WILLIAM MALDON WOODFULL,
OBE, BA, Dip Ed

A FAMOUS SON OF MALDON

Bill Woodfull is remembered for his cricketing record and in particular his captaining of the Australian Test Team during the infamous Australia v England “Bodyline” series in 1932 - 1933.

His grandfather was a corn dealer in the Maldon area; his father, Thomas Staines Brittingham Woodfull, was born in Maldon on 28 August 1863 and Bill was born in Maldon on Sunday, 22 August 1897 at the Methodist Parsonage.

At the time of Bill’s birth his father was the minister at the Maldon Methodist Church. In 1904 the Rev Woodfull moved to set up Melbourne’s second Methodist Mission in Gipps Street, Collingwood and it was here that Jim Ryder laid a cricket pitch for the minister in his back yard. Two boys, Bill Woodfull and Jack Ryder, played on the pitch and both went on to captain Australia. Bill Woodfull took up teaching and was posted to the country. On his return to Melbourne his cricketing ability was recognised and he was picked for the Victorian team in1922. He was selected for the Australian team in 1926, appointed captain in 1930 and retired from test cricket in 1934. His calm temperament, determination, courage and high moral principles made him one of Australia's most respected and successful captains. He captained Australia with dignity and sportsmanship through a difficult period in Australian cricket history.

On 11 August 1965, aged 68, Bill Woodfull collapsed and died while playing golf at Tweed Heads South in New South Wales.
 

A memorial plaque in Maldon in the grounds of the Methodist Church and Parsonage where Bill Woodfull had been born.

THE TEACHER
Bill Woodfull qualified as Bachelor of Arts with a Diploma of Education and was posted to the country, moving around the state until he achieved the top position of Principal at Melbourne High School.
 

		The High Schools where he taught include:
		Maryborough Williamstown Frankston Melbourne Bendigo Upwey  Melbourne  Box Hill  Melbourne	1920 - 1921 1922 - 1925 1926 1926 - 1940 1941 - 1942 1943 - 1947 1948 - 1953 1954 - 1955 1956 - 1962	Principal Vice -Principal Principal Principal

In November 1934 he declined a knighthood and in later years revealed that he would have accepted the honour as an educationalist, but under no circumstances would he accept it for playing cricket.

But in the New Year’s Honours list of 1963, he received the OBE for his services to education.

THE CRICKETER
Bill Woodfull started playing for Essendon when he was 19. Moving to Maryborough to teach. He played country cricket and was selected for the Victorian colts and then the Victorian Second XI. When he returned to Melbourne in 1921 he played for South Melbourne, was seen by the Victorian Sheffield Shield Team selectors and selected for the 1922 - 1923 State team. He soon made his mark as a middle-order batsman and was promoted to the top of the order. This was the start of the successful long time opening partnership with Bill Ponsford and in a match against NSW in 1926 they scored a record 375.
 

Rheumatic fever when he was young left him with stiffness that restricted his back lift, but his weight and strength let him score through careful placement and occasional strong drives, scoring runs at a greater rate than most orthodox batsmen. His temperament, patience, consistency and a seemingly impregnable defence resulted in nicknames such as “Worm-killer”, “Unbowlable”, “The Rock” and “Old Steadfast”. In 1926 Woodfull was the last man picked in the Australian squad to tour England. He didn’t bat in the first Test, struggled in the middle-order in the second, but when he was promoted to opener for the third he scored 141, then 117 in the fourth and was Australia’s top scorer for the tour.

Bill Woodfull was first appointed captain for the 1930 Australia - England series played in England where the team regained the Ashes. Bill Woodfull went on to play 35 Tests and was captain for 25 of them, including the infamous “Bodyline” Tests in 1932 - 1933. For these 35 Tests he scored 2300 runs for an average of 46.0 with a highest score of 161. On the three occasions he toured England he scored over 1000. He retired from cricket after the Australia - England Fifth Test at The Oval in 1934.

During his first class cricketing career which spanned fifteen years, he batted in 245 innings, scored 13,388 runs with an average of 65 and a highest score of 284.
 

The date, August 22, featured in his life:
	22 August 1845:	Surrey County Cricket Club was formed on this day - the club of Douglas Jardine who captained the “Bodyline” series.
	22 August 1897:	Bill Woodfull was born on this day.
	22 August 1930:	Australia regained the Ashes on this day with Woodfull as captain, after Australia had lost the Ashes in the 1926 series in England.
	22 August 1934:	Australia regained the Ashes on this day with Woodfull as captain, after Australia had lost the Ashes in the 1932 - 1933 “Bodyline” series.

The gate in the Great Southern Stand at the MCG was dedicated as the Bill Woodfull  Gate in 1992

BODYLINE SERIES
“There are two teams out there, one is playing cricket.
The other is making no attempt to do so.”
 

These were the words reportedly spoken by Bill Woodfull during the Adelaide Test of the 1932 - 1933 series, known as the “Bodyline” series. The “Bodyline” series was reportedly a result of Don Bradman’s successful 1929 - 1930 Test series in England. The way Bradman was batting the MCC could see it losing the Ashes for the next ten years. Even though Bradman had batted so spectacularly well it was felt that he did not play short-pitched deliveries confidently. A meeting attended by Douglas Jardine, Arthur Carr, Harold Larwood and Bill Voce was held at the Piccadilly Hotel in London in August 1932 and tactics to restrict Bradman during the coming tour of Australia were discussed. The plan was devised to use the two opening fast bowlers Harold Larwood and Bill Voce and apply a form of the “Fast Leg Theory” successfully used by Carr in County cricket. The tactic devised was to pack the leg side field and then bowl at the batsman. The result was that the batsman had to choose to either take evasive action or attempt to fend the ball away, possibly giving catching chances to the close set leg side field. Jardine later indicated that the plan had been discussed with the MCC and had their agreement prior to the team’s departure.

Australia lost the First Test in Sydney with the “Bodyline” attack contributing to the defeat. Bill Woodfull refused to consider retaliation under any circumstances.

Bradman had been out with the ‘flu for the First Test, in the Second Test in Melbourne Bradman was bowled for a duck in the first innings but scored 103 in the second innings, helping Australia win by 111 runs and it was thought that the Australian batsmen could handle England’s bowling strategy.
 

The third test was played in Adelaide to a hostile crowd and by this time there had been private moves by Bradman to get the Australian cricket authorities to object to the MCC. Bill Woodfull was hit over the heart by a ball from Larwood and retired to the side of the field and Jardine was heard to say to Larwood “Well bowled, Harold”. When Woodfull recovered and returned to the crease, Jardine set the “Bodyline” field and the crowd became even more hostile and were thought to be on the verge of rioting. Bill Woodfull, even though pale and shaky, went on to make 73 runs not out. Later in the match Bill Oldfield was hit in the head resulting in a fractured skull.

The England team manager Sir Pelham "Plum" Warner and the assistant manager came to the dressing room after the game to see the state of Woodfull’s injury and it was then that he made the famous statement “There are two teams out there, one is playing cricket. The other is making no attempt to do so. This sort of thing is ruining the game, which is too good to be spoiled, and it is time some men got out of it”. The comment was leaked to the newspapers and caused an international incident. The Australian cricket authorities cabled the MCC requesting that they instruct the England team to stop using the unsportsmanlike “Bodyline” tactics. The MCC refused to instruct the England team and threatened to recall them. The discussions were then taken up at diplomatic and government levels to calm down the situation. England went on to win the Third Test, 753 runs to Australia’s 415, with Bill Woodfull scoring a 22 and 73 not out.

During the Third Test England’s bowler “Gubby” Allen was handed the ball and when Jardine started to pack the leg-side, Allen seeing the field being set, threw the ball back to Jardine and told him: “I am not bowling to this field, Douglas, and remember you cannot push me around.”.

In the Fifth Test in Sydney Larwood broke a bone in his foot, but Jardine made him complete the over. Larwood stood stationary at the wicket and bowled and Bill Woodfull, the true sportsman, refused to take advantage of the injured bowler and blocked the remaining deliveries back down the wicket.

The series ended with England winning 4 to 1.

Bill Woodfull ended the series scoring a total of 43 runs in the first two Tests, but his determination in the remaining three Tests resulted in innings of 73 not out, 67 and 67.

Following the series: Jardine did not play in the 1934 series and was said to have felt let down by the MCC leaving him to take all the blame for the “Bodyline” series; Larwood refused to apologise for his bowling and also refused to sign a letter of apology; Larwood refused to play Test cricket again and later moved to Australia; The Australian team only agreed to the 1934 series if the MCC assured them that there would not be a continuation of “Bodyline” bowling; Bill Woodfull was said to have taken a heavy emotional toll during the “Bodyline”series and lost his desire to play cricket, he retired at the end of the 1934 series after captaining the team that won back the Ashes, winning 2 to 1.