Ashes Legends: Bill Woodfull - Dignity personified

Bill Woodfull was the Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1927.

Australia is a nation known for its highly competitive nature, especially when it comes to sports. There have been many instances in cricket where their all-consuming desire to win at all costs has clouded their judgment and invited the ire of fellow sportsmen (remember Monkeygate and the Under-Arm incident of 1981?).

In the current millennium, most teams have thought it appropriate to respond in kind, though some of them have actually done it in the past as well. In particular, the Ashes squads of the old enemy, England, have forced the Kangaroos to adjust their behaviour and approach to the game. And more often that not, the Aussies have come back incredibly well to shed the tag of being sullen competitors.

It helps, then, to have a leader who can steer the team through turbulent times caused by such crises. Nothing less than a trial by fire, the one in charge not only has the daunting task of building morale, but also the challenge of living up to the fans’ expectations and restore the team to its winning ways. It is at times like these that separate great leaders from the good.

And one such leader of men was the Australian captain Bill Woodfull – one whose dignified and stoic behaviour during the tumultuous Bodyline series won the hearts of many.

Woodfull wasn’t in the league of Don Bradman or Stan McCabe – he was not flamboyant, nor did he have the legendary concentration of Braddles. He had patience in plenty and a sound defensive technique, the kind of batsman you would rely on to bail your side out of difficult situations.

At first sight, though, he gave the impression of being clumsy – there was little grace in his stiff-jointed style of play. Bill’s prowess at defence earned him the epithet “the un-bowlable“, since he was rarely bowled.

Despite his defensive play, Woodfull formed a powerful partnership with fellow Victorian and Australian opener Bill Ponsford. The two would go on to raise 18 century opening stands, thus being regarded as one of the best ever partnerships in Test history.

Such was their dominance at the state level that the rest of the batting order would leave the ground to go to work whenever the duo batted. But Woodfull would go on to achieve international renown as a captain, not as a batsman.

His experience as a schoolteacher gave him a benevolent attitude towards his players, and he was well-respected for his sportsmanship and ability to mould a successful and loyal team through his strength of character. While refraining from alcohol himself, he never imposed his beliefs on his players.

It was a hallmark of his character that helped to keep the Australians organized into a tightly-knit unit despite being on the receiving end of the “villainous” Englishman Douglas Jardine’s tactics.

Woodfull led a young and relatively inexperienced team to England on the 1930 Ashes tour after incumbent skipper Jack Ryder was omitted following a 4-1 defeat in the previous series.

The side was dubbed “Woodfull’s kindergarten” by commentators since eleven of the chosen 15 had never played on English soil before, and the general feeling was that Australia would be decimated yet again.

Bill Woodfull (left) walks out to bat with Don Bradman

However, the Kangaroos won the series 2-1 to regain the Ashes; Woodfull hammered 155 in the second Test, sharing stands of 162 with Ponsford and 231 with Bradman (254). In total, he and Ponsford added three century opening stands – a feat that was decisive in Australia’s winning campaign.

Later in the season, he led his side to a commanding 5-0 sweep of South Africa, scoring 421 runs and second only to the Don.

Then came the acrimonious return series of the Ashes – and Australia was battered black and blue by the relentless barrage of fast, short-pitched bowling dished out by the English quicker bowlers. But what sent thousands of Australian fans into a fury was the agonizing blow that Harold Larwood struck Woodfull with a short ball directly above his heart.

Jardine’s reaction of praising his bowler, and re-organization of the field placements to Bodyline settings with the Aussie skipper clearly in discomfort was the last straw for them.

Though Bill recovered to continue his innings, albeit under a lot of pain, he refused to employ retaliatory tactics as advocated by vice-captain Vic Richardson and some of the other players. The fact that he bore no ill-will towards the English players (at least in public) despite seeing his teammates getting hurt frequently (wicket-keeper Bert Oldfield was left with a fractured skull) spoke volumes of his character.

But even the most stoic of leaders has a limit to what he can tolerate. His abrupt response to England manager Pelham Warner left the latter in tears: “There are two teams out there. One is playing cricket. The other is making no attempt to do so.“

Woodfull was furious when this statement was leaked to the press, as he had intended it to be private. Nevertheless, he refused to take advantage of Larwood’s broken foot in the fifth Test at Sydney, blocking five deliveries and made no attempt to steal a run.

England took the series, but Woodfull’s Australians received widespread praise for their captain’s steadfast refusal to retaliate in kind.

The Aussie captain had some measure of revenge in the 1934 tour, however, which was his last at the international stage. During a warm-up game against Nottinghamshire, he let his displeasure over fast bowler Bill Voce’s repeated use of Bodyline bowling known to the umpires – prompting the county to drop Voce and angering the Nottinghamshire faithful.

With the Test series tied at 1-1, the sides headed into the final game determined to win. Australia put up 701 in the first innings, with the skipper scoring 49.

England made 321, and the Kangaroos replied with 327 with Woodfull making 13 in his final Test innings. The Aussie bowlers then ripped through the English batting, destroying them for 145 to win by 562 runs and sealing the series 2-1.

Woodfull thus became the only Australian captain to regain the Ashes twice, and that too on his birthday.

At the end of a solid international career, Woodfull went on to have a much rewarding one as a mathematics teacher at Melbourne High School.

He was the first one to identify future Australian all-rounder Keith Miller’s talents, despite Miller scoring zero in his final exam for Woodfull’s geometry class. A disciplinarian as well, Woodfull made Miller repeat the year, and after the youngster played a match-winning innings for South Melbourne against Bill’s Carlton side, presented him with a silver eggcup during an algebra class.

Curiously, Woodfull refused to coach the school cricket teams despite his international exploits – just another example of a man who remained humble throughout his life.

Australia gave the cricketing world a true gentleman in William Maldon Woodfull, and he gave them their greatest triumphs in the face of adversity.