Bill Woodfull - Style

Style

Woodfull batted in a manner which had little aesthetic pleasure or grace, with Wisden describing stating that "at first sight, he gave the impression of being clumsy". Affected by a bout of rheumatic fever in childhood, he had stiff-jointed style, and played with little noticeable backlift. This gave the impression of a laboured playing style. Despite this, he scored consistently through good placement and powerful drives generated by his strong forearms. Despite his leaden appearance, he often advanced down the pitch to spin bowling. He was known for playing with a straight bat and a close watch on the ball, which were the core features of a strong defensive ability. He typically took block on leg stump and shuffled across to cover his stumps. His defensive prowess yielded names such as "the unbowlable" (a reference to the fact that he was rarely bowled as a result of missing the ball) and "wormkiller". The latter epithet was given to him by English bowlers who said that his backlift was so small that it was only enough to decapitate worms that had raised their heads above ground level. He was also known for his reliability in crisis match situations, leading to epithets such as "The Rock" and "Old Steadfast". Woodfull formed an opening partnership with Bill Ponsford at state and international level which yielded 18 century opening stands. Dubbed "Mutt and Jeff" by team-mates after the famous comic strip duo, as well as "Willy Wo and Willy Po", they were regarded as one of the finest opening partnerships in Test history. Their Victorian teammates had such faith in the pair that if they were batting, the wicket-keeper and bowlers who batted low in the order would leave the ground to go to work.

As a captain, Woodfull was known for his courage and high moral principles in the face of the bodyline series. Fellow player Stan McCabe described him as "the greatest man I ever met", while wicket-keeper Bert Oldfield said that he had never met a more exemplary character. Oldfield said that Woodfull was a psychologist and humanitarian in addition to a captain. Bradman attributed Woodfull's success to his ability to command the intense loyalty of his players and convert it into team spirit. Bill O'Reilly said that Woodfull's men "all held imperishable memories of his personal touch and his courage". Ray Robinson said that "nobody thought Bill Woodfull the cat's whiskers as a strokeplayer but his many qualities made him a pre-eminent leader of men". He added that "Woodfull's unrivalled selflessness won fidelity bordering on devotion". Australian cricket writer Jack Pollard said that "Woodfull had the habit of being where things were tough, and he brought rare dignity to the Australian captaincy". Pollard compared the respect he commanded from his players to that of Ian Chappell. The English writer RC Robertson-Glasgow said of Woodfull:

The most calm-browed cricketer I have seen. He reminded me of a master who gets the whole school to and from a picnic without losing his reason or a boy. Of all the protagonists in that fiercest controversy, I should say that he alone came out of it with reputation heightened and personal friendships increased. He neither concealed nor exaggerated a difficulty.

Woodfull was known for his gentlemanly nature and his adherence to the spirit of the game. Aside from refusing to retaliate against bodyline, Woodfull refused to exploit loopholes to dismiss batsmen. On one occasion, Jack Fingleton was run out after wandering out of the crease to inspect the crease, without intending to run. A teammate broke the wicket and the umpire upheld the appeal, but Woodfull called Fingleton back. He led his team in an understated way, preferring to give broad objectives to his players and trusting them to choose their own methods to fulfil the task at hand. However, he was known to organise his team tightly on tour to ensure that things proceeded smoothly.

Although Woodfull was a devout Methodist, he would show a deep concern in the personal welfare of all players, which extended to finding the location of the nearest Catholic Church for those teammates who followed the religion. At the time, Australian society at large was divided along Catholic-Protestant lines, and while O'Reilly and McCabe were full of praise for Woodfull, they were later accused of leading a Catholic revolt against the leadership of the Protestant Bradman during a divisive period in the late-1930s. While Woodfull himself never touched alcohol due to his strict adherence to his religious principles, he did not impose his beliefs on his team. He would buy drinks for his players, and ask administrators to provide more alcohol for his teammates when they were exhausted. At the time, cricketers widely regarded beer as a highly effective means of rehydration, and on one occasion Woodfull threatened to halt play when administrators refused his players more ale on the grounds that they had already consumed their quota.