The Bodyline Series – Ashes 1932

The Bodyline Series – Ashes 1932

Sports Articles | September 20, 2013

The Ashes Test Cricket Series stirs up person of the greatest rivalries in merriment between England and Australia.

No trip has ever been more controversial than the to such a degree called 'Bodyline' tour when England travelled to Australia at the cessation of 1932.

'Bodyline' refers to a cricketing tactic adopted means of the English largely to counteract the beyond belief batting of Australia's opening batsman, Dan Bradman. Bradman had already scored an astonishing 974 runs in the earlier journey of England in 1930. A batting medium of 139.14 and an heap up total record that still stands to this set time.

Despite this incredible performance, English captain, Douglas Jardine has noticed that Bradman was miserable facing deliveries which bounced higher than prevailing at a faster pace and appropriately or wrongly Jardine had begun to dispute Bradman's nerve.

Jardine, together by his fast bowlers, Harold Larwood and Bill Voce formulated a method to pitch the ball short and stead at the leg stump. The tenor of which would be to scud the ball up into the Batsman corpse if he failed to play a marksman.

Together with an inspired field placing Jardine reasoned that this would lessen the batsman's offensive strokes to footing and hooking, risking a catch put the boundaries or being hit on the head by the ball allowing that they missed the hook.

Not surprisingly this highly aggressive tactic brought howls of attest in the Australian media and Jardine was widely pilloried. This was not helped through his own arrogant attitude and liable dislike for all things down in the state.

England won the tour 4 – 1 to reobtain The Ashes but not before the pilgrimage had become a full blown diplomatic occurrence between the two countries. That severe rivalry remains to this day.