Ray Lindwall

Lore & Background

Lindwall was born in the Sydney suburb of Mascot, the fourth of five children. He had two older sisters (Eileen and Rita), one older brother (Jack), and a younger sister named Jean. Being the grandson of Swedish and Irish immigrants, Lindwall had a difficult childhood with his mother Catherine dying from complications of pneumonia when he was eight. His father Arthur had a job at the Water and Sewerage Board, but the children were aware that their father could not financially support them beyond school-leaving age. At the age of 11, Lindwall and his elder brother Jack were spectators at the Sydney Cricket Ground during the second day of the First Test of the 1932–33 Ashes series. The series saw the usage of the notorious Bodyline tactics by England's pace battery led by Harold Larwood under the captaincy of Douglas Jardine. Larwood, a man of relatively short stature at 5'8" (173 cm), intimidated opposition batsmen with express pace bowling, aiming short-pitched bouncers at their upper body. Lindwall, by contrast, was taller at 5'11" (180 cm). Larwood also had a smooth, rhythmic run-up and a classical side-on action, something for which Lindwall became famous. The match was also remembered for Stan McCabe's much-celebrated 187 not out, aggressively resisting the Bodyline tactics as Australia won by ten wickets. The Lindwall brothers returned to their home in Hurstville, where Ray henceforth attempted to emulate Larwood. He wanted to replicate the physical threat posed by Larwood to batsmen, as well as the dynamic batting of McCabe. Lindwall attempted to copy Larwood's action in his routine street cricket matches, before terrorising his classmates at primary school. Lindwall said that 'he was the most famous fast bowler in the world and I naturally wanted to copy him'. Lindwall's formal cricket education began the following year when he commenced his secondary schooling at Marist Brothers Kogarah. The school had teachers that had a habit of scouting around for athletic boys who could bring sporting honour to the institution. The headmaster, Brother Aidan O'Keefe, was a competent player and invested time into training Lindwall. O'Keefe taught Lindwall batting repertoire while also encouraging him to remain aggressive. He taught Lindwall to add accuracy and variation to his raw speed.

Reader's Guide

Ray Lindwall was a right-arm fast bowler known for his smooth, rhythmic action and ability to generate pace and swing. He formed a celebrated new-ball partnership with Keith Miller. He was a key member of Don Bradman's 1948 'Invincibles' tour of England. He was also a capable lower-order batsman, scoring two Test centuries. He made his Test debut against New Zealand in March 1946. He served in the Australian Army in New Guinea from 1943 to 1945.

Did You Know?

• He was inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame in 1996.
• He was named in the Australian Cricket Board's Team of the Century in 2000.
• He was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame in 2009.