's abrupt response was meant to be private, but it was leaked
Adelaide leak
The Adelaide leak was the revelation of a dressing-room incident which occurred during the third Test match of the 1932–33 Ashes series between Australia and England, more commonly known as the Bodyline series. During the course of play on 14 January 1933, the Australian Test captain Bill Woodfull...
to the press and became the most famous quotation of this tumultuous period in cricket history:
Woodfull reportedly added "This game is too good to be spoilt. It's time some people got out of it", hinting that he might withdraw his team from competition in protest. Australia's Leo O'Brien
Leo O'Brien
For the former US congressman from New York, see Leo W. O'BrienFor the former Wisconsin politician, see Leo P. O'BrienLeo Patrick Joseph O'Brien was an Australian cricketer who played in 5 Tests from 1932 to 1936.He attended both Xavier College and St Patrick's College, Ballarat....
later reported that Warner was close to tears following Woodfull's rebuke.
Ponsford was hit all over his back and shoulders because of his strategy of turning away and shielding his bat from the possibility of yielding a catch, and Australian wicketkeeper 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....
was struck a severe blow to the head while batting on the third day of the match, causing a fracture. While the crowd again showed their rage, Woodfull came onto the ground to help Oldfield back to the dressing room. As a result of the injuries, the costs of insurance cover for players doubled. During the fifth day's play the Australian Board of Control for International Cricket
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...
sent the following cable to the MCC in London:
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...
warned the Australian Board of the severe economic hardships that could result 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.
In the meantime, the second innings in Adelaide saw England set Australia a near-impossible 532 for victory; even today, the highest successful Test run chase is 418. Australia lost its first wicket at three when 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...
was bowled
Bowled
Bowled is a method of dismissing a batsman in the sport of cricket. This method of dismissal is covered by Law 30 of the Laws of cricket.A batsman is out bowled if his wicket is put down by a ball delivered by the bowler...
by Larwood. Woodfull was joined by Bradman, who played in an unorthodox counterattacking method, before being dismissed for 66. Woodfull continued on to score an unbeaten 73, carrying his bat as his teammates capitulated around him. Australia was eventually all out for 193, with Oldfield unable to bat due to his fractured skull.