Bodyline (1984)

Actors: Vincent Ball (actor), Richard Carter (actor), Paul Chubb (actor), John Clayton (actor), Colin Croft (actor), Max Cullen (actor), Les Dayman (actor), Arthur Dignam (actor), John Doyle (actor), Reg Gillam (actor), Nicholas Gledhill (actor), Peter Gwynne (actor), Edward Howell (actor), Mark Kounnas (actor), Kevin Manser (actor),

Plot: Dramatization of the 1932/33 Test cricket series between England and Australia. Played in Australia, the series gained notoriety in Australian and worldwide cricketing history for the fact that the English team (headed by captain Douglas Jardine) applied a bowling technique called "leg theory", or more commonly, Bodyline. This technique involved bowlers bowling the ball directly at the batsman's body, and resulted in many of the Australian team receiving numerous bruises and injuries, with batsman Bert Oldfield sustaining a cracked skull. The series generated much anger and resentment towards the English team within Australia and seriously damaged Anglo-Australian cricketing relations at the time.

Keywords: australia, batsman, batting, bowler, bowling, cricket-the-game, leg-stump, negative-bowling, tv-mini-series
Genres: Drama, History, Sport,
Taglines: The day England declared war on Australia.

Quotes:

Douglas Jardine: I demand an apology, one of your team mates called me a bastard.::Australian Player: Which one of you bastards called this bastard a bastard?

Percy George Fender: [to Jardine] Donald George Bradman, born 1908, son of a carpenter from Bowral, New South Wales. Son of a carpenter? It's worth a thought!

Richardson: [to Jardine] You cannot dictate terms to the MCC!::Douglas Jardine: Well, in that case, my resignation with be on your table in the morning!

Sir Clive Wigram: [at a meeting with Pelham Warner] I can't help feeling, with Jardine as captain, we may win the Ashes, but we may lose a dominion!

Heckler (Ernest Jones): [in boat alongside the Oriente through a loud hailer] Go home, you Pommie bastards! You don't stand a chance against Bradman!::Douglas Jardine: [on deck to other players] Gentlemen, we are entering the land of the barbarian!

Australian Selector (Aubrey): People are reluctant to part with their money, and they certainly won't do so, if they can't watch Bradman.::Australian Selector (Robertson): The game is more important than the individual. If we allow ourselves to be dictated to by players, who knows where it will end! One day matches for the convenience of the press, later starting times for the convenience of radio stations!