There would be six fielders positioned no more than 15 metres away to get a catch – the main form of wicket-taking with this type of bowling. It was the English captain, Douglas Jardine, who was responsible for encouraging this bowling method at the 1932/3 Australian tests. Everyone thought the Australians invincible, but Larwood's bowling brought the Ashes back to England.

The MCC asked Larwood to apologise for his aggressive bowling, which he refused to do, and as a result he never played for England again. Larwood retired from cricket in 1938. As a result of the controversy and bad feeling engendered by that unsavoury episode, the Test career of perhaps the greatest fast bowler of the inter-war period was confined to just over six years.

Larwood was of an era when, if England were in need of a fast bowler, they were supposed to be automatically drawn from the pits – as a youngster he was a pony-boy. Of average height and build, he made his debut for Nottinghamshire in 1924 and he was to go on and play 300 matches for the county. Two years later, he made his Test debut at Lord's against Australia. In the Oval match of that series, where the Ashes were regained, he took half-a-dozen wickets.

He toured Australia with Percy Chapman's successful side of 1928/29, but was mostly unpenetrative, although at the old Exhibition ground in Brisbane he achieved a match-winning 6 for 32, together with a score of 70.

When Australia came to England in 1930, Larwood suffered at the hands of Bradman. In three Tests, his four wickets cost 292 runs.

'Bodyline', or leg-theory, with its predatory vulture-like cordon of fielders, undid Australia in 1932/33. Jardine, the English captain, saw the perfect intimidatory weapon for the strategy in Larwood. Running in from about 18 yards and accelerating with controlled rhythmic strides, he would open his shoulders by fully extending his arms into a great arc. He was a lethal bowler.

In the series, Larwood captured 33 wickets, 16 of them clean-bowled and together with Bill Voce and Bill Bowes, England destroyed Australia with a 4-1 defeat. Injuries to Bill Woodfull and Bertie Oldfield from short-pitched deliveries from Larwood inflamed public anger that already existed at the tactics being used. Bowling at immense pace, his shorter ball tended to skid disconcertingly (rather in the manner of Malcolm Marshall's of a later generation), which meant that the unsettled batsman was often vulnerable to a lightning-fast yorker.

In the fifth Test at Sydney, coming in as nightwatchman, Larwood scored 98, for which he was cheered whole-heartedly. At other times he had to have police protection and was the recipient of much abuse.

The whole sorry saga of 'Bodyline' (which today seems comparatively tame) has been exhaustively documented. 'Lol' Larwood, the scapegoat, was told to sign a letter of apology and refused. He never played in another Test and a serious foot injury, incurred at Sydney, reduced his effectiveness.

- edited from the BBC1 Australian Test website 2001

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