During a visit to Australia, British comedian Sid James hides behind a wall to make sport of the fierce bowling technique Australians used at the time to terrorise cricketing nations. (Photo, circa 1972.)
“Bodyline” was a ruthless cricket tactic originally devised by the English cricket team in the 1930’s Ashes series to try and counter their “Bradman” problem.Â
As explained in an Australian television series about the since-banned bowling method:Â
‘The technique involved bowling the ball directly at the batsman’s body, resulting in many of the Australian team receiving injuries, with batsman Bert Oldfield sustaining a cracked skull and creating much anger and resentment towards the English team within Australia.’
After the controversial 1932-33 Ashes tour of Australia, short-pitched fast bowling persisted but was no longer called Bodyline due to rule changes.
In the mid ’70s, proponents of the “bouncer”, Aussie cricketer Denis Lillee and fellow paceman Jeff Thomson, became:
‘… the most feared bowling pairing of the era and inflicted great damage on England: rattling the tourists’ batters in the 1974-75 series in Australia…’
Today, the Ashes is still just as keenly contested.
**This photograph is part of an IA series that looks at Australia through the lens of award-winning photojournalist Bill McAuley.**
Bill McAuley‘s 40-plus-year news career began in 1969 as a cadet photographer at ‘The Age’ in Melbourne.
He has several published collections, including ‘Portraits of the Soul: A lifetime of images with Bill McAuley’ and ‘Last light on Victoria Dock, 1999‘. To see more from Bill, click here.
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