Bodyline or Fast Leg Theory In Cricket

Posted on July 20, 2009
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Bodyline or Fast Leg Theory in the cricket game

Bodyline or Fast Leg Theory in the cricket game

Bodyline or Fast Leg Theory is a tactic in cricket brought by the English bowlers for their 1932-33 Ashes tour of Australia mainly to tackle the legendry batsman of Australia, sir Donald Bradman.

The famous duck: Bradman bowled by Bowes at the MCG, in front of a world record crowd assembled to see Bradman defeat Bodyline

The famous duck: Bradman bowled by Bowes at the MCG, in front of a world record crowd assembled to see Bradman defeat Bodyline

The English bowlers came to understand that Don Bradman is vulnerable with the leg-pitched deliveries.The idea probably came from the former England and Surrey captain Percy Fender who saw a newsreel film of Bradman batting against the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) on the 1930 tour and he noticed that Bradman tended to jolt away to the leg side when faced with short-pitched deliveries.

Bodyline bowlers aims to pitch the cricket ball at the leg stump of the opposing batsman giving the batsman only less room to hit the ball.Bodyline deliveries hopes to create leg-side deflections that could be caught by one of several fielders in the quadrant of the field behind square leg.

Several players were hit during the series and it also reduced the morale of the two cricket teams, England and Australia and also of the game.After that, several laws of the cricket were changed to prevent this tactic being repeated to reduce the injuries and this kind of bowling was also regarded as unfair means of bowling.It was the time ‘Helmet’ and ‘Chest Guards’  were not introduced in cricket.

The term Bodyline or Fast Leg Theory has not been used nowadays frequently but the tactic is still there.The occasional short pitched deliveries called as “bouncers” aimed at the batsmen has never been illegal and is in widespread use today as a tactic.

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