175 Facts About Douglas Jardine

Douglas Robert Jardine was an English cricketer who played 22 Test matches for England, captaining the side in 15 of those matches between 1931 and 1934.

Douglas Jardine was famous in cricket circles for wearing a multi-coloured Harlequin cap.

Douglas Jardine retired from all first-class cricket in 1934 following a tour to India and he was advised that, due to his continued use of Bodyline tactics and subsequent civil unrest in India in response, he would no longer be appointed as the English captain.

Douglas Jardine joined the Territorial Army in the Second World War and spent most of it posted in India.

Douglas Jardine attended Horris Hill School, near Newbury, Berkshire, from May 1910.

Douglas Jardine led the team in his final year, and the team were unbeaten under his captaincy.

In Douglas Jardine's time, preparing the pupils for war was important.

Douglas Jardine enjoyed a slightly better position than some pupils, already possessing a reputation as a very fine cricketer and excelling at other sports; he represented the school at football as a goalkeeper and rackets, and played Winchester College football.

Douglas Jardine was in the first eleven for three years from 1917 and received coaching from Harry Altham, Rockley Wilson and Schofield Haigh, the latter two of whom were distinguished cricketers.

In 1919, his final year, Douglas Jardine came top of the school batting averages with 997 runs at an average of 66.46.

Douglas Jardine became captain despite some doubts within the school about his ability to unify the team.

Under Douglas Jardine, Winchester won their annual match against Eton College in 1919, a fixture in which Eton had usually held the upper hand.

Douglas Jardine went on to score 135 not out against Harrow School.

Douglas Jardine played two representative matches, for the best schoolboy cricketers, at Lord's Cricket Ground, scored 44,91,57 and 55 and won favourable reviews in the press.

Douglas Jardine entered New College, Oxford, in September 1919 at a time when the university was more crowded than usual due to the arrival of men whose entrance had been delayed due to the war.

Douglas Jardine took part in several sports, representing New College as goalkeeper in matches between the colleges, and being given a trial for the university football team, although he was not chosen.

Douglas Jardine continued to play rackets and began to play real tennis, making such progress and showing such promise that he went on to represent the university successfully and won his Blue.

In cricket, Douglas Jardine came under the coaching of Tom Hayward who influenced his footwork and defence.

Wisden commented in 1928 that Douglas Jardine had come with an excellent reputation, but did not quite achieve the success which was expected.

The innings was praised by those who saw it and the Australians were criticised in the press for not allowing Douglas Jardine to reach his hundred, particularly as the match had been reduced from three days to two at their request.

Douglas Jardine played for Surrey, for whom he was qualified, in the remainder of the season.

Douglas Jardine replaced the injured Jack Hobbs as an opening batsman before dropping down the order to number five on Hobbs' return.

Douglas Jardine finished the season with 1,015 first-class runs at an average of 39.03, although critics argued that he was still yet to fulfill his full potential.

Douglas Jardine missed most of the 1922 season owing to a serious knee injury; he played only four matches at a time when he was expected to make a big impression.

Douglas Jardine missed Oxford's match against Cambridge and was unable to play for Surrey at all that season.

Douglas Jardine was not given the Oxford captaincy in his final year, which has led to later speculation that his manner and unfriendliness was held against him.

Douglas Jardine gradually found his batting form, and contributed to Oxford's only win over Cambridge in the decade.

Douglas Jardine received criticism for his slow batting for Oxford, again being singled out due to his known ability to play attacking shots.

Partly this was because Douglas Jardine held a responsible position, with the team often reliant on his personal success.

Douglas Jardine left Oxford in 1923 having scored a total of 1,381 runs and was awarded a fourth class degree in modern history.

When Douglas Jardine went on to play for Surrey that season, and now in an already strong batting side, he played with more freedom.

Douglas Jardine was successful, playing either long defensive innings or sacrificing his innings in an attempt to hit quick runs.

Douglas Jardine scored his first century for Surrey against Yorkshire and was awarded his County Cap, making 916 runs at an average of 38.16 in the whole season.

Once Douglas Jardine left Oxford, he began to qualify as a solicitor while still playing for Surrey.

Douglas Jardine made steady progress over the next three seasons but was overshadowed by other amateur batsmen.

Douglas Jardine was appointed vice-captain to Fender for the 1924 season.

Several professionals, such as Jack Hobbs, could have been made vice-captain, but Douglas Jardine was preferred as an amateur.

In that season, Douglas Jardine was selected for the Gentlemen v Players match for the first time and came third in the Surrey averages.

In 1926, Douglas Jardine had his most successful season to date, with 1,473 runs, although he was again overshadowed by other players and by the attention given to the Ashes series being played.

In 1927, Douglas Jardine achieved his highest average in a season, scoring 1,002 runs and averaging 91.09 in a very wet summer which led to difficult wickets to bat on.

Douglas Jardine scored a century in the Gentlemen v Players match, which impressed influential observers at Lord's, and represented England in a trial match against The Rest.

Douglas Jardine played 14 matches, scoring 1,133 runs at an average of 87.15.

Douglas Jardine was successful in high-profile matches, scoring 193 for Gentlemen at the Oval, where the crowd had booed his slow start but later cheered him as his last fifty runs were scored in half an hour.

Douglas Jardine captained The Rest against England in a Test trial and made the highest score in each innings, scoring 74 not out in the fourth innings to help his team to draw the game on a difficult pitch, against international bowlers Maurice Tate and Harold Larwood.

Immediately after this match, Douglas Jardine made his Test debut against the West Indies who were touring England that season.

Many batsmen only played them with difficulty, particularly on the occasional fast-paced pitch, but Douglas Jardine played them confidently.

Douglas Jardine played in the first two Tests, both of which were won by England by an innings, but missed the third for reasons that were not revealed.

Douglas Jardine scored 22 on his debut, but was more successful in the second Test, scoring 83.

At the time, the laws of the game stated that a batsman was not out if he had completed his shot and was setting off for a run; the West Indian cricketer Learie Constantine believed that Douglas Jardine was only given not out because he told the umpire his shot was complete.

Later, while he was batting with Tate, a player with whom he did not have a good relationship, Douglas Jardine was run out when Tate refused to go for a run.

Douglas Jardine was on the five-man selection committee for the tour, which chose teams to play in specific games but had not chosen the touring party.

Percy Fender, covering the tour as a journalist, believed that Douglas Jardine never had the chance to play a normal innings in the Test, having to provide the stability to the batting, and often seeming to come out to bat in a crisis.

Douglas Jardine was the centre of attention at the start of the tour.

Douglas Jardine began the tour with three consecutive hundreds and was seen as one of the main English threats.

Douglas Jardine played very cautiously, being troubled by Clarrie Grimmett and Bert Ironmonger, the Australian spinners.

Douglas Jardine believed that Ironmonger threw the ball, and this bowler gave him considerable trouble throughout his career.

Douglas Jardine scored a large number of singles, giving his partners most of the bowling and building up the lead to the point where England achieved a massive victory by 675 runs.

Douglas Jardine played a similar role in the second Test, batting with Wally Hammond to retrieve a poor start for England in his only innings as they won by eight wickets.

Douglas Jardine scored 62 in the third Test, supporting Hammond who made a double century.

Hobbs sent a message to the team that Douglas Jardine should be the next batsmen to come in, even though he usually batted later on, as he was the batsman most likely to survive in the conditions.

Douglas Jardine survived, although finding batting exceptionally difficult, until the day's play ended.

Percy Fender believed that Douglas Jardine was the only batsman in the side who could have coped with the difficult conditions.

Douglas Jardine went on to make 33 next day, and England won by three wickets.

Douglas Jardine was out when Wisden believed he looked certain to reach a century.

Douglas Jardine was not successful in the final Test, won by Australia.

Douglas Jardine was used as an opener, due to an injury to Sutcliffe, and made just 19 and a first ball duck.

Douglas Jardine never provided an explanation, to the Australian press nor afterwards.

Later, Douglas Jardine wrote about the Australian crowds, complaining over their involvement, but praising their knowledge and judgement of the game and describing them as more informed than English crowds.

Douglas Jardine expressed later reservations to Bob Wyatt about Percy Chapman, saying that he would have shot him if a gun was available.

Douglas Jardine did not appear in first-class cricket in the 1929 season due to business commitments.

At the beginning of the 1930 season, Douglas Jardine was offered the vice-captaincy of Surrey.

Douglas Jardine was unable to accept owing to business commitments and played just nine matches for the season, scoring 402 runs at an average of 36.54 and managing one century and one fifty.

Christopher Douglas argues that had Jardine been playing regularly, he would have been made captain for the final Test, when Chapman was dropped in favour of the sounder batsman Bob Wyatt.

Christopher Douglas believes that, as Jardine was not a regular county captain, the selectors wanted to assess his leadership ability but had probably not settled on him as a final choice.

Ian Peebles, writing 40 years later, claimed that Douglas Jardine's appointment was popular but cricket administrators had misgivings.

Alan Gibson believed that Douglas Jardine was chosen because the other candidates were either not worth their place in the side, too old or had controversy attached to them.

Furthermore, Douglas Jardine impressed the chairman of selectors, Pelham Warner, who stated that he was very effective in selection meetings through his knowledge of cricket history and went into great detail to choose the correct players; it seems that Warner was the driving force behind Douglas Jardine's appointment.

Douglas Jardine rebuked Ian Peebles and Walter Robins, two young amateur bowlers, for their amusement over an incident in the match.

Douglas Jardine was criticised in the press for not instructing his batsmen to score quickly enough to win in the fourth innings, although this strategy was unlikely to succeed, and the match was drawn.

Douglas Jardine had a top score of just 38 in the series, but only batted four times and was not out in three of the innings.

At the beginning of the following season, Wisden's editor believed that, as Douglas Jardine had failed to impress people with his captaincy, he was no longer a certainty to lead the side to Australia, and only Percy Chapman's lack of form prevented his reinstatement at Douglas Jardine's expense.

The opposition bowling, particularly from Bill Bowes, was short and hostile, but Douglas Jardine survived for over four hours.

Douglas Jardine scored 1,104 first-class runs for the season at an average of 64.94.

At the beginning of the 1932 season, Douglas Jardine became captain of Surrey.

Douglas Jardine overcame a cautious beginning to develop a more aggressive captaincy style, and Surrey finished in their highest position in the championship for six years.

England played one international match that season, India's first ever Test match, and Douglas Jardine was selected as captain.

Douglas Jardine scored 79 and 85 not out, and was praised for two excellent defensive innings in a difficult situation by Wisden and The Cricketer.

Douglas Jardine gave Bill Bowes and Bill Voce the very unusual instruction to bowl one full toss each over to take advantage of the batsmen's trouble seeing the ball against the crowd.

The bowlers did not do so, and were later reprimanded by Douglas Jardine who told them to obey orders.

Douglas Jardine himself went on to score 1,464 runs in the season at an average of 52.28.

Douglas Jardine began to plan tactics from this point, discussing ideas with various people.

Douglas Jardine was aware that Bradman, Australia's star batsman and the main worry of the selectors, had occasionally shown vulnerability to pace bowling.

Douglas Jardine asked Larwood and Voce if they could bowl accurately on leg stump and make the ball rise up into the body of the batsman.

The bowlers agreed that they could, and that it might prove effective, but Douglas Jardine stressed that bowling accurately was vitally important, or Bradman would dominate the bowling.

Larwood believed that Douglas Jardine saw Bradman as his main target and wished to attack him psychologically as well as in a cricketing sense.

Douglas Jardine had a history of good performances against Yorkshire, and Jardine considered that a player's record against northern counties was a good indication of his potential at international level.

Douglas Jardine issued some instructions on their conduct, such as giving autographs or keeping out of the sun.

Douglas Jardine began to have disagreements with Plum Warner, who was one of the two team managers along with Richard Palairet.

Once the team arrived in Australia, Douglas Jardine quickly alienated the press by refusing to give team details before a match and being uncooperative when interviewed by journalists.

Douglas Jardine still wore his Harlequin cap and began the tour well with 98 and 127 before the first Test.

Wyatt later claimed that this was not planned beforehand and he simply passed on to Douglas Jardine what happened after the match.

The match seemed to be going well when Bill Bowes unexpectedly bowled the returning Bradman first ball in the first innings; Douglas Jardine was seen to be so delighted that he had clasped his hands above his head and performed a "war dance".

Douglas Jardine had clashed with more of his team by this stage: he had argued with Gubby Allen at least twice about his refusal to bowl Bodyline ; and the Nawab of Pataudi had refused to field in the "leg trap", to which Douglas Jardine responded, "I see his highness is a conscientious objector", and subsequently allowed Pataudi to play little part in the tour.

Douglas Jardine wrote that Larwood had asked for the field to be moved, while Larwood said that it was Douglas Jardine's decision.

The crowd became noisily angry as the ill feeling caused by the English bowling tactics spilled out, and Douglas Jardine later expressed regret that he had moved the fielders when he did.

Douglas Jardine then batted very slowly in an innings of 56, during which he was continuously barracked by the crowd.

Douglas Jardine went to the Australian dressing room during the Test to demand an apology.

However, it commended Douglas Jardine's courage, claimed that praise of his leadership was unanimous, and said that "above all he captained his team in this particular match like a genius".

Douglas Jardine was shaken by the events and by the hostile reactions that his team were receiving.

Douglas Jardine offered to stop using Bodyline if the team did not support him, but after a private meeting the players released a statement fully supporting Douglas Jardine and the Bodyline tactics.

Douglas Jardine went on to make a painstaking 24, at one point facing 82 balls without scoring a single run.

Later, Larwood broke his foot while bowling in the second innings, but Douglas Jardine was not convinced that he was seriously injured.

Douglas Jardine made him stay on the field until Bradman was out.

Also in this match, Douglas Jardine enraged Harry Alexander by asking him not to run on the pitch as he was damaging it and giving his side an advantage.

Douglas Jardine proceeded to bowl hostile bouncers at Jardine, who was struck painfully to the delight of the crowd.

Douglas Jardine only played in the first Test of the short series which followed in New Zealand, due to rheumatism.

All the players enjoyed the short tour although rain ruined the cricket, and Douglas Jardine was observed to show signs of paranoia towards all things Australian.

Douglas Jardine further believed that Jardine was convinced that the tactics were legitimate.

Douglas Jardine himself contributed his opinion in a book, In Quest for the Ashes, a first-hand account of the Bodyline tour.

Douglas Jardine defended his tactics and heavily criticised the Australian barrackers, to the extent of suggesting that fixtures between England and Australia should be halted until this problem was solved.

Douglas Jardine continued to captain Surrey during his infrequent first-class appearances that summer, although business commitments prevented him from playing a full season.

Douglas Jardine nevertheless won praise from Wisden for his captaincy and his batting.

Douglas Jardine approached the matches with a very competitive spirit, seeking to gain every advantage with his tactics and research.

Douglas Jardine often spoke of his affection for India, describing it as the land of his birth and seemed to be relaxed and happy on this tour.

Douglas Jardine contributed three fifties in four innings in the series, scoring 221 runs at an average of 73.66.

Douglas Jardine scored 60,61 and 65 before his final Test innings ended at 35 not out.

Douglas Jardine threatened to stop him umpiring and sent a telegram to Lord's, with the result that Tarrant, having officiated the first two Tests, was not used in the third.

For much of the time, Douglas Jardine used different tactics to those employed in Australia.

Douglas Jardine himself saved the English selectors from any possible dilemma.

Douglas Jardine played in 22 Test matches for England, scoring 1,296 runs at an average of 48.00.

Douglas Jardine's off-driving was powerful, his defence was excellent, and he was superb at judging the line of the ball and letting it pass by if it was going to miss his wickets.

Christopher Douglas described Jardine as "the epitome of the old-fashioned amateur".

Douglas Jardine noted that Jardine displayed good concentration, a strong desire to improve his batting and a fighting spirit that brought out his best in a crisis.

Douglas Jardine said that Jardine could play every recognised cricket shot, but would not do so in a match and Robertson-Glasgow believed it was Jardine's one weakness as a batsman.

Christopher Douglas argues that Jardine liked to make his runs when his side was in difficulty and enjoyed being tested; his approach would often lead his team to recovery from an unfavourable situation.

Douglas comments that Jardine held his place in the England side despite strong competition from other batsmen.

Douglas Jardine excelled in the main Gentlemen v Players fixture at Lord's, making a good score in each of his appearances in this match.

Kennedy found that Douglas Jardine had slightly slow footwork, often bowling him or trapping him lbw.

Bert Ironmonger troubled Douglas Jardine, taking his wicket in five of the eleven Test innings in which they faced each other.

Douglas Jardine displayed a slight weakness against Australian slow bowlers, not moving his feet well enough against them.

One other bowler to cause Douglas Jardine problems was the Australian paceman Tim Wall, who took his wicket five times on the nine occasions he bowled to him.

Douglas Jardine particularly impressed Yorkshiremen who played under him, as they believed he thought about cricket in a similar way to their county colleagues.

Nevertheless, some players such as Arthur Mitchell who played under Douglas Jardine believed he was intolerant and unsupportive of players of lesser talent, expecting everyone to perform at world-class standards.

Douglas Jardine insisted on strict discipline from his players but in return he went to great lengths to look after them, such as organising dental treatment or providing champagne for his tired bowlers.

Douglas Jardine displayed great physical courage, such as when he was struck by a ball hard enough to draw blood on the Bodyline tour, but refused to show pain before reaching the dressing room.

Robertson-Glasgow wrote that Douglas Jardine made thorough preparation for games in which he was captain, studying individual batsmen at great length to find weaknesses.

Douglas Jardine had very clear plans, judged the strengths and weaknesses of his teams and knew how to get the best out of individual players.

Douglas Jardine was personally incapable of reacting to the crowds or responding to the controversy in a way that would have eased tensions, and so was not a good choice as captain given what the selectors already knew of him.

Douglas Jardine could be charming and witty or ruthless and harsh, while many people who knew him believed him to be innately shy.

Harold Larwood maintained great respect for Douglas Jardine, treasuring a gift his captain gave him after the Bodyline tour and believing him to be a great man.

Douglas Jardine showed affection for Larwood in return even after both of their retirements; he expressed his concern for the way Larwood was treated, hosted a lunch for the former fast bowler shortly before he emigrated to Australia and met him there in 1954.

Jack Fingleton admitted that he had liked Douglas Jardine and stated that he and Larwood had each done their job on the Bodyline tour, and expressed regret at the way both left cricket in acrimonious circumstances.

Alan Gibson said that Douglas Jardine had "irony rather than humour".

Douglas Jardine sent Herbert Sutcliffe an umbrella as a joke on the day of his benefit match, when rain would have ruined the match and lost Sutcliffe a considerable amount of money.

Douglas Jardine had met Jardine at shooting parties at her father's Norfolk home.

Douglas Jardine's father-in-law was keen for him to pursue his law career but he instead continued as a bank clerk and began to work as a journalist.

Douglas Jardine reported on the 1934 Ashes for the Evening Standard.

Douglas Jardine's writing for the press, and in a follow-up book on the series, was critical of selectors but less so of the players.

Douglas Jardine had grown uncomfortable with the nationalism stirred up by Tests, the greed of clubs and the large public following of individual players, particularly Bradman.

In 1939, he returned to cricket journalism and according to Christopher Douglas Jardine, achieved his highest standard as a writer.

Douglas Jardine served at Dunkirk, where he was fortunate to escape but suffered some injuries.

Douglas Jardine served in Quetta, then Simla as a major in the Central Provisions Directorate.

Douglas Jardine became fluent in the Hindustani language and although friendly, never formed close relationships with other officers.

Douglas Jardine gave lectures and played some cricket while in India.

Douglas Jardine left the army in 1945 only to find his job with the coal mining company was no longer available.

When Douglas Jardine returned from the war, the family moved to Radlett to be closer to London.

Isla recovered and Douglas Jardine found a job with paper manufacturers Wiggins Teape.

In 1946, Douglas Jardine was chosen to play for Old England in a popular and successful fund raising match against Surrey.

Douglas Jardine displayed much of his old batting skill but did not show much involvement with his team-mates.

In 1953, Douglas Jardine resumed journalism for the Ashes series and expressed a high opinion of Len Hutton's captaincy.

Douglas Jardine did some broadcasting and wrote short stories to supplement his income; Isla was in poor health and her medical care was expensive.

In 1957, Douglas Jardine travelled to Rhodesia, again to inspect some land, with his daughter Marion.

Douglas Jardine showed no improvement upon his return to England and further tests revealed that he had advanced lung cancer.

Douglas Jardine died in Switzerland on 1958 and his ashes were scattered at the summit of Cross Craigs overlooking Loch Rannoch in Perthshire, Scotland.

Douglas Jardine's family had enquired about having his ashes dispersed at Lord's, but this honour was restricted to war dead.