176 Facts About Ray Lindwall

Raymond Russell Lindwall was a cricketer who represented Australia in 61 Tests from 1946 to 1960.

Ray Lindwall is widely regarded as one of the greatest fast bowlers of all time.

Ray Lindwall played top-flight rugby league football with St George, appearing in two grand finals for the club before retiring to fully concentrate on Test cricket.

Ray Lindwall modelled his action on the great England fast bowler Harold Larwood.

Together with Keith Miller, Ray Lindwall formed a new-ball pairing regarded as one of the greatest to have played cricket.

Ray Lindwall was known for his classical style, with a smooth and rhythmic run-up and textbook side-on bowling action, from which he generated his trademark outswinger which moved away late at high pace.

Later in his career, Ray Lindwall developed an inswinger, which together with his variety, pace and control made him the most feared paceman of his time.

Ray Lindwall was a fine all round cricketer; he was a hard-hitting batsman who scored two centuries at Test level and often improved Australia's position with his lower order batting.

Ray Lindwall's best known performance was his role in leading the Australian bowling during the 1948 tour of England under Don Bradman; the 1948 Australian team went through the tour undefeated and gained the sobriquet The Invincibles which saw it regarded as one of the finest teams in cricketing history.

In 2000, Ray Lindwall was named in the Australian Cricket Board's Team of the Century.

One of five children of Irish-Swedish descent, Ray Lindwall had a difficult childhood during the Great Depression, with both parents dying before he finished high school.

Ray Lindwall returned to Australia still suffering from the after-effects of tropical disease, but he quickly made an impact upon the resumption of first-class cricket.

Ray Lindwall did well enough to gain selection for a tour of New Zealand, where he made his Test debut in March 1946 in a match that was retrospectively accredited.

Ray Lindwall returned to Australia and spent the winter playing football for St George, helping his team to the grand final of the 1946 NSWRFL season, after which he retired to concentrate solely on cricket.

Ray Lindwall brought up his maiden Test century in the Second Test and was the leading wicket-taker as Australia established its ascendancy in the post-war era.

Ray Lindwall topped the bowling the following season against India and then led the Australian attack during its celebrated Invincibles tour of England.

Ray Lindwall took 86 wickets for the tour, including 27 in the Tests, the most by any bowler.

Ray Lindwall's efforts saw him named as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Year.

Ray Lindwall returned in the following season against England, regularly taking wickets in another series win.

In 1952, Ray Lindwall played in the Lancashire League in England, where he developed his inswinger.

Ray Lindwall returned to 1953 with an aging national team in decline and despite the loss of the Ashes, commentators felt that Lindwall was at his zenith in terms of his bowling craft.

Ray Lindwall forced his way back into the Test team at 37 years of age in the following season, breaking Clarrie Grimmett's Australian Test record of 216 wickets.

Ray Lindwall retired from Test cricket after the tour of the Indian subcontinent in the following season, with a total of 228 Test wickets.

In retirement, Ray Lindwall mentored Test world-record holder Dennis Lillee and served as a national selector.

In 2009, Ray Lindwall was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.

Ray Lindwall was born in Mascot, a south-eastern suburb of Sydney, the fourth of five children.

Ray Lindwall had one younger sister, two older sisters one of which was Eileen Lindwall who married Frank Weston and an older brother.

The grandson of Swedish and Irish immigrants, Ray Lindwall had a difficult childhood with his mother Catherine dying of pneumonia when he was seven.

Larwood, a man of relatively short stature like Ray Lindwall, was less than six feet and intimidated opposition batsmen with express pace bowling, aiming short pitched bouncers at their upper body.

The Lindwall brothers returned to their home in Hurstville, where Ray henceforth attempted to emulate Larwood.

Ray Lindwall wanted to replicate the physical threat posed by Larwood to batsmen, as well as the dynamic batting of McCabe.

Ray Lindwall attempted to copy Larwood's action in his routine street cricket matches, before terrorising his classmates at primary school.

Ray Lindwall said that "he was the most famous fast bowler in the world and I naturally wanted to copy him".

Ray Lindwall taught Lindwall to add accuracy and variation to his raw speed.

Ray Lindwall's physique had matured by the time he was 15, and he was successful at athletics and swimming.

Aware that he needed a good education with his family in poverty during the Great Depression, Ray Lindwall lifted himself for his final year of junior high school and won a half-scholarship to Marist Brothers Darlinghurst for 1937 and 1938.

However, Ray Lindwall's focus on rugby league and cricket saw him fail his Leaving Certificate in his final year.

In early October 1938, with his final school year drawing to a close, Ray Lindwall was among a group of young cricketers who received an invitation to practise at the SCG with the state team.

Ray Lindwall was the first to volunteer to bowl to Jack Fingleton, who was one of Australia's first-choice opening batsmen, having just returned from the 1938 Ashes tour.

Ray Lindwall peppered Fingleton with a series of yorkers, bouncers and outswingers.

Ray Lindwall came into the team seeing himself as an into-the-wind swing bowler.

O'Reilly felt that pace bowlers were only useful for a few overs with new ball, so he instructed Ray Lindwall to lengthen his run-up and bowl as fast as possible.

Ray Lindwall placed Lindwall low in the batting order, where he often did not get an opportunity to bat.

Ray Lindwall did not bother protesting, realising that dissent against the autocratic O'Reilly would be futile.

Ray Lindwall returned to school, attempting to obtain his Leaving Certificate while playing third-grade rugby.

Ray Lindwall thus took an office job with Commercial Steel and Forge Company, which manufactured aeroplane parts and bomb fuses.

Ray Lindwall missed the 1941 NSWRFL season due to illness, and in doing so missed out on the team that won the premiership that season.

In October 1941, Ray Lindwall was selected to make his first-class cricket debut against Queensland in Brisbane, just after turning 20.

Ray Lindwall conceded an expensive 81 runs in 15 wicketless overs and made just one run with the bat.

The Sydney grade cricket competition continued, and Ray Lindwall helped St George to a hat-trick of premierships with 27 wickets at 22.19 and 405 runs at 27.00.

Lindwall and his brother Jack, who played on the wing, scored all of the team's points in the grand final, Jack scoring a try and Ray kicking three goals.

Ray Lindwall had attempted to enlist in the Royal Australian Air Force, but he was rejected because the employees of his firm were exempted from military service.

Ray Lindwall's unit were bombed while they were ashore and he was lucky not to be killed.

Ray Lindwall resumed his first-class cricket career steadily against Queensland and South Australia.

Ray Lindwall gave his first indications of cricketing potential on a 38-degree day in the second innings of a match against Victoria.

Ray Lindwall gained further attention when he turned out for New South Wales against the feted Australian Services team of Lindsay Hassett that had played in the 1945 Victory Tests in England.

Ray Lindwall played in a Test against New Zealand, which was not awarded Test status until 1948.

Ray Lindwall had limited opportunities on a sticky wicket which favoured the slower bowling of O'Reilly and Toshack, who took eight and seven wickets respectively.

Ray Lindwall returned to Australia and resumed his rugby league career with St George in the 1946 NSWRFL season after a two-year absence, starting in reserve grade.

Ray Lindwall retired from competitive rugby on the advice of O`Reilly to concentrate on cricket.

Ray Lindwall played 31 first-grade rugby league games for St George, scoring seven tries and kicking 123 goals for a total of 267 career points.

Ray Lindwall was a fan of Bradman's leadership, recalling that "he put me at ease straight away" and that "his presence was inspiring for all the team".

Ray Lindwall scored his first runs with 31 as Australia reached 645.

The illness prevented Ray Lindwall from playing in the Second Test in Sydney in what would have been his first Test in his home town.

Ray Lindwall was dismissed for only nine in Australia's first innings, bowled by Alec Bedser.

Ray Lindwall set up a successful fast bowling partnership with Keith Miller, known for giving the English batsmen an "opening blitz", especially Len Hutton.

Ray Lindwall took his first Ashes wicket, having Test world record holder Len Hutton caught for two by a diving Colin McCool before having Bill Edrich leg before wicket.

Ray Lindwall later dismissed English captain Wally Hammond in the second innings.

Ray Lindwall was on 80 when Tallon fell and was still 19 runs short when last man Toshack came to the crease.

Toshack defended grimly as Ray Lindwall attacked and reached 100 before being caught.

Ray Lindwall brought up his century by walking three metres out of his crease and straight-driving Alec Bedser to the fence.

Ray Lindwall took the last four wickets in two overs, conceding two runs.

Ray Lindwall topped the bowling averages on either side with 18 wickets at 20.38, in addition to his 160 runs at 32.00.

Ray Lindwall was again the leading wicket-taker for the series, with 18 wickets at 16.88, in addition to his 70 runs at 14.00.

Ray Lindwall was carrying an injured leg tendon and his foot drag in the delivery stride led to murmurings in the media and among umpires as to its legality.

Bradman stated his firm belief that Ray Lindwall's delivery was fair.

Bradman advised Ray Lindwall to keep his dragging rear right foot even further than usual, to avoid being no-balled, and to avoid bowling at full speed until the umpires were satisfied with his action.

Bradman assured Ray Lindwall that he was an automatic selection for the Tests even if he did not take a wicket in the lead-in tour matches, telling him that being passed by the umpires was the first priority.

Ray Lindwall was not no-balled in the first match at Worcester, and so it remained for the rest of the tour.

Ray Lindwall lined up for the First Test at Trent Bridge, where he had taken six wickets in the tour game.

Ray Lindwall returned in Australia's innings, batting at No 9 without a runner, where he partnered vice-captain Hassett in a century partnership to lift Australia's score to 509 to take a 344 run lead.

Ray Lindwall was subjected to a thorough fitness test on the morning of the Second Test at Lord's two weeks later, the home of cricket.

Ray Lindwall then took the new ball and felt pain in his groin again after delivering his first ball to Hutton.

Ray Lindwall had Washbrook caught behind in his fourth over and then clean bowled Edrich and Tom Dollery in the space of three balls.

Ray Lindwall was worried that Bradman had noticed his injury, but Bradman later claimed that he feigned ignorance to allow Ray Lindwall to relax.

Ray Lindwall then received five consecutive bouncers from Edrich, one of which hit him in the hand, evoking cheers from the home crowd.

Ray Lindwall made 23 as Australia struggled to 221 and avoided the follow on.

Ray Lindwall removed Emmett for a duck in the second innings, bringing his tormentor Edrich to the crease.

Ray Lindwall hit out, scoring 77, an innings marked by powerful driving and pulling, dominating in stands of 48 and 55 with Johnston and Toshack respectively, leaving Australia 38 runs in arrears on the first innings.

Ray Lindwall had Compton dismissed before lunch after Morris had taken a difficult catch.

Ray Lindwall then had Godfrey Evans, Alec Bedser and Jack Young all yorked in the space of two runs.

Ray Lindwall described the catch as one of the best he had ever seen.

Ray Lindwall ended the series as the leading wicket-taker with 27 wickets at 19.62, and scored 191 runs at 31.83.

Ray Lindwall featured prominently on the first day, smashing 104 in 86 minutes for Hassett's XI.

Ray Lindwall started the tour on a poor note in the First Test at Wanderers in Johannesburg, scoring 21 and then going wicketless as Australia completed an innings victory.

Ray Lindwall's tour had been intermittently interrupted by groin problems, fibrositis and a stomach disorder, and his 12 wickets at an average of 20.66 at three wickets per match was below his customary rate.

Australia struggled to 228 in its first innings with Ray Lindwall making the second top-score of 41 in supporting Neil Harvey in a rearguard action.

Ray Lindwall took five wickets in the Second Test in Melbourne, two of which came in the closing stages of the English run-chase.

Ray Lindwall had taken 15 wickets at 22.93 for the series.

Ray Lindwall entered the First Test in Brisbane in good form, having taken nine wickets in a Sheffield Shield match against Queensland in the lead-up.

Ray Lindwall's pace caught the tourists off guard, having not faced a bowler of such speed before.

Ray Lindwall was wicketless in the second innings and Australia faced 236 to win.

At one stage, Ray Lindwall bowled 15 bouncers in five overs.

The Third Test was an uneventful one for Ray Lindwall, taking a solitary wicket as the tourists took a six wicket victory on a sticky pitch.

Ray Lindwall responded by bowling further bouncers, which elicited uncertain responses from the batsman.

Ray Lindwall bowled his fourth consecutive bouncer and managed to extract an uncertain hook shot from Weekes, which resulted in his dismissal behind the wicket.

Ray Lindwall had contributed heavily to the team's success with bat and ball, with 21 wickets at 23.04 and 211 runs at 26.37, but he was criticised for his use of the short ball.

Ray Lindwall accepted an offer to play in the Lancashire League in England during the Australian winter of 1952, joining Nelson Cricket Club for a sum of 600 pounds and bonuses, which did not include the boat fares for him and his wife.

Ray Lindwall took 96 wickets at 8.37 during the season and developed an inswinger on the advice of a local umpire who adamantly refused to give leg before wicket decisions to outswingers.

Ray Lindwall returned to Australia with a newborn son who has been born during his stay in Lancashire, and he was greeted by media speculation as to whether his professional sojourn had improved or detracted from his capabilities.

Ray Lindwall made 70 from a total of 148 on a sticky wicket against South Australia in Adelaide that led Miller to regard it as the best innings he had seen under such conditions.

Ray Lindwall made the score after being sent in to open the batting in the absence of Sid Barnes.

Ray Lindwall showed his versatility again in the First Test in Brisbane, scoring an unbeaten 38 in the second innings to extend Australia's lead to 373.

Ray Lindwall had taken 19 wickets at 20.16 in just three and a half Tests for the series, and Australia seemed unlikely to find replacements for their leading strike pair anytime soon; their eventual successors Richie Benaud and Alan Davidson were still to become regular internationals.

Ray Lindwall returned to England in 1953, the site of his triumph five years earlier.

Ray Lindwall was to exhibit performances that were rated higher than during the Invincibles tour.

Roland Perry wrote that Ray Lindwall "reached his zenith, producing a sustained, sensational season of brilliant, powerful and intelligent fast bowling".

Ray Lindwall's performances saw him regarded as the finest fast bowler of his time.

Ray Lindwall took just 48 minutes to reach the mark, with two sixes and five fours.

The teams met at The Oval for the deciding Test and Australia could manage 275 after winning the toss with Lindwall striking a quickfire 62 noted for an array of off drives to top score and push the total to respectability.

At 32 years of age, Ray Lindwall still maintained his high pace, but had developed more subtleties and an inswinger.

In November 1953, Ray Lindwall was given employment in Brisbane for the bus and transport company Cobb and Co.

The move generated criticism from the cricketing community who felt that Ray Lindwall's service merited a more dignified farewell.

Ray Lindwall had a mediocre season by his standards, taking only 22 wickets at 30.14.

Ray Lindwall's batting was even more ineffective, scoring only 14 runs in six innings.

Such performances led to media speculation that Ray Lindwall was in decline.

Ray Lindwall took two further wickets as England fell to an innings victory.

Ray Lindwall promised that he would show Tyson on their next meeting, which happened to be the Second Test in Sydney.

Ray Lindwall bowled Tyson in the first innings and in the second innings, Ray Lindwall gave him a bouncer which skidded towards Tyson's throat.

Ray Lindwall later said "thanks so much for showing me the bouncer".

Ray Lindwall took five wickets for the match but Tyson returned to win the low scoring match for England.

Ray Lindwall then pulled a muscle in the Sheffield Shield match and was sidelined as England sealed the series with a third consecutive win.

O'Reilly, Ray Lindwall's mentor, was now a journalist and called for new selectors, claiming that Australia was at its worst for four decades.

Ray Lindwall continued onto the early 1955 tour of the West Indies, the first by an Australian team to the Caribbean.

Ray Lindwall was determined to enjoy himself, having recovered from his recent illness.

However, Ray Lindwall needed respite and dietary discipline in order to completely ward off his hepatitis.

Ray Lindwall was no longer the reveller that Miller once knew.

Ray Lindwall's match soured in the second innings when he broke down with an achilles tendon problem as the match ended in a draw.

Ray Lindwall recovered for the start of the Third Test at Bourda in Georgetown, Guyana.

Ray Lindwall had a quiet time in a spin dominated game, taking two wickets in an eight-wicket Australian victory.

Ray Lindwall had another quiet match with two wickets in another high scoring draw with both teams amassing more than 500 in the first innings.

Ray Lindwall was appointed the Queensland captain, and he took 30 wickets at 28.97 and made 383 runs at 32.55.

Ray Lindwall's tour was further compounded by a recurrence of his groin injury.

Ray Lindwall bade farewell to Test cricket in England at The Oval, taking two wickets.

Ray Lindwall briefly bowled on the first morning without success before succumbing to a severe stomach bug.

Ray Lindwall took no further part in the first innings and spent the next two days in bed.

Ray Lindwall briefly got out of his bed on day three to bat, making only eight as Australia took a 158 run first innings lead.

The Second Test in Bombay was the only time that Ray Lindwall was to captain Australia in a Test match.

Ray Lindwall finished the tour with scores of eight and 28 in the Third Test in Madras.

Furthermore, having captained the team in the absence of Johnson and Miller, Ray Lindwall was the now the player with the most seniority in terms of leadership.

Ray Lindwall heard the news on the radio while he was working, having not being given prior notice.

Ray Lindwall was determined to add to his Test tally of 212 wickets, which was just four behind the Australian record of Clarrie Grimmett.

Ray Lindwall was overlooked as the selectors persisted with the winning combination that toured South Africa.

Ray Lindwall received a standing ovation for his performances in unfavourable conditions and was greeted by Bradman, the chairman of selectors.

Ray Lindwall avoided Bradman's inquiries as to whether he had any injury worries, fearing it would hinder his chances of selection.

Ray Lindwall was rewarded with a recall for the Fourth Test at the Adelaide Oval at the age of 37.

Australia bowled first and Ray Lindwall equalled Grimmett's record by having Bailey caught in the slips by Davidson.

Ray Lindwall opened the bowling in the second innings with 28,000 fans awaiting a new record.

Ray Lindwall beat Bailey with two outswingers in his first over before bowling him for a duck to move ahead of Grimmett.

Ray Lindwall finished his resurgent season with 40 wickets at 20.55.

Ray Lindwall played in two Tests against either nation with only moderate results: he took nine wickets at 38.22 and scored 38 runs at 12.66.

Ray Lindwall finished with 228 Test wickets, eight wickets behind Alec Bedser's then world record of 236 wickets.

Ray Lindwall, widely regarded as one of the greatest fast bowlers of all time, bowled with a classical and artistic side-on bowling action.

Richie Benaud said that Ray Lindwall was "technically the best fast bowler" that he ever saw.

Ray Lindwall was particularly known for his trademark outswinger, which swung late and at high pace.

Ray Lindwall's repertoire was reinforced with a dangerous yorker and bouncer, and changes of pace.

Denis Compton said that Ray Lindwall had the subtleties of a slow bowler, saying that he "raised what is considered to be the labouring force of cricket [fast bowling] to an artform with his tactical shrewdness, control and variations".

Hutton's battles with Ray Lindwall were regarded as one of the key match-ups in Anglo-Australian battles of the time, and Hutton said his opponent had the ability to "strike at will".

Hutton felt that Ray Lindwall's bouncers were the best that he faced, saying of their accuracy:"You had to play them or be hit".

Ray Lindwall refused to bowl bouncers at tailenders, saying that "If the day ever came when I have to bowl bouncers at tailenders then I won't deserve to play for Australia".

In retirement, Ray Lindwall went on to mentor Lillee, who went on to break the Test world record for wicket-taking.

Ray Lindwall was given life membership of the Marylebone Cricket Club in 1960, the NSWCA is 1979 and the Queensland Cricket Association in 1991.

Ray Lindwall published two books, Flying Stumps in 1954 and The Challenging Tests in 1961.

Ray Lindwall was inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame in 1996 as one of the ten inaugural members.

Ray Lindwall was married to Peg, and together they had one son and one daughter.

Ray Lindwall, who became a florist after his cricket career, provided the wedding flowers for fellow Australian fast bowler Jeff Thomson, who would later share Ray Lindwall's Australian Cricket Hall of Fame status in 2016.