Ray Lindwall

Raymond Russell Lindwall (3 October 1921 – 23 June 1996) was a cricketer who represented Australia in 61 Tests from 1946 to 1960. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest fast bowlers of all time. He also 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.

A right-arm fast bowler of express pace, Lindwall was widely regarded as the greatest pace bowler of his era and one of the finest of all time. He modelled his action on the great England fast bowler Harold Larwood. Together with Keith Miller, Lindwall formed a new-ball pairing regarded as one of the greatest to have played cricket. 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. Lindwall mixed his outswinger with a searing yorker, subtle changes of pace and an intimidating bouncer that skidded at the heads of opposing batsmen. Later in his career, Lindwall developed an inswinger, which together with his variety, pace and control made him the most feared paceman of his time. 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. 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. Lindwall's place in Australian cricket history saw him inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame in 1996 as one of the ten inaugural members. In 2000, Lindwall was named in the Australian Cricket Board's Team of the Century.

One of five children of Irish-Swedish descent, Lindwall had a difficult childhood during the Great Depression, with both parents dying before he finished high school. Lindwall was inspired in his childhood after watching England's Harold Larwood, the fastest bowler of the era, terrorise the Australian batsmen during the notorious ''Bodyline'' series of 1932–33 with short-pitched intimidatory bowling. During his teenage years, Lindwall rose through the ranks of Sydney Grade Cricket at St. George under the tutelage of Test leg spinner Bill O'Reilly, who was regarded as the finest bowler in the world at the time. Lindwall made his first-class debut for New South Wales in 1941–42. At the same time, Lindwall, a fine athlete, was playing for St. George in the first-grade of the New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership as a full back. With the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, interstate cricket was cancelled and in 1943, Lindwall joined the army and served in New Guinea until 1945. 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. He 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. 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.

Lindwall began his celebrated opening partnership with Miller during the 1946–47 season which saw his first Ashes series against England. 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. He topped the bowling the following season against India and then led the Australian attack during its celebrated ''Invincibles'' tour of England. He took 86 wickets for the tour, including 27 in the Tests, the most by any bowler. He was at his best in the Fifth Test at The Oval, when England were skittled for only 52, taking 6/20 as the hosts were unable to cope with his high-pace swing. Lindwall's efforts saw him named as one of the five ''Wisden'' Cricketers of the Year.

Following the ''Invincibles'' tour, Lindwall found the pitches in South Africa in 1949–50 less to his liking and was dropped for the final Test. He returned in the following season against England, regularly taking wickets in another series win. The following year, he played a major part in stopping the much vaunted West Indian batsmen, but he was criticised for his prolific use of short-pitched bowling. In 1952, Lindwall played in the Lancashire League in England, where he developed his inswinger. He 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. Upon returning to Australia, Lindwall moved north to Queensland due to work commitments and then suffered a season of injury and illness in 1954–55 which saw him perform poorly as England retained the Ashes easily. After a strong performance in the Caribbean, Lindwall missed half of the 1956 English tour with injury and was otherwise ineffective as Australia lost its third consecutive Ashes series. During the return trip to Australia, Lindwall captained Australia for the only time in a Test match against India in Mumbai, after injuries forced out regular captain Ian Johnson. Following the repeated defeats to England, the Australian selectors instituted generational change and gambled on a radical youth policy which saw Lindwall dropped for the 1957–58 tour of South Africa. 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. He retired from Test cricket after the tour of the Indian subcontinent in the following season, with a total of 228 Test wickets. In retirement, Lindwall mentored Test world-record holder Dennis Lillee and also served as a national selector.

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

Early years

Lindwall was born in Mascot, a south-eastern suburb of Sydney, the fourth of five children. He had one younger sister, two older sisters one of which was Eileen Lindwall who married Frank Weston and an older brother.Perry (2001), p. 216. The grandson of Swedish and Irish immigrants,Perry (2001), p. 212. Lindwall had a difficult childhood with his mother Catherine dying of pneumonia when he was seven. His father Arthur had a job at the Water and Sewerage Board, but the children were aware that their father could not financially support them beyond school-leaving age.Perry (2001), p. 213.

At the age of 11, Lindwall and his elder brother Jack were spectators at the Sydney Cricket Ground on the second day of the First Test of the 1932–33 Ashes series. The series saw the usage of the notorious ''Bodyline'' tactics by England's pace battery led by Harold Larwood under the captaincy of Douglas Jardine. Larwood, a man of relatively short stature like Lindwall, was less than six feet and intimidated opposition batsmen with express pace bowling, aiming short pitched bouncers at their upper body. Larwood also had a smooth, rhythmic run-up and a classical side-on action, something for which Lindwall became famous. The match was also remembered for Stan McCabe's much-celebrated 187 not out, aggressively resisting the ''Bodyline'' tactics as Australia fell to a heavy ten wicket defeat.Perry (2001), p. 211.

The Lindwall brothers returned to their home in Hurstville, where Ray henceforth attempted to emulate Larwood. He wanted to replicate the physical threat posed by Larwood to batsmen, as well as the dynamic batting of McCabe. Lindwall attempted to copy Larwood's action in his routine street cricket matches, before terrorising his classmates at primary school. Lindwall said that "he was the most famous fast bowler in the world and I naturally wanted to copy him". Lindwall's formal cricket education began the following year when he commenced his secondary schooling at Marist Brothers Kogarah. The school had teachers that had a habit of scouting around for athletic boys who could bring sporting honour to the institution. The headmaster, Brother Aidan O'Keefe, was a competent player and invested time into training Lindwall. O'Keefe taught Lindwall batting repertoire while also encouraging him to remain aggressive. He taught Lindwall to add accuracy and variation to his raw speed. By the age of 13, Lindwall was leading the under-15 school team, opening both the batting and bowling. Aged 14, Lindwall played in two distinct Saturday competitions – in the morning against schoolboys and with adults in the afternoon in a B-grade competition with Carlton Waratahs. On one outing, he scored 219 and an unbeaten 110 in two different matches on the same day.

Lindwall's physique had matured by the time he was 15, and he was also successful at athletics and swimming. Aware that he needed a good education with his family in poverty during the Great Depression, 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, Lindwall's focus on rugby league and cricket saw him fail his Leaving Certificate in his final year.

Grade cricket under O'Reilly

During his secondary school years, Lindwall focused on his batting and gained a reputation as a dynamic shotmaker. In early October 1938, with his final school year drawing to a close, Lindwall was among a group of young cricketers who received an invitation to practise at the SCG with the state team. 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. Lindwall peppered Fingleton with a series of yorkers, bouncers and outswingers. In the space of 15 minutes, Lindwall bowled Fingleton four times and beat the bat on several other occasions. When questioned by his coach, Fingleton brushed off Lindwall's performance, noting "I'm just off the boat. I'm not seeing the ball." Lindwall was stung by the comments, noting that it taught him to hate all batsmen.Perry (2001), p. 214.

Lindwall was only in the Third XI of St. George at the time, but by December, he was in the First XI along with future ''Invincibles'' teammate Arthur Morris. The senior team was captained by Bill O'Reilly, a leg spin bowler who represented Australia in Tests and was regarded as the best bowler in the world. O'Reilly was a firm man and came to be a father figure for Lindwall. 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 Lindwall to lengthen his run-up and bowl as fast as possible. O’Reilly also decided that the team needed more bowlers. He placed Lindwall low in the batting order, where he often did not get an opportunity to bat. Lindwall did not bother protesting, realising that dissent against the autocratic O’Reilly would be futile. O'Reilly also reversed Morris from a bowler into a batsman.Perry (2001), p. 215. Both Morris and Lindwall became world-leading players in the fields that O’Reilly chose for them. By the end of the 1938–39 season, Lindwall had not yet established himself as a cricketer. Former Test batsman Charlie Macartney lamented what he perceived as a lack of talent and substance at St. George. Lindwall returned to school, attempting to obtain his Leaving Certificate while also playing third-grade rugby. In July, Lindwall's father died, leaving him and his four siblings orphaned.

Juggling work, war and first-class rugby league and cricket

At the end of the year, Lindwall gained his Leaving Certificate. This made him eligible to study at university, but this clashed with his desire to play sport and earn money to help support his parentless family. He thus took an office job with Commercial Steel and Forge Company, which manufactured aeroplane parts and bomb fuses. During the 1939–40 season, Lindwall's bowling was only moderately successful, with 16 wickets at 34.93. A highlight of the season was an unbeaten 49 as St. George won the grade final.

In the winter of 1940 Lindwall made his first grade rugby league debut in the New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership for the St. George club alongside his older brother Jack, who had been with the club since 1938. He played at and assumed goal-kicking responsibilities. Lindwall's cricketing improved during the 1940–41 season, taking 34 wickets at 16.45, approximately doubling his wickets while halving their cost. By this time, many of his colleagues had enlisted in the armed services and the competition was beginning to thin out during World War II. 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, Lindwall was selected to make his first-class cricket debut against Queensland in Brisbane, just after turning 20. Playing along his childhood hero McCabe, Lindwall put in a wayward performance. He conceded an expensive 81 runs in 15 wicketless overs and made just one run with the bat.Perry (2001), p. 217. The Sheffield Shield season was cancelled a month later after the December 1941 Pearl Harbor attack, that signalled the widening of the war into the Pacific arena. The Sydney grade cricket competition continued, and Lindwall helped St. George to a hat-trick of premierships with 27 wickets at 22.19 and 405 runs at 27.00.

During the winter of 1942, Lindwall helped the St. George Dragons rugby league team to reach the grand final for the second consecutive year and also finished the season as the League's top point-scorer. Lindwall and his brother Jack, who played on the , scored all of the team's points in the grand final, Jack scoring a try and Ray kicking three goals. However they were denied by a last-minute penalty goal and St. George were defeated by Canterbury-Bankstown 11–9. All the while, the Japanese were inching ever closer to Australia. Malaya had fallen and the northern Australian city of Darwin had been the subject of Japanese air raids.

Army commitments intervened during the 1943 season. 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. Thus Lindwall resigned his job in order to join the army. As part of his Anti-aircraft and Fortress Signal unit, he was deployed in May 1943 to New Guinea as the Japanese reached the Kokoda Trail close to Port Moresby. Lindwall's unit were bombed while they were ashore and he was lucky not to be killed. In 1945, he returned from the Solomon Islands, where he was believed to have contracted malaria and Dengue fever, although medical tests did not confirm this, he needed injections and atebrin tablets to aid him in recovering from bouts of minor illness for some time afterwards, and he resumed State cricket in 1945–46, despite the rigours of war having reduced him to just 73 kg, which was thin for his height of 178 cm.

Post-war Test cricket debut

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