CRICKET, LOVELY CRICKET

1. Was Larwood villain or victim of the infamous Bodyline Series that threatened the breakdown of Anglo-Australian relations?

2. British barbarism, kept under wraps of surface civilisation, shows up at critical moments. Bodyline, devised to check Bradman, was an instance in point.

3. Jardine in Bodyline epitomised what was otherwise the official policy of the British, conquest and keeping of colony at any cost.

4. The architect of the opposition's mental disintegration, Steve Waugh should have learnt lessons of history from Bill Woodfull, epitome of the cricketing spirit.

5. Bodyline aimed at hitting the batsman rather the stump, yet, MCC maintained it was legitimate till it recoiled on England.

6. Was Bodyline a one-off case, the perverse attempt to neutralise Bradman, or was it proof of characteristic British brutality?

7. This red cherry hurled at 100 mi/h to a packed leg-side field is a killer machine. This missile can deal the batsman a death-blow. Fast, short and accurate bowling aimed at the body was conventional leg-theory transformed into notorious 'Bodyline'.

In the 1930 Ashes Series in England Don Bradman had pulverised the English bowling with a record series aggregate of 974 runs. Australia had won the series and taken the Ashes home. The English despaired if they could at all recover the Ashes so long as the Don played.

Douglas Jardine, born in Bombay, a child of the Raj, was sent to England at the age of 10 to pursue academics and cricket. The boy grew up to be the man of destiny who would alter the course of cricket and remain maligned as the architect of Bodyline.

Harold Larwood, a Nottinghamshire coal-miner, was to be Jardine's bowling machine, hurling the red cherry at 100 mi/h, fast and accurate, short at the body.

In London's Piccadilly Hotel Jardine, Arthur Carr and Larwood met to discuss strategy for the up-coming Ashes Series of 1932-33. Jardine recalled Bradman's discomfort in facing Larwood for a brief while at the 1930 Oval Test. Percy Fender's video footage revealed the chink in the Don's armoury. Bradman, disbalanced by a Larwood snorter after a shower had made the pitch uneven, had revealed to the hawk-eyed Jardine future goals. The object would be to neutralise Bradman by persistent short bowling at the body to packed leg-side field. It would be classical leg-theory modified into aggressive mould, not so much to contain but to get batsmen out.

Soon Voce and Bowes were inducted to serve Jardine's plan and the battery was bolstered to five fast bowlers including Allen and Tate, Larwood being the pick of them all.

Meanwhile, Lord Harris who had held Douglas from his boyhood days in affection, got Percy Fender to resign captaincy of Surrey. He got Jardine selected as the Surrey skipper and thereon as skipper for the 1932-33 Ashes tour of Australia as well.

8. Do the Aussies think they can abuse with impunity on a cricket field which they term sledging?