Joe Darling - Style and Personality

Style and Personality

Darling had a stocky, compact build, standing 5 feet 8 inches (1.73 metres) and weighing 12 stone 12 pounds (82 kg). His teammates thought his dark hair, blue eyes and moustache were similar to the boxer, Frank "Paddy" Slavin, and he answered to the nickname "Paddy" during his time in cricket. His time working on his father's farm had developed his strength. During his first game for South Australia, he was challenged to a naked wrestle by the fast bowler and ex-miner Ernie Jones, an informal initiation into the team. To his team mates' surprise, Darling managed to defeat the much larger Jones.

The left-handed Darling was a strong driver of the ball who showed the batsman the full face of the bat. When necessary, he was a dour defender of his wicket. His fellow players thought that was sometimes unnecessarily defensive in his approach to batting and that he was at his best when driving hard. His South Australian and Australian team mate George Giffen thought that no Australian's cut shots travelled faster past point.

Darling is a remarkable combination of stolidity and power. His driving, whenever he choose to let himself loose, is tremendous, and no left-handed batsman, at any rate in our time, has possessed quite such a defence. He always gives one the idea of being a great natural hitter, who has rigorously schooled himself to play the steady game. —Wisden Cricketers' Almanack,

Darling had a strong personality and an independent outlook. Those who knew him well thought him destined to be a leader in whatever he undertook. He shunned strong drink and tobacco and found it difficult to tolerate overindulgence in alcohol. Normally even-tempered, he did show displeasure at the heckling from the crowd at Lord's at his obstinate defensive effort in the face of an Australian batting collapse. He was a stickler for fair play, but his actions against the English batsman KS Ranjitsinhji would today be seen as gamesmanship. During the bowler's approach and after the bowler had looked at the field, the Australian fielders moved behind Ranjitsinhji's back. This worried the Indian prince when playing his leg glance and eventually saw him left out of the English team.

The journalist Ray Robinson wrote that "of all Australian captains he came closest to being a disciplinarian". Regardless, his team mates continued to select him as captain, trusting in his knowledge and understanding of the game. On a wet day during the 1899 tour, a delay in play saw some of the Australians accept an invitation to the Player's tobacco factory in Nottingam. While away, the weather cleared and play began with Darling leading a team of five Australians and five substitutes onto the field. Darling later called a team meeting that saw the culprits fined ₤5 for breaching team rules. His approach to the hard-drinking Ernie Jones was similarly tough. To ensure that the fast bowler would not drink to excess, he selected Jones as twelfth man in a match against an English county team. When Jones refused to play, a team meeting saw him facing expulsion from the team. Darling spoke to him privately and made it clear that without an apology to his team mates and a promise to curb his drinking, he would be on the next boat bound for Australia. The firm and prompt action had a lasting effect on team discipline during his time as Australian captain. Wisden noted that "as a captain he inspired his men to reveal their best form." As a captain he was a reformer, suggesting rule changes that included making six runs the reward for clearing the boundary rather than the entire ground, and using of sawdust to fill holes in bowler's run-ups.