Thread by @NorthStandGang

Harold Larwood of @TrentBridge and England

A life story for the ages

From coal mining work nd cleaning the boots of the great Maurice Tate of Sussex at Notts to opening the bowling with him for England in two years flat

A thread ⬇️

1/ Was Breaking News for his pace right since his initial days at Notts

Did well in his 2nd Test at The Oval to help England regain The Ashes in 1926

They say batsmen gave themselves out and walked off even when they clearly didn't edge it, such was the fear he evoked

2/ They say his bouncers were so accurate they turned around cap peaks of hapless batsmen

Was especially hostile after lunch which included a few pints of beer

All that was needed to rile him up was someone telling him maybe his pace was a bit down

3/ When 1932, the year of the Bodyline came around, he wasn't a certainty in the English side due to his average int'l record

But he was taking wickets by the bagful in FC cricket

Had the pace and accuracy that Jardine wanted

And he would follow the Skipper's orders to the T

4/ We know the havoc he created in the Australian ranks during the '32 Ashes tour Down Under

Whatever your cricket morality tells you about Bodyline, if you can consider the skill alone, you'd know Larwood was an absolute hero during that Tour

And don't forget his 98 at Sydney!

5/ The desertion by MCC followed, the apology followed, no more int'l cricket for Larwood

And he was still going strong in FC cricket even as the injuries sustained due to the immense 1932 workload was messing him up like nothing else

6/ They say he was timed at 96 mph, who knows if that number is as accurate as Larwood himself in 1932 or not

What we do know is that he emigrated to Australia in 1950 with his family

It became a time honoured tradition for visiting England cricketers to pay him a visit

7/ In his autobiography, he talked about why bouncers made sense to him and that didn't include any evil intentions unless you consider intimidating as one

Aus' Oldfield and Woodfull
SA's Cameron
Gloucs' Sinfield
Middlesex' Hendren

Recounted all of them in the book

8/ Coal miner
Eng's fastest
A worker on the Pepsi Cola line Down Under
Foes-turned-friends in Fingleton, Oldfield
Allegations of chucking
Was Bradman out on 0 off Larwood at Headingley in 1930?

He touched greatness for a brief while and became a cricketing hero forever

<End>

And if you want more of many Larwood stories and legends, here's a thread by the incomparable @ovshake42

https://twitter.com/ovshake42/status/1327617563744817155?s=19

Oh, and here's Larwood on video

Look at that action ❤