Sir DONALD BRADMAN
Englands Counter – Bodyline
With Bradman dominating the game so much, England devised a new tactic for their next encounter which is now known as ‘Bodyline’. The bodyline tactic, involved the bowler pitching the ball in line with the batsman’s legs, while placing all the fielders on the same leg side to make it difficult for the batsmen to score. This was combined with planting the ball earlier on the pitch which allows the ball to bounce much higher especially on the harder Australian pitches. It was quiet a dangerous delivery as the ball would often target the head and in those days helmets were not used. Bradman missed the first Test but returned in the second Test only to go out for a duck (zero) in the first innings. The record crowd were stunned into silence as Bradman walked off the ground. The second innings saw him make 103 to help Australia even the series 1-1.
During the third Test at Adelaide, two Australians were hit by the bouncing balls which sparked a major falling out between the two countries. The continuation of the series saw exchanges of angry cables between the administrators in both countries. Eventually, England continued with Bodyline despite the Australian protests, and with the support of the MCC. In the end England won the last three Tests convincingly to regain the Ashes. Bradman caused great controversy with his own tactics where he employed his own tactics of backing away to hit the ball into the vacant half of the outfield with unorthodox shots reminiscent of tennis or golf. However, some commentators (and teammates) thought that it proved the theory that he didn’t handle the short delivery very well.
Bradman's Final Series
During the 1934 tour of England, Bradman fell ill with acute appendicitis, which threatened his life. Fortunately he recovered and returned home to Adelaide taking a year off cricket. Bradman returned to captain the side in 1937 where he began poorly by losing the first two Tests. In the third after failing in the first innings, he came out in the second innings and conjured up a miraculous score of 270 runs in a low scoring Test to help Australia win. From that Test Australia went on to win the series, 3-2. Bradman continued to dominate the next seasons until WW2 ceased cricket playing. He joined the army on the request of Governor-General of Australia, Lord Gowrie. He returned to cricket with the ‘Invincibles’ team who went on to win 4-0 in their series with England. He retired in 1949 playing in three testimonial games.
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