Douglas Jardine

Douglas Jardine

Douglas Robert Jardine (23 October 1900 – 18 June 1958) was an English cricketer and captain of the England cricket team from 1931 to 1933–34. A right-handed batsman, he played 22 Test matches for England, captaining the side in 15 of those matches, winning nine, losing one and drawing five. Jardine is best known for captaining the English team during the 1932–33 Ashes tour of Australia, in which his team employed Bodyline tactics against Donald Bradman and other opposing Australian batsmen. A Bodyline delivery was one where the cricket ball was pitched short so as to rise towards the body of the opposing batsman on the line of the leg stump, in the hope of creating legside deflections that could be caught by one of several fielders on the leg side. This tactic was considered by many to be intimidatory and physically threatening, and Jardine is widely regarded by commentators and writers as the person responsible for the English strategy on that tour. A controversial figure among cricketers, Jardine was well known for his dislike of Australian players and crowds and was unpopular in Australia, particularly for his manner and especially after the Bodyline tour. On the other hand, many players captained by him regarded him as an excellent captain; not all regarded him as good at managing people. He was also famous in cricket circles for wearing a multi-coloured Harlequin cap.

After establishing an early reputation as a prolific schoolboy batsman, Jardine played cricket for Winchester College, attended the University of Oxford, playing for its cricket team, and played for Surrey County Cricket Club as an amateur. He developed a defensive method of batting which was unusual for an amateur, receiving occasional criticism for negative batting. Despite this, Jardine was selected in Test matches for the first time in 1928, and went on to play with some success in the Test series in Australia in 1928–29. Following this tour, his business commitments prevented him from playing as much cricket. However, in 1931, he was asked to captain England in a Test against New Zealand. Although there were some initial misgivings about his captaincy, Jardine led England in the next three cricket seasons and on two overseas tours, one of which was the Australian tour of 1932–33. He retired from all first-class cricket in 1934 following a tour to India.

Jardine was a qualified solicitor but did not work much in law, working in banking and, later on, journalism. He joined the Territorial Army in the Second World War, most of which he spent in India. After the war, he worked as a secretary to a paper manufacturer and returned to journalism. While on a business trip in 1957, he became ill with what proved to be lung cancer and died aged 57 in 1958.