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Harold Larwood: scapegoat of English cricket |
The Titan from the pits who took the fall for England
HAROLD LARWOOD.
By Duncan Hamilton Quercus £20.
HE walks away from the crease with the ball gripped menacingly in his right hand. The England bowler turns, and in the distance he can see the fear in the eyes of the awaiting Australian batsman.
It is a familiar sight for the crowds at the Oval today (Thursday), who are hoping to watch Andrew Flintoff lead England to victory over Australia in the Ashes.
But it was some 77 years earlier that the intense rivalry between the two nations was really ignited when Harold Larwood went from being a Titan in English cricket to scapegoat almost over night.
Standing just shy of 5’8” feet and weighing less than 11 stone, Larwood would seem like a child among giants in today’s Test match. Flintoff himself is a towering 6’3” feet.
What Larwood lacked in height, however, he made up for in speed and accuracy as he established himself as the world’s fastest bowler – particularly after “a couple of pints” sharpened his appetite.
In a new biography, author Duncan Hamilton’s magnetic style of writing comprehensively explains how the former Nottinghamshire pit boy became a working-class hero. Hamilton also sets the record straight on the infamous Ashes Test series in 1932-1933, which led to Larwood being betrayed by his country.
Trying to combat the batting phenomenon that was Don Bradman, England captain Douglas Jardine adopted a tactic known as Bodyline.
Larwood was instructed to bowl at the bodies of the Australian batsmen, with the goal of forcing them to defend their bodies with their bats, thus providing easy catches. The tactic ignited a diplomatic row that almost brought Anglo-Australian relations to the brink of collapse.
Larwood was asked by the MCC to apologies for his aggressive bowling style, but he refused, saying that he had simply obeyed instructions.
The man dubbed the Terror of the Shires would never play for England again, and frustrated and depressed, he emigrated – ironically to Australia.
STEVE BARNETT |
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