The Ashes is a men's Test cricket series played biennially between England and Australia. The term originated in a satirical obituary published in a British newspaper, The Sporting Times, immediately after Australia's 1882 victory at The Oval, its first Test win on English soil. The obituary stated that English cricket had died, and that "the body will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia". The mythical ashes immediately became associated with the 1882–83 series played in Australia, before which the English captain Ivo Bligh had vowed to "regain those ashes". The English media therefore dubbed the tour the quest to regain the Ashes.
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. It was designed to combat the extraordinary batting skill of Australia's leading batsman, Don Bradman. A bodyline delivery was one in which the cricket ball was bowled at pace, aimed at the body of the batsman in the expectation that when he defended himself with his bat, a resulting deflection could be caught by one of several fielders deliberately placed nearby on the leg side.
Sir Donald George Bradman, nicknamed "The Don", was an Australian international cricketer, widely acknowledged as the greatest batsman of all time. His cricketing successes have been claimed by Shane Warne, among others, to make Bradman the "greatest sportsperson" in history. Bradman's career Test batting average of 99.94 is considered by some to be the greatest achievement by any sportsman in any major sport.
Harold Larwood was a professional cricketer for Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club and the England cricket team between 1924 and 1938. A right-arm fast bowler who combined extreme speeds with great accuracy, he was considered by many players and commentators to be the finest and the fastest fast bowler of his generation and one of the fastest bowlers of all time. He was the main exponent of the bowling style known as "bodyline", the use of which during the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) tour of Australia in 1932–33 caused a furore that brought about a premature and acrimonious end to his international career.
William Maldon Woodfull was an Australian cricketer of the 1920s and 1930s. He captained both Victoria and Australia, and was best known for his dignified and moral conduct during the tumultuous bodyline series in 1932–33. Trained as a schoolteacher, Woodfull was known for his benevolent attitude towards his players, and his patience and defensive technique as an opening batsman. Woodfull was not a flamboyant player, but was known for his calm, unruffled style and his reliability in difficult situations. His opening pairing with fellow Victorian Bill Ponsford for both his state and Australia remains one of the most successful in history. While not known for his tactical skills, Woodfull was widely admired by his players and observers for his sportsmanship and ability to mould a successful and loyal team through the strength of his character.
Bowral is the largest town in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia, about ninety minutes southwest of Sydney. It is the main business and entertainment precinct of the Wingecarribee Shire and Highlands.
Alan Falconer Kippax was a cricketer for New South Wales (NSW) and Australia. Regarded as one of the great stylists of Australian cricket during the era between the two World Wars, Kippax overcame a late start to Test cricket to become a regular in the Australian team between the 1928–29 and 1932–33 seasons. A middle-order batsman, he toured England twice, and at domestic level was a prolific scorer and a highly considered leader of NSW for eight years. To an extent, his Test figures did not correspond with his great success for NSW and he is best remembered for a performance in domestic cricket—a world record last wicket partnership, set during a Sheffield Shield match in 1928–29. His career was curtailed by the controversial Bodyline tactics employed by England on their 1932–33 tour of Australia; Kippax wrote a book denouncing the tactics after the series concluded.
This is a bibliography of literary and historical works about cricket. The list is sorted by author's name. It is inevitably highly selective. The 1984 edition of E. W. Padwick's A Bibliography of Cricket had more than 10,000 entries.
Roland John Perry OAM is an Australian author and historian. His work includes three works of fiction and more than twenty documentary films. His book Monash: The Outsider Who Won the War was awarded the Fellowship of Australian Writers' Melbourne University Publishing Award in 2004 and described as "a model of the biographer's art."
Bodyline is an Australian 1984 television miniseries which dramatised the events of the 1932–1933 English Ashes cricket tour of Australia. The title refers to the bodyline cricketing tactic devised by the English cricket team during their 1932–33 Ashes tour of Australia.
Don Bradman's batting technique has been the subject of curiosity and analysis from students of cricket since the time he first came to prominence as a batsman in Australia during the 1920s. He dominated world cricket during a 20-year career, combining an unorthodox, self-developed batting technique with great levels of concentration. Bradman played no organised cricket at a junior level and received no coaching. When he began playing on turf pitches in 1926, some attempts were made to alter his style to conform to more orthodox methods, but he resisted and went on to unprecedented success as a run-maker. In recent years, efforts have been made to analyse his game by using biomechanical studies. In the Bradman Museum, it is revealed that Bradman used a Golf ball and a cricket stump to practice batting.
During his career, there were many controversies involving Australian cricketer Sir Donald Bradman (1908–2001).
The Third Test of the 1932–33 Ashes series was one of five Tests in a cricket series between Australia and England. The match was played at the Adelaide Oval in Adelaide from 13 to 19 January 1933, with a rest day on 15 January. England won the match by 338 runs to take a series lead of 2 Tests to 1 with 2 Tests to play.
The History of Australian cricket began over 210 years ago. The first recorded cricket match in Australia took place in Sydney in December 1803 and a report in the Sydney Gazette on 8 January 1804 suggested that cricket was already well established in the infant colony. By 1826, clubs including the Currency Cricket Club, the Military Cricket Club and the Australian Cricket Club had been formed. Hyde Park and the Racecourse were the venue for these organised matches. The formation of clubs in Van Diemen's Land was not far behind with clubs formed in Hobart in 1832 and Launceston (1841). In Western Australia a match was arranged in 1835 between the "builders" of the new Government House and a team of labourers and "mechanics". In Victoria in 1838, the Melbourne Cricket Club was formed – it would become arguably Australia's most exclusive and influential cricket club. In 1839, a club was formed in South Australia.
Bradman Oval is a heritage-listed cricket ground in Glebe Street, Bowral in the southern highlands area of New South Wales, Australia. It was named after cricketer Don Bradman, who lived locally and played at the ground in the 1920s. His ashes are scattered on and near the Oval. It is also known as Glebe Park. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 23 June 2000.
The Adelaide leak was the revelation to the press of a dressing-room incident during the third Test, a cricket match played during the 1932–33 Ashes series between Australia and England, more commonly known as the Bodyline series. During the course of play on 14 January 1933, the Australian Test captain Bill Woodfull was struck over the heart by a ball delivered by Harold Larwood. Although not badly hurt, Woodfull was shaken and dismissed shortly afterwards. On his return to the Australian dressing room, Woodfull was visited by the managers of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) team, Pelham Warner and Richard Palairet. Warner enquired after Woodfull's health, but the latter dismissed his concerns in brusque fashion. He said he did not want to speak to the Englishman owing to the Bodyline tactics England were using, leaving Warner embarrassed and shaken. The matter became public knowledge when someone present leaked the exchange to the press and it was widely reported on 16 January. Such leaks to the press were practically unknown at the time, and the players were horrified that the confrontation became public knowledge.
The Bradman Museum & International Cricket Hall of Fame is a permanent cultural exhibition dedicated to the game of cricket and Australian cricketing hero Sir Donald Bradman. The Museum located in the Australian town of Bowral, New South Wales. The exhibition opened in November 2010 in buildings formerly used by the Bradman Museum, which was devoted to the cricketing career of the Australian batsman Sir Donald Bradman. The Bradman Museum opened in 1989. The Hall of Fame incorporated all of the former Bradman Museum's holdings. The Bradman Museum was, and in effect remains, the only museum in Australia dedicated principally to an individual.
Greta Bradman is an Australian operatic soprano.
Sir Don is a song written and recorded by Australian country singer John Williamson. The song is a tribute to Australian cricketer, Donald Bradman and $1 from each sale went towards the Bradman Museum. The song was released in June 1996 as the lead single from Williamson's thirteenth studio album Pipe Dream and peaked at number 72 on the ARIA Charts.
John Bradman is an Australian academic who taught at the law school of the University of Adelaide, lecturing in constitutional and environmental law. He is the son of Australian cricketer Sir Donald Bradman, and has been the spokesperson for the Bradman family on a number of public issues—particularly in relation to the "exploitation" of his father's name.
