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Ray Lindwall was a key member of Donald Bradman's famous Australian cricket team, which toured England in 1948. The Australians went undefeated in their 34 matches; this unprecedented feat by a Test side touring England earned them the sobriquet ''The Invincibles''. Lindwall played as a right-arm opening fast bowler and right-handed batsman in the lower middle-order. Along with Keith Miller, Lindwall formed Australia's first-choice pace duo, regarded as one of the best of all time, and Bradman typically used them in short and sharp bursts against the home batsmen with the new ball. The pair were used to target England's leading batsmen, Len Hutton and Denis Compton during the major matches, and subdued Hutton for much of the summer. England had agreed to make a new ball available after every 55 overs, more often than the usual regulations at the time, thereby allowing the pair more frequent use of a shiny ball that swung at high pace. Bradman gave the duo lighter workloads in the tour matches in order to preserve their energy for the new ball battles against England’s key batsmen in the Tests. Lindwall was a capable lower-order batsman who made two Test centuries during his career, and he featured in several rearguard actions that boosted Australia's scores during the tour. Lindwall was the equal leading wicket-taker in the Tests (27 along with Bill Johnston) and had the best bowling average (19.62) and strike rate. In the first-class matches, he led the averages although he was second in the wicket-taking list with 86 at 15.68 behind Johnston (102), who was assigned more of the workload in order to keep Miller and Lindwall fresh for the Tests. With the bat, Lindwall scored 191 runs at a batting average of 31.83 in the Tests. Lindwall's most influential contributions in the Ashes matches were his 5/70 in the first innings of the Second Test at Lord's, a hard-hitting 77 that limited Australia's first innings deficit in the Fourth Test at Headingley, and most notably, his 6/20 on the first day of the Fifth Test at The Oval. The performance was a display of extreme pace and swing that earned high praise from pundits and was largely responsible for England being bowled out for 52. Outside the Tests, Lindwall took 11/59 in a match against Sussex, with eight of his victims being bowled as the ball curved through their defences at high pace. In recognition of his achievements, Lindwall was chosen as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Year. ''Wisden'' said that "by whatever standard he is judged ... () must be placed permanently in the gallery of great fast bowlers".〔 == Background == A bowler of express pace, Lindwall was a regular member of the Test team and had opened Australia’s attack since the resumption of cricket following World War II. During the Australian summer of 1946–47, Lindwall played in all five Tests against the touring Indian cricket team. He played a major part in Australia's 4–0 series win as the leading wicket-taker with 18 scalps at an average of 16.88, ahead of Ian Johnson and Bill Johnston who took 16 apiece at averages of 16.31 and 11.37 respectively.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.cricketarchive.com/Archive/Events/AUS/India_in_Australia_1947-48/t_Australia_Bowling.html )〕 As a result, Lindwall was selected as part of Don Bradman's ''Invincibles'' that toured England without defeat in 1948, with the intention of leading the pace attack. There were two concerns for Lindwall in the lead-up to the tour. Lindwall had been playing with an injured leg tendon and his foot drag during the delivery stride led to discussion in the media and among umpires as to its legality.〔 Bradman arranged for Lindwall to see his Melbourne masseur Ern Saunders, who restored the paceman’s leg to prime condition in a fortnight. On the public relations front, Bradman stated his firm belief in the fairness of Lindwall's delivery. During the lengthy sea voyage to England, Bradman emphasized the importance of caution with respect to his bowling action.〔 Bradman advised Lindwall to ensure that his dragging rear right foot was further behind the line than usual to avoid being no-balled, and to refrain from bowling at full speed until the umpires were satisfied with his delivery stride. The Australian captain guaranteed Lindwall selection for the Tests and told him that his first priority in the lead-in tour matches was passing the umpires' scrutiny.〔Perry (2001), p. 222.〕 Bradman recalled how paceman Ernie McCormick had been no-balled 35 times in the traditional tour opener against Worcester during the 1938 campaign, destroying his confidence for the rest of the season.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Ray Lindwall with the Australian cricket team in England in 1948」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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