 = Bodyline = 
 
 Bodyline , also known as fast leg theory bowling , was a cricketing tactic devised by the English cricket team for their 1932 – 33 Ashes tour of Australia , specifically to combat the extraordinary batting skill of Australia 's Don Bradman . A bodyline delivery was one where the cricket ball was bowled towards the body of the batsman on the line of the leg stump , in the hope of creating leg @-@ side <unk> that could be caught by one of several fielders in the <unk> of the field behind square leg . This was considered by many to be <unk> and physically threatening , to the point of being unfair in a game once supposed to have <unk> traditions , although <unk> of the game had subsequently tended to elevate the principle of " win at all costs " above traditional ideals of <unk> . 
 Although no serious injuries arose from any short @-@ pitched deliveries while a leg theory field was set , the tactic still led to considerable ill feeling between the two teams , with the controversy eventually <unk> into the diplomatic arena . Over the next two decades , several of the Laws of Cricket were changed to prevent this tactic being repeated . Law 41 @.@ 5 states " At the instant of the bowler 's delivery there shall not be more than two fielders , other than the wicket @-@ keeper , behind the popping <unk> on the on side , " commonly referred to as being " behind square leg " . Additionally , Law 42 @.@ 6 ( a ) includes : " The bowling of fast short pitched balls is dangerous and unfair if the umpire at the bowler 's end considers that by their repetition and taking into account their length , height and direction they are likely to inflict physical injury on the striker " . 
 The occasional short @-@ pitched ball aimed at the batsman ( a <unk> ) has never been illegal and is still in widespread use as a tactic . 
 
 = = Genesis = = 
 
 The Australian cricket team toured England in 1930 . Australia won the five @-@ Test series 2 – 1 , with Don Bradman scoring <unk> runs at a batting average of 139 @.@ 14 , an aggregate record that still stands . By the time of the next Ashes series of 1932 – 33 , Bradman 's average <unk> around 100 , approximately twice that of all other world @-@ class batsmen . England feared that without <unk> to drastic tactics , they might not be able to defeat Australia until Bradman — then aged 24 — retired , something that might be over a decade away . It was believed that something new was required to combat Bradman , but it was believed more likely that Bradman could be dismissed by leg @-@ spin as Walter <unk> and Ian <unk> had supposedly caused him problems ; two leg @-@ spinners were included in the English touring party of 1932 – 33 . This view gradually came to change leading up to 1932 . 
 The idea of bodyline had originated in the Oval Test of the 1930 Ashes series . While Bradman was batting , the wicket became briefly difficult following rain . Bradman was seen to be uncomfortable facing deliveries which bounced higher than usual at a faster pace , being seen to step back out of the line of the ball . Former England player and Surrey captain Percy Fender was one who noticed , and the incident was much discussed by cricketers . However , given that Bradman scored 232 , it was not thought that a way to curb his prodigious scoring had been found . When Douglas Jardine later saw film footage of the Oval incident and noticed Bradman 's discomfort , he shouted , " I 've got it ! He 's yellow ! " Further details adding to the plan came from letters Fender received from Australia in 1932 , which described how Australian batsmen were increasingly moving across the stumps towards the off side to play the ball on the on side . Fender showed these letters to Jardine when it became clear that he was to captain MCC in Australia during the 1932 – 33 tour , and he also discussed Bradman 's discomfort at the Oval . It was also known in England that Bradman was dismissed for a four @-@ ball duck by fast bowler Eddie Gilbert , and looked very uncomfortable . Bradman had also appeared uncomfortable against the pace of Sandy Bell in his innings of <unk> not out at the Adelaide Oval in South Africa 's tour of Australia earlier in 1932 , when the desperate bowler decided to bowl short to him , and fellow South African Herbie Taylor , according to Jack Fingleton , may have mentioned this to English cricketers in 1932 . Fender felt Bradman might be vulnerable to fast , short @-@ pitched deliveries on the line of leg stump . Jardine felt that Bradman was afraid to stand his ground against <unk> bowling , citing instances in 1930 when he <unk> about , contrary to orthodox batting technique . 
 When Jardine was appointed England 's captain for the 1932 – 33 English tour of Australia , a meeting was arranged with Nottinghamshire captain Arthur Carr and his two fast bowlers Harold Larwood and Bill Voce at London 's Piccadilly Hotel to discuss a plan to combat Bradman 's extraordinary skills . Jardine asked Larwood and Voce if they could bowl on leg stump and make the ball come up into the body of the batsman . The bowlers agreed they could , and that it might prove effective . Jardine also visited Frank Foster who had toured Australia in 1911 – 12 to discuss field @-@ placing in Australia . Foster had bowled leg @-@ theory on that tour with his fielders placed close in on the leg side , as had George <unk> in 1903 – 04 . 
 A cordon of close @-@ in fielders would be <unk> behind the wicket and on the leg side to exploit batting errors elicited by this bowling line . In these circumstances , a batsman can either duck and risk being hit , or play the ball . Defensive shots rarely score runs and risk being caught in the cordon , while the pull and hook shots can result in a catch on the boundary , for which two men were usually set in " leg @-@ theory " bowling . Leg theory had been practised previously without resort to short @-@ pitched bowling , usually by slow or medium @-@ pace bowlers . This type of leg theory was aimed outside the line of leg stump ; the object being to test the batsman 's patience and force a rash stroke . It was occasionally an effective tactic , but was unattractive for spectators and never became widely used except by a handful of specialists such as Fred Root , the Worcestershire bowler and Warwick Armstrong , the former Australian captain . 
 However , there had been instances of what would later be recognised as bodyline prior to 1932 . In 1925 , Australian Jack Scott first bowled a form of bodyline in a state match for New South Wales , but his captain Herbie Collins disliked it and would not let him use it again when he was captain . Other Australian captains were less particular , including Vic Richardson who let him use those tactics when he moved to South Australia . He repeated them against the MCC in 1928 – 29 . In 1927 , in a Test trial match , " <unk> " Clark bowled short to a leg @-@ trap field . He was representing England in a side captained by Jardine . In 1928 – 29 , Harry Alexander bowled an early form of bodyline at the MCC tourists . Larwood used a form of bodyline on that same tour , bowling fast leg theory to a leg @-@ side field in two Test matches , although not with the same intensity and duration as came later . Bob Wyatt later claimed that Learie Constantine unsuccessfully used bodyline in 1929 – 30 in the West Indies . 
 Larwood and Voce practised the plan over the remainder of the 1932 season with varying but increasing success and several injuries to batsmen . Ken <unk> experimented with short @-@ pitched , leg @-@ theory bowling but was not selected for the tour . Bill Bowes also used short @-@ pitched bowling , notably against Jack Hobbs . 
 
 = = <unk> between Australians and Jardine = = 
 
 Jardine 's first experience against Australia came when his Oxford University team played against the 1921 Australian touring side . In the second innings , Jardine was 96 not out when the game ended , having batted his team to safety . The tourists were criticised in the press for not allowing Jardine to reach his hundred , but they had tried to help him with some easy bowling . There has been speculation that this incident helped develop Jardine 's antipathy towards Australians , although Christopher Douglas denies this . Cricket historian David <unk> believed it is possible that the <unk> Australian captain Warwick Armstrong could have addressed sarcastic comments to Jardine but Wisden believed his slow approach cost him his century . 
 Regardless of what happened in 1921 , Jardine 's conflicts with Australia solidified after he was selected to tour the country in 1928 – 29 . He began the tour with three consecutive hundreds . During the first century , the crowd engaged in some good @-@ natured joking at Jardine 's expense , but he was <unk> by the crowd during his second hundred for batting too slowly . Jardine accelerated after another slow start , during which he was again barracked to score his third century . The crowds took an increasing dislike to him , mainly for his superior attitude and bearing , his awkward fielding , and particularly his choice of <unk> . His first public action in South Australia was to take out the members of the South Australian team who had been to Oxford or Cambridge universities . Then , he wore a <unk> cap , given to successful cricketers at Oxford . It was not unusual for Oxford and Cambridge cricketers to wear similar caps while batting , as both Jardine and MCC captain Percy Chapman did so on this tour , although it was slightly unorthodox to wear them while fielding . However , this was neither understood nor acceptable to the Australian crowds . They quickly took exception to the importance he seemed to place on class distinction . Although Jardine may simply have worn the cap out of superstition , it conveyed a negative impression to the spectators ; his general <unk> drew one comment of " Where 's the butler to carry the bat for you ? " Jardine 's cap became a focus for criticism and mockery from the crowds throughout the tour . Nevertheless , Jack Fingleton later claimed that Jardine could have won over the crowd by exchanging jokes or <unk> with them . It is certain that Jardine by this stage had developed an intense dislike for Australian crowds . During his third century at the start of the tour , during a period of abuse from the spectators , he observed to a sympathetic Hunter <unk> that " All Australians are <unk> , and an unruly mob " . After the innings , when teammate <unk> <unk> remarked that the Australian crowds did not like Jardine , he replied " It 's fucking mutual " . During the tour , Jardine fielded next to the crowd on the boundary . There , he was <unk> abused and mocked for his awkward fielding , particularly when chasing the ball . On one occasion , he <unk> towards the crowd while fielding on the boundary as he changed position for the final time . 
 During the journey to Australia , some players reported that Jardine told them to hate the Australians in order to defeat them , while instructing them to refer to Bradman as " the little <unk> . " At this stage , he seemed to have settled on leg theory , if not full bodyline , as his main tactic . 
 Once the team arrived in Australia , Jardine quickly alienated the press by refusing to give team details before a match and being uncooperative during interviews . The press printed some negative stories as a result and the crowds barracked as they had done on his previous tour , which angered him . 
 
 = = In Australia = = 
 
 Although English bowlers did aim at the batsmen 's body in the opening tour matches , they did not follow through by packing the leg @-@ side field until Bill Woodfull led an Australian XI against the tourists in Melbourne on 18 – 22 November , in what was effectively a Test rehearsal . Jardine was rested from that match and his deputy , Bob Wyatt , deployed the full bodyline tactics for the first time on the tour . The match was drawn and Woodfull struggled , making 18 and a duck . <unk> his hopping technique and attempting to play unorthodox shots resembling overhead tennis smashes , Bradman failed to make an impact , and England were <unk> ahead of the Tests . Seeing the bruising balls hit the Australian batsmen on several occasions in this game and the next angered the spectators . 
 The English players and management were consistent in referring to their tactic as fast leg theory considering it to be a variant of the established and <unk> leg theory tactic . The inflammatory term " bodyline " was coined and <unk> by the Australian press ( see below ) . English writers used the term fast leg theory . The terminology reflected differences in understanding , as neither the English public nor the Board of the Marylebone Cricket Club ( MCC ) — the governing body of English cricket — could understand why the Australians were complaining about what they perceived as a commonly used tactic . Some concluded that the Australian cricket authorities and public were sore <unk> . Of the four fast bowlers in the tour party , <unk> Allen was a voice of dissent in the English camp , refusing to bowl short on the leg side , and writing several letters home to England critical of Jardine , although he did not express this in public in Australia . A number of other players , while maintaining a united front in public , also <unk> bodyline in private . The amateurs Bob Wyatt ( the vice @-@ captain ) , Freddie Brown and the <unk> of <unk> opposed it , as did Walter Hammond and Les Ames among the professionals . 
 During the season , Woodfull 's physical courage , stoic and dignified leadership won him many admirers . He flatly refused to employ retaliatory tactics and did not publicly complain even though he and his men were repeatedly hit . 
 Australia lost heavily by ten wickets in the first Test at Sydney , when the bowling spearhead of bodyline , Harold Larwood , took ten wickets . Bradman missed the first Test due to illness , although Jardine refused to believe this and thought the real reason was that the batsman had suffered a nervous breakdown due to his tactical scheme . The only Australian batsman to make an impact was Stan <unk> , who <unk> stood his ground and impulsively hooked and pulled everything aimed at his upper body , <unk> by the prospect of taking a potentially lethal blow to the head . He scored 187 not out in four hours , an innings described by leading historian David <unk> as " among the most stirring innings Test cricket has ever produced " . 
 Before the second Test in Melbourne , Woodfull had to wait until minutes before the game before he was confirmed as captain by the <unk> . This caused the toss to be delayed and <unk> speculation that the Australian Board of Control was considering the possibility of removing Woodfull because of his absolute refusal to allow his bowlers to use retaliatory tactics . His deputy Victor Richardson had advocated retaliation along with several other players . Richardson recalled Woodfull 's private response : 
 There is no way I will be influenced to adopt such tactics which bring such discredit to the game . I know Tim could do it but I am not going to participate in actions that can only hurt the game . 
 The media advocated the selection of Eddie Gilbert , an indigenous bowler of extreme pace , in order to return the bodyline barrage . In one tour match , Gilbert had <unk> Jardine and left a <unk> the size of a <unk> . Another suggested means of retaliation was Laurie Nash , whose notoriously <unk> personality and aggression saw him regarded as a <unk> . However , Woodfull was totally <unk> by such suggestions . 
 On the opening day , Bradman wildly hooked at Bill Bowes ' first ball ( a non @-@ bodyline ball ) and was dismissed for a golden duck , leaving the entire stadium in shock . Jardine , who was known for being extremely <unk> even by the standards of the day , openly <unk> and danced wildly upon Bradman 's demise . Australia 's eventual victory was met by widespread public <unk> , as many believed that Australia had found a means of overcoming the tactics . Bradman scored a match @-@ winning century in the second innings , but it turned out to be his only triple figure score for the series , while Larwood was hampered by a <unk> foot and a slow pitch . 
 The controversy reached its peak during the second day of the Third Test . On 14 January , an all @-@ time record Adelaide Oval crowd of 50 @,@ <unk> watched Australia finish off England 's first innings . Shortly after the start of Australia 's innings , Larwood , bowling to a conventional field setting , struck Woodfull an <unk> blow under his heart with a short , lifting delivery . Woodfull was struck when he was bent over his bat and wicket , and not when upright as often imagined . As Woodfull bent down over his bat in pain for several minutes , an image that became one of the defining symbols of the series , the huge crowd began <unk> , <unk> and verbally <unk> the English team . Jardine reacted by saying " Well bowled , Harold . " <unk> and feelings ran so high that a riot was narrowly averted as police stationed themselves between the players and enraged spectators . 
 Jardine then ordered his team to move to bodyline positions immediately after Woodfull 's injury . Jardine wrote that Larwood had asked for the field , while Larwood said that it was Jardine 's decision . The capacity Saturday afternoon crowd viewed this as hitting a man when he was down . Journalist – <unk> Dick <unk> wrote that Jardine 's actions were seen as " an <unk> crime in Australian eyes and certainly no part of cricket " . Mass <unk> and <unk> occurred after almost every ball . <unk> noted that " [ <unk> George ] <unk> believes that had what followed occurred in Melbourne the crowd would have leapt the fence and <unk> the English captain , Larwood , and possibly the entire side " . Some English players later expressed fears that a large @-@ scale riot could break out and that the police would not be able to stop the <unk> home crowd , who were worried that Woodfull or Bradman could be killed , from attacking them . 
 During the over , another rising Larwood delivery knocked the bat out of Woodfull 's hands . He battled it out for 89 minutes , collecting more <unk> before Allen bowled him for 22 . Later in the day , the English team manager Pelham Warner visited the Australian dressing room to express his sympathies to Woodfull . Woodfull had remained calm in public , refusing to complain about Jardine 's tactics . Woodfull 's abrupt response was meant to be private , but it was leaked to the press - the Adelaide leak : 
 I don 't want to see you , Mr Warner . There are two teams out there , one is playing cricket . The other is making no attempt to do so . 
 Woodfull reportedly added " This game is too good to be <unk> . It 's time some people got out of it " , hinting that he might withdraw his team from competition in protest . Australia 's Leo O 'Brien later reported that Warner was close to tears following Woodfull 's <unk> . 
 The leaking to the press of Woodfull 's comments to Warner angered the Australian captain . He had intended the comments to be private , and ill feeling grew in the Australian camp as speculation about who leaked the incident to the press grew and many of the team privately pointed the finger at Bradman . ( Bradman <unk> denied to his dying day that he had been responsible ; others , including Plum Warner , pointed the finger at Bradman 's team @-@ mate and journalist , Jack Fingleton . However , in his autobiography , Fingleton claimed that Sydney Sun reporter Claude Corbett had received the information from Bradman . ) 
 The next day , Larwood fractured wicket @-@ keeper Bert Oldfield 's skull . This occurred when Oldfield mis @-@ hit a hook , which flew from the top edge off a traditional non @-@ bodyline ball ; Oldfield later admitted it was his fault . As a result of the injuries , the costs of insurance cover for players doubled . At the end of the fourth day 's play the Australian Board of Control for Cricket sent the following cable to the MCC in London : 
 Bodyline bowling has assumed such proportions as to menace the best interests of the game , making protection of the body by the batsman the main consideration . This is causing intensely bitter feeling between the players , as well as injury . In our opinion it is unsportsmanlike . <unk> stopped at once it is likely to upset the friendly relations existing between Australia and England . 
 Jardine however insisted his tactic was not designed to cause injury and that he was leading his team in a <unk> and <unk> manner , arguing that it was up to the Australian batsmen to play their way out of trouble . He also secretly sent a telegram of sympathy to Oldfield 's wife and arranged for presents to be given to his young daughters . 
 The situation escalated into a diplomatic incident between the countries as the MCC — supported by the British public and still of the opinion that their fast leg theory tactic was harmless — took serious offence at being branded " unsportsmanlike " and demanded a retraction . Many people saw bodyline as <unk> an international relationship that needed to remain strong . Jardine , and by extension the entire English team , threatened to withdraw from the fourth and fifth Tests unless the Australian Board withdrew the accusation of <unk> behaviour . Public reaction in both England and Australia was outrage directed at the other nation . The Governor of South Australia , Alexander <unk> @-@ <unk> , who was in England at the time , expressed his concern to British Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs James Henry Thomas that this would cause a significant impact on trade between the nations . The standoff was settled only when the Australian prime minister , Joseph Lyons , met with members of the Australian Board and outlined to them the severe economic <unk> that could be caused in Australia if the British public boycotted Australian trade . Given this understanding , the Board withdrew the allegation of unsportsmanlike behaviour two days before the fourth Test , thus saving the tour . 
 The English team continued to bowl bodyline in the remaining two Tests , but slower pitches meant the Australians , although frequently <unk> , sustained no further serious injuries . England won the last three Tests to take the series 4 – 1 . 
 In the Test matches , Bradman countered bodyline by moving toward the leg side , away from the line of the ball , and cutting it into the vacant off side field . While this was dubious in terms of batting technique , it seemed the best way to cope with the barrage , and Bradman averaged 56 @.@ 57 in the series ( an excellent average for most , but well short of his career average of 99 @.@ 94 ) , while being struck above the waist by the ball only once . His team @-@ mates fared worse , with only Stan <unk> scoring a century . 
 
 = = In England = = 
 
 Bodyline continued to be bowled occasionally in the 1933 English season — most notably by Nottinghamshire , who had Carr , Voce and Larwood in their team . This gave the English crowds their first chance to see what all the fuss was about . Ken <unk> , the Cambridge University fast bowler , also bowled it in the University Match , hitting a few Oxford batsmen . 
 Jardine himself had to face bodyline bowling in a Test match . The West Indian cricket team toured England in 1933 , and , in the second Test at Old Trafford , Jackie Grant , their captain , decided to try bodyline . He had a couple of fast bowlers , Manny Martindale and Learie Constantine . Facing bodyline tactics for the first time , England first suffered , falling to 134 for 4 , with Wally Hammond being hit on the chin , though he recovered to continue his innings . Then Jardine himself faced Martindale and Constantine . Jardine never <unk> . With Les Ames finding himself in difficulties , Jardine said , " You get yourself down this end , Les . I 'll take care of this bloody nonsense . " He played right back to the bouncers , standing on <unk> , and played them with a dead bat , sometimes playing the ball one handed for more control . While the Old Trafford pitch was not as suited to bodyline as the hard Australian wickets , Martindale did take 5 for 73 , but Constantine only took 1 for 55 . Jardine himself made 127 , his only Test century . In the West Indian second innings , Clark bowled bodyline back to the West Indians , taking 2 for 64 . The match in the end was drawn but played a large part in turning English opinion against bodyline . The Times used the word bodyline , without using inverted commas or using the qualification so @-@ called , for the first time . Wisden also said that " most of those watching it for the first time must have come to the conclusion that , while strictly within the law , it was not nice . " 
 In 1934 , Bill Woodfull led Australia back to England on a tour that had been under a cloud after the <unk> cricket diplomacy of the previous bodyline series . Jardine had retired from International cricket in early 1934 after <unk> a fraught tour of India and under England 's new captain , Bob Wyatt , agreements were put in place so that bodyline would not be used . However , there were occasions when the Australians felt that their hosts had crossed the mark with tactics resembling bodyline . 
 In a match between the Australians and Nottinghamshire , Voce , one of the bodyline practitioners of 1932 – 33 , employed the strategy with the wicket @-@ keeper standing to the leg side and took 8 / 66 . In the second innings , Voce repeated the tactic late in the day , in fading light against Woodfull and Bill Brown . Of his 12 balls , 11 were no lower than head height . Woodfull told the Nottinghamshire administrators that , if Voce 's leg @-@ side bowling was repeated , his men would leave the field and return to London . He further said that Australia would not return to the country in the future . The following day , Voce was absent , ostensibly due to a leg injury . Already angered by the absence of Larwood , the Nottinghamshire faithful heckled the Australians all day . Australia had previously and privately complained that some <unk> had <unk> past the agreement in the Tests . 
 
 = = Origin of the term = = 
 
 Although Jack <unk> claimed that he had invented the term " bodyline " , it is more likely that it was coined by Sydney journalist Hugh <unk> who worked for The Sun in 1932 , and who happened to be a colleague of Jack Fingleton . <unk> sent a telegram to his newspaper from the Test after a day 's play . As a substitute for " in the line of the body " he used the term " bodyline " to keep the cost down , and the new term quickly became established . 
 
 = = Changes to the laws of cricket = = 
 
 As a direct consequence of the 1932 – 33 tour , the MCC introduced a new rule to the laws of cricket for the 1935 English cricket season . Originally , the MCC hoped that captains would ensure that the game was played in the correct spirit , and passed a resolution that bodyline bowling would breach this spirit . When this proved to be insufficient , the MCC passed a law that " direct attack " bowling was unfair and became the responsibility of the umpires to identify and stop . In 1957 , the laws were altered to prevent more than two fielders standing behind square on the leg side ; the intention was to prevent negative bowling tactics whereby off spinners and slow inswing bowlers aimed at the leg stump of batsmen with fielders concentrated on the leg side . However , an indirect effect was to make bodyline fields impossible to implement . 
 Later law changes , under the heading of " <unk> Short <unk> <unk> " , also restricted the number of " bouncers " which may be bowled in an over . Nevertheless , the tactic of intimidating the batsman is still used to an extent that would have been shocking in 1933 , although it is less dangerous now because today 's players wear helmets and generally far more protective gear . The West Indies teams of the 1980s , which regularly fielded a bowling attack comprising some of the best fast bowlers in cricket history , were perhaps the most feared <unk> . 
 
 = = Legacy = = 
 
 Following the 1932 – 33 series , several authors , including many of the players involved , released books expressing various points of view about bodyline . Many argued that it was a <unk> on cricket and must be stamped out , while some did not see what all the fuss was about . The series has been described as the most controversial period in Australian cricket history , and voted the most important Australian moment by a panel of Australian cricket identities . The MCC asked Harold Larwood to sign an apology to them for his bowling in Australia , making his selection for England again conditional upon it . Larwood was furious at the notion , pointing out that he had been following orders from his upper @-@ class captain , and that was where any blame should lie . Larwood refused , never played for England again , and became vilified in his own country . Douglas Jardine always defended his tactics and in the book he wrote about the tour , In Quest of the Ashes , described allegations that the England bowlers directed their attack with the intention of causing physical harm as stupid and <unk> <unk> . The immediate effect of the law change which banned bodyline in 1935 was to make commentators and spectators sensitive to the use of short @-@ pitched bowling ; bouncers became exceedingly rare and bowlers who delivered them were practically <unk> . This attitude ended after the Second World War , and among the first teams to make extensive use of short @-@ pitched bowling was the Australian team captained by Bradman between 1946 and 1948 . Other teams soon followed . 
 Outside the sport , there were significant consequences for Anglo @-@ Australian relations , which remained strained until the outbreak of World War II made cooperation paramount . Business between the two countries was adversely affected as citizens of each country avoided goods manufactured in the other . Australian commerce also suffered in British colonies in Asia : the North China Daily News published a pro @-@ bodyline editorial , denouncing Australians as sore <unk> . An Australian journalist reported that several business deals in Hong Kong and Shanghai were lost by Australians because of local reactions . English immigrants in Australia found themselves <unk> and persecuted by locals , and Australian visitors to England were treated similarly . In 1934 – 35 a statue of Prince Albert in Sydney was vandalised , with an ear being knocked off and the word " <unk> " painted on it . Both before and after World War II , numerous satirical cartoons and comedy <unk> were written , mostly in Australia , based on events of the bodyline tour . Generally , they poked fun at the English . 
 In 1984 , Australia 's Network Ten produced a television mini @-@ series titled Bodyline , <unk> the events of the 1932 – 33 English tour of Australia . It starred Gary Sweet as Don Bradman , Hugo Weaving as Douglas Jardine , Jim Holt as Harold Larwood , Rhys <unk> as Pelham Warner , and Frank <unk> as Jardine 's mentor Lord Harris . The series took some liberties with historical accuracy for the sake of drama , including a depiction of angry Australian fans burning a British flag at the Sydney Cricket Ground , an event which was never documented . Larwood , having emigrated to Australia in 1950 , received several threatening and obscene phone calls after the series aired . The series was widely and strongly attacked by the surviving players for its <unk> and <unk> . 
 To this day , the bodyline tour remains one of the most significant events in the history of cricket , and strong in the consciousness of many cricket followers . In a poll of cricket journalists , commentators , and players in 2004 , the bodyline tour was ranked the most important event in cricket history . 
 
 