The Bodyline Tour: 1932-33 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Douglas Jardine

Jardine was a ruthless captain in an era when the spirit in which sport was played was important. He was a strong-willed and haughty individual who apparently hated Australians, and did nothing to hide his feelings of dislike. The views of his own side were mixed: while many were extremely loyal towards him, others such as the Nawab of Pataudi did not support his methods.

Answer: They thought it was the only way to stop Australia's star batsman

Jardine thought it was the only way to defeat an Australian side that included probably the greatest batsman ever - Donald Bradman. Bodyline or 'leg theory' involved bowling very fast and short on the general line of the batsman's body. The batsman had a choice: try to hit the ball and risk being caught out by fielders on the leg side, or risk taking a painful hit on the body. Jardine decided to use this tactic on the basis of a theory that Bradman was frightened of short-pitched bowling.

Answer: Nottinghamshire

Larwood, Voce, and Bill Bowes of Yorkshire used the tactic to varying degrees, although Larwood was the main bodyline bowler. He was generally regarded as one of the fastest bowlers of his era. This, and his exceptional level of control made him the ideal bowler for bodyline tactics. One England fast bowler, George 'Gubby' Allen, refused to bowl bodyline.

Answer: Stanley McCabe

Stan McCabe produced his magnificent innings in the first Test, when Bradman was absent through illness. He batted against Larwood and the other England bowlers for just over 4 hours and scored 25 boundaries.

Answer: An accident caused by Oldfield edging the ball towards his face.

Oldfield's injury was actually caused when he edged a ball that had been bowled outside the off-stump, and he admitted that it had been an accident. Bill Woodfull was also hurt during the match, again from a ball bowled on the offside. However, Jardine employed bodyline bowling during this match and public anger was such that the crowd was still incensed by these injuries and blamed them on Jardine's tactics.

Answer: unsportsmanlike

This raised a few hackles at the governing body of English Cricket, the Marylebone Cricket Club or MCC, and was a tactical error by the Australian Board of Control. They may have had reason to complain to the MCC but their choice of words was always likely to cause a defensive reaction from the MCC.

However, the laws of cricket were changed a few years later to eliminate bodyline bowling.

Answer: Harlequins

Jardine studied at Oxford, and generally wore the cap of the 'wandering club' associated with the university, rather than an England cap. I Zingari and Free Foresters are also wandering clubs, while Surrey is the English county team that Jardine played for.

Answer: Ian Chappell

Richardson was the grandfather of Ian, Greg, and Trevor Chappell. Ian and Greg both captained Australia, while Trevor's international career is perhaps best remembered for a controversial final delivery against New Zealand.

Answer: Harold Larwood

Larwood never played for England again after the Bodyline series ended, and later moved to Sydney with his wife and five daughters. He was readily accepted by former opponents and the general public in Australia.

Answer: He was there to report on the match

After the bodyline tour, Jardine was retained as captain for series against New Zealand, West Indies and India. In the 2nd Test in 1933, the West Indian bowlers Martindale and Constantine used bodyline tactics against England. The fiercely competitive Jardine accepted this challenge, and managed to produce his highest-ever test score - 127.