LIves in Cricket No 31 - Walter Robins

118 Tour Manager and Law 26 they don’t place any faith in our sincerity and want to rule cricket from an ivory tower, let them say so and get on with it. I know who would regret it most. I’m sure my idea will work and it will do so without loss of face by either side. Bradman’s proposal was that, at the start of the 1961 tour, there should be a moratorium over the throwing question until the eve of the First Test, and that no umpire should call an Australian bowler during matches before then, but that the Test match umpires should have an early opportunity of seeing them and sending a confidential report to the MCC president on any bowler whose action they thought was suspect. By the time Bradman’s letter arrived, Robbie had been advised of the details of his proposal and he immediately replied by cable: ‘Your letter just received. Peebles and self in full agreement. I shall argue your case exactly as stated. Peebles thinks good hope of success. Please regard confidential. Regards to all from us both.’ Before knowing MCC’s decision, Bradman wrote to Robbie again: You’ve no idea of the feeling in this country. The press have branded England as ‘squealers’ in headlines right across the page, some writers openly accuse MCC of forcing the English umpires to call Griffin and certain English bowlers as a red-herring to make sure they do the same to Meckiff or Burke, or to frighten Australia into not selecting them for the Tour. You haven’t got any problems over there — you ought to be here and try and get any support. I’d need a bodyguard if I said to a Sydney chap that Rorke throws. MCC accepted Bradman’s proposal but with the proviso that, when the moratorium ended, umpires were instructed to ‘call’ bowlers on the field and, to avoid inequality, the counties would agree to extend the moratorium to English bowlers in matches against the touring Australians. As a result the plans for the forthcoming tour went ahead and Don wrote to Robbie: ‘It is good to have this agreement between MCC and ourselves settled, and, all in all, I think it has had a pretty good reception from the press.’ Soon after his arrival back in Australia, Bradman was elected chairman of the ABC. That season Australia awaited the arrival of the West Indies team with rather more than the usual anticipation for a Test series. Each captain, Frank Worrell for the visitors and Richie Benaud for Australia, were known to be determined to play the game as it should be played, with lively enjoyment. Even so, on the night before the first Test began in Brisbane, Bradman felt compelled to ask if he could address the Australian team. He told the players that the selectors, of which he was the unofficial chairman, would be predisposed towards individuals who played attractive, winning cricket — those who pulled in the crowds. That game ended with the teams tied in what many consider the most exciting finish ever to a Test match and after that, as Roland Perry has written, ‘crowds came back to the Tests in their tens of thousands. In the next Test match at Melbourne a world record of 90,800 people came through the gates on the Saturday. The series, which the home team won, was probably the most sensational ever played in Australia.’ The last Test ended on 15