Harold Larwood

[rohanmarkjay]

He disliked the fact that the sole reason Aussies disliked him was because he came across as a very Posh English gentleman rather than respect him as the very fine cricketer that he was. So I think he had a bit of beef, with the Australian cricket establishment, the Aussie cricket team and the Crowds.So he was prepared to use extreme tactics in order to win.Today stil Aussies paint Jardine as some sort of Hollywood villain.WHen I think in reality he was quite a humble, reserved friendly person.

[mcnesta80]

@rohanmarkjay Jardine....humble?...Next thing you'll be telling us Bradman was a team man. Have you ever read anything about these people?

[rohanmarkjay]

@mcnesta80 Hey you didn't live in the period described further more you don't know Jardine personally. Of course Bradman was a team man. If he wasn't I don't think the rest of the Aussie team would be happy playing under him.As far as I know Bradman was a bit reserved,but popular with his team mates.Jardine is made out to be some kind of evil person in Aus.He is just a cricketer playing a sport.Personally I don't agree with Jardine's bodyline tactics, because of the danger to players.

[mcnesta80]

@rohanmarkjay Mate, that wasn't the case with Bradman. There was a Catholic/Protestant split in the Aussie team in that period. If you believe Tiger O'Reilly it was Bradman's snobbery that caused it. In any case, he certainly wasn't universally liked by the people who played with him. I don't think Jardine would even describe himself as humble. You're right, I wasn't there. Funny thing is...I can read.

[rohanmarkjay]

@mcnesta80 Personally I don't agree with Jardine's bodyline tactics, because of the extreme danger to player safety. There was little protection for batsman in those days, it would have been a real tragedy if someone became disabled for life or killed as a result. It would seem Jardine was totally determined to win at all costs. Unfortunately the spirit of the game was compromised. That said aussies have no right to judge what type of human being jardine was. He was only a Cricketer.

[mcnesta80]

@rohanmarkjay See, that's also where we differ. I don't like leg theory because it's negative cricket. Intimidatory short bowling is ok, as long as the danger is offset by the chance to score. With Bodyline, it was get hit or get out, that's not cricket.

[rohanmarkjay]

@mcnesta80 Glad to hear that you can read. Like I said I don't agree with the tactics used, with little protection in those days. Its a miracle no Aussie players weren't seriously injured or worse. From what I gather about Jardine he seemed to be your typical middle class Englishman of that era. Also it was a very long time ago a different era. Still thanks to the infamous Bodyline. Cricket in the 1930s have reached a mythic status through history. Even an Aussie tv drama was made.

[rohanmarkjay]

@mcnesta80 I see your point about negative cricket, from a spectator point of view yes. However it was a positive though seriously deadly tactic to life and limb from Jardine's point of view. He knew he was possibly facing a 5-0 defeat with a brilliant aussie team.I guess he didn't want to be humiliated. Personally I can't think of anything more negative than the threat to an Aussie cricketers life and limb.Yes we do differ.To me cricket is just a game not worth losing your life over.

[TheFreeForever]

Hmm........

His release point reminds me of Amir's action!

[sdeb82]

beastly bowling - this reminds of the lillee-thomson era - wonder how his pace compares to either of them.

[jagdpanther1944]

The new movie, "Fire in babylon"....I hope the producers and Michael Holding watch THIS!!!

[zzippyman1]

A run-in like a cheetah, with such a wonderfully smooth action considering the energy being put into the delivery - as terrifying now as it must've been then. Adrenalin's brown for sure...

[xxxTHEHORRORS123xxx]

im related to him

[ashliski]

That ould put me off idf the ump was staring at me all the way through my run up

[nphanlon1973]

and jardine called out;'well bowled harold' as Oldfield went down.greatest sledge of all time.

[irishgodfatherchris]

@nphanlon1973 that isn't a sledge, a sledge is a snide comment made either to the batsman or a fellow fielder.

[jhfh3112]

Remember kids: When Lillee bowls at someone's face, it's fantastic bowling, the peak of combining Australian machismo with phenomenal skill. When Larwood does it, it's cheating.

[1137moiz]

@jhfh3112 Haha well said, Larwood was brilliant and Bodyline a very clever tactic. Shame most Aussies barring Ian Chappell don't recognize it

[rohanmarkjay]

@1137moiz Yeah I agree, I think most English Cricket Captains in the 20th century before helmets were introduced wouldn't have used bodyline. However Jardine was up against a very good Australian cricket team. With the Don in their team. Unlike a lot of English sportsman Douglas Jardine was a very competitive guy who like Ian Botham absolutely hated losing to the Australians as much as the Aussies hated losing to the English. Plus I think he was given a rough time by the Aussies.

[DoctorScrumpy]

Ndeither this ball nor the one that hit Woodfull were leg-theory bowling, but normal fast bowling.

[irishgodfatherchris]

@DoctorScrumpy true but it was clear that Larwood was intending to hit Woodfull with that delivery which is incredibly unsporting

[oshawaxpress]

@irishgodfatherchris - no, his intention was to make batsman find a method of playing the deliveries or getting out of the way, options which are still applicable today with regard to any pace bowler v. batsman confrontation.

Fast bowling is supposed to be scary and you might get hit, it goes with the territory. What do you think a well-aimed bouncer is going to do to you if you don't hook it or get out of its way?

[irishgodfatherchris]

@oshawaxpress a bouncer is once in a while bowl, bodyline was doing that every ball, with no protection

[andy123387]

my great Uncle, a slightly better bowler than me.

[widlad7]

@andy123387 and less of a bullshitter!

[andy123387]

@widlad7 Yeah, I would really Lie about somthing like that, im so sad and pathetic.

[mymentor]

The apocryphal legend that his knuckles dragged against the dirt don't ring true from this footage.

Beautiful action nonetheless.

[Imrankniazi]

The run-up and the back bending at the delivery tells me this man would have been bowling monstrously fast.

Clearly someone who can average 57 in a series against bowling like this on uncovered pitches, with laughably sub-standard protective equipment is no ordinary batsman. That, to me, is the zenith of how far a mortal batsman can go!

[swapswap2007]

this clip suggests the speed of 145-150kph, at least...what say?

[Biggus63]

@swapswap2007 -Hard to say my good man. If Don Bradman reckoned was slippery I'd be inclined to agree with him. Given that I suspect Larwood's quicker stuff must have been 150+. It's a really sweet action-almost as liquid as Ray Lindwall's but with a higher arm release. Either way, too quick for me. I faced Dennis Lillee once and he was just rolling his arm over by his standards and that was way quick. I can assure you I wasn't smiling!

[swapswap2007]

@Biggus63...wow...i wld like to repeat a comment by sme1 here..."Unimaginable how these batsmen could muster the guts to stand there so nonchalantly after a 150km/hr missile just passed so close that they could smell it."

[Biggus63]

@swapswap2007 -Agreed! In my experience you know it's starting to get quick when you can hear a whistling/fizzing sound as the ball comes towards you. I was only 15 or 16 when I faced DK and I reckon I almost browned my pants. I was scared, no lie!

[Debbiebabe69]

Oldfield who had been batting splendidly 'bit the dust' in this little duel.

Why cant modern commentators use language like that? imagine that Arsenal game 'thats a hard tackle and Eduardo bites the dust'!

[johnnybriggs118]

I think people are mixing up kph and mph. In his biography Larwood was measured at 89 mph on radar at an airfield but he was bowling on concrete and wearing sandshoes. Clearly there is more to fast bowling than just mph. As far as I know Michael Holding was never measured but he was fast enough! Lets not reduce cricket to a weeing up the wall contest.

[Donlong61]

The MCC should make a posthumous app[ology to Harold Larwoods family for the way Harold was treated on his return home.

[DoctorScrumpy]

Neither of the balls that hit Woodfull or Oldfield were bodyline. Even Oldfield admitted he had tried to hook a fast ball and gotten it wrong.

[tonystork]

and because its bowled from a white man it is not considerd chucking, look at the damn arm

[duncandohnut1993]

@tonystork that's about as straight as an arm can go

[tomodude6542]

Harold Larwood was so upset with what he did, he never wanted to play for England again.

[zanky81]

@tomodude6542 It wasn't what he did it was more the treatment the mcc took against him and douglas jardine. Read harold larwood by duncan hamilton or the larwood story by the man himself.

[Biggus63]

@zanky81 -All too true! They treated him so poorly he emigrated to Australia and we were glad to have him. He was a top bloke and an absolute star.

[rohanmarkjay]

@Biggus63 He emigrated not because he was treated poorly. But because he was from the working class north of England. England had just been through a devastating world war against the Nazis. There was rationing, things were tough. Meanwhile things in Australia were quite rosy. Because WW2 only came to Darwin for one day. Plus it was fashionable at the time for thousand of Brits to migrate to Australia as the Ozzie Govt actively wanted white Brits.

[Biggus63]

@rohanmarkjay -You don't know what you're talking about, and you can fuck off with the attitude too kid. I quite like the English, but you're plainly an arsehole.

[rohanmarkjay]

@Biggus63 So that is the reason. Australia was and I think still is a popular destination for working class Brits. You Aussies would take any dam opportunity to put England down. England isn't perfect. but one thing is for sure neither is Australia. As an English citizen, I say to Aussies like you who have digs at us. TO Fuck Off!

If you call me a POM I will call you a fucking kangaroo or worse. So drop the name calling OK Ozzie? Learn some manners.

[Biggus63]

@rohanmarkjay -You're plainly not a Pom anyway but actually an Indian, it's clear as day. The English themselves are more laid back than yourself and your self-righteous indignation is a dead give away. Indian for sure. If you want to fit in over there you'll need to develop a sense of humour, something the English have but which is notably missing in Indians, it would seem.

[rohanmarkjay]

@Biggus63 your right I am indian how did you guess?

[rohanmarkjay]

@Biggus63 Anyway I have nothing against you aussies. Generally Aussies are a nice bunch of people. When I was in Melbourne there were a lot of rude arrogant people. They were quite proud of their wealth and high standard of living in Aus and melbourne, then again you get rude arrogant people everywhere. Its called human nature I guess. I have met a lot of nice Aussie people too over there. Sorry if I didn't mean to offend any Aussies, you are an alright bunch.

[TheMaverickanupam]

How can people say tendulkar is better than don when don faced all of this without the equipment of today on uncovered concrete hard pitches!!! baffles me

[Led1995Zeppelin]

people say that he could bowl at 130mph i can't believe that

[mcdelive]

@Led1995Zeppelin may be they on about 130kph... Would u believe that..?

[Led1995Zeppelin]

@mcdelive it's not my dad has got a book about him and they say he could bowl 130mph, but i doubt he could anyway 130kph isn't even 90mph

[ihamoitc2005]

What a beautiful action. Ideal fast bowler.

[smilerbwfc]

Take a look at that bloody umpire, trying to put Harold off or what!!

[TheMaverickanupam]

@smilerbwfc-i think backfoot no ball rule was prevalent at that time!!

[KyokushinStudent]

lovely run-up and flowing bowling action. would have been a feared pace bowler in any era.

[FolkieMacc]

Dennis Lillee, even after injury when he dropped his pace in the '80s, combined grace and athleticism with nagging accuracy...and he gave autographs on the boundary!

[jagdpanther1944]

I just love seeing the aussies get hit.....they reckon Jardine only used him in 3 over spells.....jardine just said to him...."bowl as fast as you can and hit the motherfuckers" (or words to that effect....probably didn't say that up at Oxford)

[tom8fallon8]

haha yeah.

[treevor921]

0:11 That is a loading position of massive potential. The full "bow". Great to watch :-)

[Sanath340]

larwood and lindwall have very similar actions.

[tom8fallon8]

immense bowler pure class

[timechannel]

All Old Guys love it when you give respect to those guys from the pre-war days .. so little footage ..it's priceless. If Brett Lee isn't there at his best it devalues the series..coz we want to see the best against the best !!!!!!

[grahamcooksie]

Tell me if you have ever seen a more graceful approach or finer action for delivering raw pace...only lillee and holding compare..

[cleaverwielder]

If you ever get a chance to, watch Ray Lindwall bowling. He wasn't as good a bowler but in terms of grace and aethestically pleasing action he was better than Lillee.

[timechannel]

NO Lol rules as we have said so many times.. my Dad & his Bro would support this as Bridgers..would love to have seen Jack Gregory and McDonald

[shaikeleyas]

@grahamcooksie- Michael holding can................to me he had the greatest bowling action.

[samsharpeye]

Watch alan donald vs mike atherton VERY SIMILAR

[stellaviolens]

Lovely bowler and what a result !  I wish the media companies back then had filmed more of Larwood for the later generations to enjoy.

[grahamcooksie]

Everything about his action is beautiful...looks really muscular and powerful

[timechannel]

I thought Darren Gough had all the possibities to become a "Great"..loved his speed to the crease and a super action..oh well !!

[grahamcooksie]

gough was good fun but i dont think he ever gave batsmen nightmares and sleepless nights in the way the likes of larwood , tyson and holding would have

[Imrankniazi]

This man is greased lightning. And his approach to the wicket is beautiful and rhytmic as well.

Any idea whether he was quicker than Snow, Willis, Tyson or other really fast English bowlers?

[bigmickey737]

definately snow and willis, not sure about tyson.

[Ada0690]

You talk about 2 Era's all of you. Bradman back in his Day played Mainly England, but Not as many games they play now days. But Bradman was in that day a Class of his Own. u look how he compared to all others back then. Sure Tendulker and Lara are Fantastic, but There was not such a Gap between them 2 and evreyone else. These days also. Tactics are bigger. Game is Faster. and the Technical side of batting and bowling as well as fielding has changed. You Cannot Compare the 2 Era's

[timechannel]

Ada0690..Great Discussion here..I think the one big factor that has changed over the years is fielding. My Dad was lucky enough to see Don Bradman and said he could score off any ball..Don't think the Bowlers are any better or the Batsmen ..maybe the the pitches are more reliable .Warney through fitness and training (!) might get an edge over O'Reilly over 5 Days. Only difference I see.. easy runs would be more difficult in the modern Game..talking TEST Cricket. rest is irrelevant

[timechannel]

Ada0690

Has Cricket now become Baseball for non-Americans

[imluckyforyou2000]

If talk about technique and talent then just watch sachin playing some shots and you will feel that nothing can be a better way to play that shot. Who is greastest is a endless debate but bradman definetly has best statistics. Lara is legend and very tough to out in test matches but sachin is more talented and has perfetion on cricket though he imotional and lose his wicket several times due to this. like he got out between 94 to 99 about 6-7 times in 2007.

[Playtechy]

Suchin is a great batsman; but you have to see the era, and the teachings available for that era.

Bradman's techneque was many many decades before it's time

His eye for the ball could never be matched

Suchin's techneque is inevative, but Bradman's for his era was extraordinary.

[StuartMB68]

You are right in what you say here but for me, you couldn't put too much between Tendulkar and Bradman. Yes Bradman could have played today's more professional game and I reckon he still would have averaged well into the 60's or maybe 70's.

[MAAZHUNTR84]

Very true. In fact, I feel Bradman would have averaged even higher in this era than he had previously due to the numerous advantages that batsmen have these days. Flat pitches, helmets, chest guards, thigh guards, and bowling machines would have easily separated the likes of Bradman from the mere mortals (Tendulkar, Lara, Ponting, etc...) had he played today.

[townstreet]

As has been said already, Larwood was not bowling to a Leg Side Field when these incidents occurred, but to a conventional field setting. The problem was that as soon as the batsmen had been hit, Jardine ordered Larwood to bowl Bodyline. Jardine was the villain of the piece, not Larwood.

[mkeysou812]

i agree with birtles20, the treatment they received was appalling. larwood was miles ahead of his time - he alone looked like a true champion fast bowler back then, determined to bowl lightning fast and intimidate the batsmen. unfortunately, cry baby aussies and wussy english establishment curtailed the career of a true genius of fast bowling

[timechannel]

Only Michael Holding had a better action than HL

My Dad & my Uncle Don were regulars at the Bridge - never seen anyone faster. But they saw Bradman bat.. they say absolutely no one can touch him. The "Don" is probably the superior king of his sport of all time

[mkeysou812]

no doubt about the don being that! was that at trent bridge? would love to have seen larwood bowl, the grainy black and whites don't do him justice. ray lindwall had a similar action, but larwood is my pick of the oldies, possibly because of all the controversy surrounding him. it's such a shame bodyline ended his test career, the english establishment has a lot to answer for sometimes. they did the same thing to trueman

[timechannel]

If only we had film of players like Jack Gregory and Armstrong .Lindwall was a superb bowler and I've seen some old footage of him but I've never seen Keith Miller bowl or bat .. probably made Botham look like a little kiddie from what I've heard

[mkeysou812]

haha maybe, but the images of botham hooking lillee from off his nose for 6 (without a helmet!) is hard to argue with. on his day botham was sublime. would love to have seen jack hobbs as well

[bond2121]

Miller is the 2nd best all rounder ever after Sobers.

[azarimanka]

haha this taught them

[Birtles20]

Harold Larwood a true Notts hero!! I can't beleive what they have done to Larwood and Voce they should of left it how it was.

[WINFIELD120]

stinking nz pigs

[WINFIELD120]

CHRIS KAHUI IS INNOCENT NZ POLICE

[cavalier080854]

According to the book 'Bodyline Autopsy' Oldfield was hit on the temple, where he had a steel plate fitted after an injury at Gallipoli!

[reknawfiend]

I came here to enjoy some good old fashioned Aussie vitriol and all I find is some good natured speculation and banter. Poor show.

[ludocrat]

Er, yes, but Larwood was not bowling bodyline in this test. Woodfall top edged a shortish one onto his head, a la the Malcolm Marshall and Gatting's nose incident in the Windies in '86. Woodfall said 'My fault' afterwards (as did Gatting). The Aussie TV series, 'Bodyline' of '85 (which I love, btw) misrepresents this encounter badly.

I'm going now to see if I can get a life.

[mymentor]

This particular ball wasn't utilising leg-theory, but Larwood certainly did bowl bodyline in this test. This is the (in)famous 3rd test of 32/33, probably the most famous single test match ever played. Both of the 'hits' occurred with convential tactics.  The major inciting incident came after Woodfull was hit, and Jardine reverted to a leg-theory field the next ball.

[ludocrat]

I certainly wasn't aware of that...thanks. And I made another mistake - it was Oldfield who was hit on his noodle (you are predictably right about that too). Mind you, I was working from my faulty memory of reading EW Swanton's "Sort of a Cricket Person", oh, 20 years ago? I'll check my 'facts' more carefully in future!

[BigFreaks]

Yes, it was Bill. I know a fair bit about the Bodyline series, so if this wasn't Bill Woodfall, then he got hit some other time.

[mymentor]

It wasn't Woodfull, it was Bert Oldfield. His skull was fractured and he missed the next test. This was simply a very good bumper, not part of 'leg theory', and Oldfield held no grudge; in fact Larwood and Oldfield became very good friends later in life.

[mrsmash1]

i believe the guy who was hit was bill woodfall, not sure on the comentator.....

[Mocickafamily]

The dude got hit in the temple and im not sure if that was "The Don" talking

[isura21]

who was the batsmen? what happened to him?

[ludocrat]

He was killed instantly.

I jest. He had a fractured skull and a bit of a headache, as one would expect!

[7df32mm5]

owned

[Adidabest]

I love watching these classic clips, thanks for uploading.

[thelonedissenter]

wow- whose voice was this? the Don himself?

[Silverchair84]

that wasn't don's voice.