65 Facts About Harold Larwood

Harold Larwood was a professional cricketer for Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club and the England cricket team between 1924 and 1938.

The Australians' description of the method as "unsportsmanlike" soured cricketing and political relations between the two countries; during subsequent efforts to heal the breach, Harold Larwood refused to apologise for his bowling, since he was carrying out his captain's instructions.

In 1949, after years out of the limelight, Harold Larwood was elected to honorary membership of the MCC.

Harold Larwood worked for a soft drinks firm, and as an occasional reporter and commentator on Tests against visiting England sides.

Harold Larwood paid several visits to England, and was honoured at his old county ground, Trent Bridge, where a stand was named after him.

Harold Larwood was born on 14 November 1904 in the Nottinghamshire village of Nuncargate, near the coal mining town of Kirkby-in-Ashfield.

Harold Larwood was the fourth of five sons born to Robert Larwood, a miner, and his wife Mary, nee Sharman.

On leaving the school in 1917, when he was 13, Harold Larwood was employed at the local miners' cooperative store, before beginning work the following year at Annesley Colliery in charge of a team of pit ponies.

Harold Larwood had shown an early talent for cricket, and began to play for Nuncargate's second team in 1918.

Robert Larwood was angry that his son had not asked for more generous terms, but according to Hamilton, Harold would have agreed to anything to escape from the mine, even for a single summer.

Harold Larwood grew a few inches in height, although he remained short for a fast bowler, and under Iremonger's regime of diet and exercise he gained weight.

Harold Larwood was first called for full county duty on 20 August 1924, against Northamptonshire, at Trent Bridge.

Harold Larwood bowled 26 overs in all, conceded 71 runs and took the wicket of Vallance Jupp, an experienced Test all-rounder.

Harold Larwood had gained the support of the county captain, Arthur Carr, a powerful personality who decided that the new recruit had the makings of a future Test match bowler.

Carr played a major part in encouraging and developing the young bowler's talents, and acted as Harold Larwood's guiding spirit throughout the latter's career.

Harold Larwood had to wait until June 1925 for his next county match, which was against Yorkshire at Bramall Lane in Sheffield.

Harold Larwood began the 1926 county season in good form; during a drawn match against Surrey, he twice took the wicket of Jack Hobbs, England's premier batsman and an influential voice with the national selectors.

Harold Larwood took five wickets in the match, but was not selected for the first Test, which in any event was ruined by rain after barely an hour's play.

Harold Larwood was not selected for the Third or Fourth Tests, both of which ended in draws; after the fourth match Carr, whose leadership had been criticised and whose batting form was poor, was replaced as England's captain by Percy Chapman for the series' decisive match at the Oval.

Primarily at the urging of Hobbs, Harold Larwood was recalled for this critical game.

At the season's end, Harold Larwood was married, in a quiet and private ceremony, to Lois Bird, a miner's daughter whom he had first met in 1925.

Harold Larwood took six wickets in these matches, but his best performances that season were for Nottinghamshire.

One of his victims in the match was Bill Ponsford, the Australian Test opening batsman, who let slip his opinion that Harold Larwood was "not really fast".

Harold Larwood finished the Test series with 18 wickets at 40.22, behind George Geary and Jack White.

Back in England for the 1929 season, Harold Larwood made three Test appearances against the visiting South Africans, for modest returns: a total of eight wickets at 23.25, and with the bat 50 runs at 12.50.

Harold Larwood was injured during the third Test, and thus missed the last two games of the series and several county matches.

Harold Larwood's illness meant that Larwood missed the second Test, at Lord's, which saw Australia score a record 729 for 6 including a rapid 254 from Bradman, at the time the highest individual Test score in England.

Harold Larwood returned to the England side for the third Test, at Headingley, Leeds.

Harold Larwood later claimed that his first ball to Bradman, before the batsman had scored, was a bouncer that touched the edge of the bat and was caught by the wicket-keeper, George Duckworth: "You could hear the snick all over the ground".

Harold Larwood was recalled for the final Test at the Oval that, as in 1926, would determine the series victor.

Apart from his treatment by Bradman, Harold Larwood was successful in 1930, rising to fourth place in the national bowling averages.

Harold Larwood batted well on occasions, including a not-out century against Northamptonshire.

Harold Larwood made one Test appearance in 1931, against New Zealand, in a rain-ruined game in which he neither batted nor bowled.

Harold Larwood headed the domestic bowling averages in 1931 and 1932, in the latter year with 162 wickets at 12.86, the best seasonal figures of his career.

The 1932 Test trial was limited to half a day's play, during which Harold Larwood bowled 15 overs for a single wicket.

Harold Larwood found a willing ally in Carr, who, though no longer playing Test cricket, still captained Nottinghamshire and had, according to Hamilton, "an almost carnivorous appetite for trying to humiliate the Australians and grinding them, and especially Bradman, into the dirt".

Harold Larwood did not at the time consider Jardine's proposed tactics as either novel or controversial.

Harold Larwood's priority was to contain Bradman, so "any scheme that would keep him in check appealed to me a great deal".

Harold Larwood dismissed Bradman for low scores in each of the Australian innings, writing later: "It was a refreshing sight to see [him] clumsily waving his bat in the air".

Harold Larwood was further handicapped by pains from sore feet, caused by a new pair of boots.

Bill Woodfull, the Australian captain, was struck over the heart by a ball from Harold Larwood and was incapacitated for several minutes.

Harold Larwood had been bowling to an orthodox field; on Woodfull's resumption, to the crowd's amazed hostility, Jardine switched to the leg theory attack.

Harold Larwood then knocked Woodfull's bat from his hands, bringing further demonstrations from the crowd.

Later in the innings a Harold Larwood delivery struck Bert Oldfield on the head, causing his retirement from the match.

The crowd's reaction was such that Harold Larwood thought a full-scale invasion of the pitch might follow: "If one man jumps the fence the whole mob will go for us".

When Bradman was out, he and Harold Larwood left the field together, although no words were exchanged.

On his return home, despite massive press and public interest Harold Larwood was bound by his contract with the MCC to remain silent until the main party returned.

Harold Larwood's writings were inconvenient for the MCC committee which, now more aware of the intimidatory aspects of bodyline, was revising its position and was more inclined to appease Australian feelings.

The injury to Harold Larwood's foot meant that he scarcely bowled for Nottinghamshire in 1933.

Harold Larwood was persuaded, largely by his erstwhile opponent Jack Fingleton, that he would find better prospects and a warm welcome in Australia, and he decided to emigrate there with his family, which by then included five daughters.

From time to time Harold Larwood supplemented his wages by commenting on cricket for newspapers and broadcasters.

Harold Larwood sometimes went to cricket events where he would occasionally meet Don Bradman; relations between the two, though outwardly cordial, remained essentially cold.

In 1977 Harold Larwood attended the Centenary Test match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, along with many survivors of old Ashes battles.

Harold Larwood's presence created considerable interest among generations of cricket followers to whom the bodyline series was distant history.

Harold Larwood was particularly critical of the proliferation of protective clothing in the 1970s, and considered Ian Botham, the England all-rounder, over-rated: his bowling "wouldn't burst a paper bag".

Harold Larwood was unimpressed by the 1984 Australian television miniseries Bodyline which he considered inaccurate and at risk of reawakening ill-feelings he thought best forgotten.

In June 1993, in the Queen's Birthday Honours List, Harold Larwood was appointed an MBE for services to cricket.

Harold Larwood was gradually losing his sight, although he retained his alertness, and on his 90th birthday was able to join in a game of garden cricket with his great-grandchildren.

Harold Larwood died in hospital on 22 July 1995, following a brief illness, in his 91st year.

Harold Larwood was cremated, and his ashes placed in a memorial wall at Holy Trinity Anglican Church in Kingsford.

Harold Larwood has been widely acknowledged as the greatest fast bowler of his generation and, according to his Wisden obituary, was "one of the rare fast bowlers in the game's long history to spread terror in opposition ranks by the mere mention of his name".

Fingleton commented that Harold Larwood was "about twice as fast as anyone out there", indicating a match in progress at Trent Bridge.

At around 5 feet 7 inches, Harold Larwood was short for a fast bowler, although he had long arms in relation to his height.

Harold Larwood said he did not intend to hit batsmen, though "I didn't shed any crocodile tears if a batsman was hit in the thigh".

Harold Larwood did from time to time inflict serious injuries on his opponents: Reg Sinfield of Gloucestershire, Patsy Hendren of Middlesex and H B Cameron of South Africa were all carried unconscious from the field after being hit by high-speed deliveries.