LIves in Cricket No 31 - Walter Robins

117 Tour Manager and Law 26 Bradman concerning the problems of bowlers with suspicious actions: It’s a pity you or some other responsible member of your Board did not attend the Conference in July. As it was, Ben and I struggled through rather uncomfortably, neither of us being in a position to discuss throwing from the Australian angle. We had seen the film of some of your bowlers in Australia, and I was very disturbed when I saw it. I am enclosing a confidential report on Law 26. It will have been sent to your Board, but I would hate your NSW members to know you have had a preview prior to your meeting in September so destroy it when you have digested it. However, the Australian Board of Control [ABC] preferred to try out their own version of Law 26 during their 1959/60 season which was unacceptable to MCC, and in 1959 MCC tried out one that was unacceptable in Australia. In the summer of 1960 Bradman and the ABC were concerned that the Australian tour of England in 1961 would be disrupted by controversy if an amendment to Law 26 could not be agreed in advance, and Australia brought with them any of the bowlers whose action was under suspicion. The visitors to England in 1960 were South Africa and alarm bells sounded for Bradman when he heard that the main talking point was the bowling of Griffin who would eventually be no-balled at Lord’s for throwing and not bowl again for the rest of the tour. Bradman decided to fly to London with Bill Dowling, Chairman of ABC, for the next meeting of the ICC scheduled for two days in July. At the start of the meeting, according to R.S.Rait Kerr, ‘Mr Altham offered a solemn undertaking on behalf of MCC, that England would exclude from international teams and tours all bowlers whose actions were considered suspect.’ Bradman, Dowling and the West Indies delegates were not happy to commit their Boards to a similar policy ‘on the grounds that not to select a bowler would be to take authority away out of the hands of the umpire and that selectors would be in an impossible position if they undermined respect for their own umpires by failing to select bowlers whom they had passed as fair.’ Nevertheless, the countries reaffirmed unanimously their determination to eradicate throwing from cricket and during the meeting they reached agreement to rephrase Law 26: A ball shall be deemed to have been thrown if, in the opinion of either umpire, the bowling arm, having been bent at the elbow, whether the wrist is backward of the elbow or not, is suddenly straightened prior to the instant of delivery. The bowler shall nevertheless be at liberty to use the wrist freely in the delivery action. During his flight back to Australia Don composed a letter to Robbie: I am sorry time did not permit another meeting before I left for Australia but you will remember almost your last remark to me was: ‘if you can bring about peace between England and Australia for the 1961 tour, it will have been your greatest innings.’ Well, I think I have done it, PROVIDING YOU will really get behind a proposal which I have put forward, details which will reach you from Harry [Altham] and Gubby and MCC, but I beg of you not to allow any narrow-minded pinpricking members of MCC to block the proposal on the score of suspicion. If