Ray Lindwall with the Australian cricket team in England in 1948

See also: Australian cricket team in England in 1948 and 1948 Ashes series

Ray Lindwall

Personal information
Full name	Raymond Russell Lindwall
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Batting	Right-hand batsman
Bowling	Right-arm fast
Role	All-rounder
International information
National side	Australia
Test debut	10 June 1948 v England
Last Test	14 August 1948 v England
Career statistics
Competition Tests First-class Matches 5 22 Runs scored 191 411 Batting average 31.83 24.17 100s/50s 0/1 0/2 Top score 77 77 Balls bowled 1,344 3,442 Wickets 27 86 Bowling average 19.62 15.68 5 wickets in innings 2 6 10 wickets in match – 1 Best bowling 6/20 6/20 Catches/stumpings 6/– 17/–
Source: , 18 December 2008

Ray Lindwall was a key member of Donald Bradman's famous Australian cricket team tour of England in 1948, which went undefeated in their 34 matches. This unprecedented feat by a touring side earned them the sobriquet The Invincibles.

Lindwall played as an right-arm opening fast bowler and a right-handed batsman in the lower middle-order. Along with Keith Miller, he formed Australia's first-choice pace duo, regarded as one of the best of all time, and Bradman typically used them in short and sharp bursts against the English batsmen with the new ball. The pair played a key role in subduing England's leading batsmen, Len Hutton and Denis Compton. England had agreed that a new ball would be available every 55 overs, more often than usual, allowing the pair more frequent use of a shiny ball that swung at high pace. The duo were given lighter workloads in the tour matches in order to preserve them for the new ball bursts in the Tests. Lindwall was a capable lower-order batsman who made two Test centuries in his career, and he featured in several rearguard actions to boost Australia's scores during the tour.

Lindwall was the equal-leading wicket-taker in the Tests (27 along with Johnston) and had the best bowling average (19.62) and strike rate. In thefirst-class matches, he led the averages although he was second in the wicket-taking list with 86 at 15.68 behind Johnston's 102, who was assigned more of the workload in order to keep Miller and Lindwall fresh for the Tests. With the bat, he scored 191 runs at a batting average of 31.83 in the Tests.

Lindwall's most influential contributions in the Tests were his 5/70 in the first innings of the Second Test at Lord's, a hard-hitting 77 in limiting Australia's first innings in the Fourth Test at Headingley, and most notably, taking 6/20 on the first day of the Fifth Test at The Oval in a display of extreme pace and swing that was largely responsible for England being bowled out for 52. Outside the Tests, he took 11/59 in a match against Sussex, with eight of his victims being bowled as the ball swung at pace through their defences.

In recognition of his achievements, Lindwall was chosen as one of Wisden's Five Cricketers of the Year. Wisden opined that "by whatever standard he is judged", Lindwall must "be placed permanently in the gallery of great fast bowlers".

Early tour

In the Australian summer of 1946–47, Lindwall played in all five Tests against the touring Indian cricket team. He was a major part in Australia's 4–0 series win as the leading wicket-taker with 18 scalps at an average of 16.88, ahead of Ian Johnson and Bill Johnston who took 16 apiece at averages of 16.31 and 11.37 respectively. As a result, Lindwall was selected as part of Sir Donald Bradman's Invincibles that toured England without defeat in 1948 with the intention of being the leading pace bowler. There were two concerns for Lindwall in the lead-up to the start of the tour. Lindwall was playing with an injured leg tendon and his foot drag in the delivery stride led to murmurings in the media and among umpires as to its legality. Bradman arranged for Lindwall to see his Melbourne masseur Ern Saunders, who had his leg back to prime condition in a fortnight. On the public relations front, Bradman stated his firm belief that Lindwall's delivery was fair. During the lengthy boat journey to England, Bradman emphasized the importance of caution with respect to his bowling action. Bradman advised Lindwall to ensure his dragging rear right foot was back even further behind the line than usual, to avoid being no-balled, and to avoid bowling at full speed until the umpires were satisfied with his action. Bradman assured Lindwall that he was an automatic selection for the Tests even if he did not take a wicket in the lead-in tour matches, telling him that being passed by the umpires was the first priority. Bradman recalled how Ernie McCormick had been no-balled 35 times in traditional tour opener against Worcester during the 1938 tour, destroying his confidence. In the lead-up to the match against Worcestershire, Lindwall was constantly followed by photographers trying to capture evidence of an illegal drag when he was bowling in the nets. He was not no-balled in the first match at Worcester, and so it remained for the rest of the tour. He took 2/41 in the first innings, bowling and trapping his victims leg before wicket and delivering three wicketless overs for 19 in the second innings. Lindwall took a wicket with his second ball in England, trapping Don Kenyon for a duck to leave the hosts at 1/0. He was then promoted to No. 4 as Bradman rotated his batting order and he scored a quickfire 32 from 34 balls with six boundaries as Australia completed an innings victory. According to former Test cricketer turned journalist Jack Fingleton, Lindwall "took things very quietly...The fast bowler is very wise who builds up his speed match by match". With matters now turned to actual bowling, Lindwall's classical bowling action evoked as much public interest as his captain's batting.

Lindwall was rested from the second tour match against Leicestershire, which ended in an innings victory. He returned against Yorkshire, but bowled only nine overs, taking a total of 1/16 and making a duck in the first innings on a damp pitch that suited slower bowling, as Australia scraped home by four wickets. Lindwall was due in next when Australia collapsed to 6/31 in pursuit of 60 and were effectively seven wickets down with the injured Sam Loxton unable to bat, but Neil Harvey and Don Tallon saw Australia to the target. The Australians travelled to London to play Surrey at The Oval, and Lindwall managed only four, clean bowled by Alec Bedser, as Australia amassed 632. He then took the first two wickets to reduce Surrey to 2/15. He was used sparingly by Bradman, taking a match total of 3/45 from 25 overs as Surrey were defeated by an innings. Fingleton felt that Lindwall was at his fastest for the tour during the Surrey match. One of Lindwall's bouncers flew over three feet above the batsman's head.

Lindwall had another light match against Cambridge University, taking match figures of 1/33 from nine overs, his wicket being Doug Insole, and not batting as Australia completed another innings victory. He was then rested for two consecutive matches. In the first, Australia crushed Essex by an innings and 451 runs, its largest winning margin for the summer. This was followed by another innings victory over Oxford University.

Lindwall was brought back for the match against the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) at Lord's. The MCC fielded seven players who would represent England in the Tests, and were basically a full strength Test team, as were Australia, who fielded their first-choice team. It was a chance to gain a psychological advantage, with Len Hutton, Denis Compton and Bill Edrich, three of England's first four batsmen, all playing. Lindwall scored 29, including three sixes from the bowling of Test off spinner Jim Laker, as Australia amassed 552, before taking combined figures of 2/68, removing Compton and England captain Norman Yardley as Australia won by an innings and 158 runs. This was followed by Australia'a first non-victory of the tour against Lancashire. After the first day was washed out, Lindwall made a duck and then took 3/44, removing Test players Ken Cranston and Jack Ikin.

In a match against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge Lindwall took 6/14, to gain a psychological blow for the forthcoming Test at the same venue. After taking the first four wickets and cutting through the top-order, he returned to ensure the hosts were dismissed for 179. Three of his victims were castled by his yorker. Lindwall bowled 91 balls, conceding less than a run per over. Only ten of his balls were scored from and no runs were conceded in his last 30 balls. Fingleton said that Lindwall "absolutely paralysed" the batsmen, with some of his bowling "in the real Larwood manner". Lindwall could only manage eight with the bat and was unable to repeat his effort in the second innings, bowling 14 wicketless overs as the match ended in a draw.

Lindwall was then rested for the eight-wicket win over Hampshire, before returning in the following match against Sussex. He took two early wickets and then returned to take the last four in succession. Five of opponents were bowled as he ended with 6/34 from 19.4 overs as the hosts were dismissed for 86. Bradman then promoted Lindwall to No. 4 and he came to the wicket at 2/342, scoring 57 and putting on 93 runs with Neil Harvey, who scored an unbeaten 100 as Australia declared at 5/549. Lindwall then broke through with two early wickets to leave Sussex at 2/2, and went on to finish with 5/25 in 15 overs as the home side were bowled out for 138 to lose by an innings and 325 runs in two days. He ended with match figures of 11/59, eight of whom were bowled, five by yorkers, unable to counter Lindwall’s sweriving balls. Fingleton said that "Lindwall bundled the stumps over in all directions" as Sussex "crumpled completely...in as depressing a batting performance as the tour knew".

First Test

Main article: First Test, 1948 Ashes series

Lindwall lined up for the First Test at Trent Bridge, where he had taken six wickets in the tour game. Australia bowled first, and he took the wicket of Cyril Washbrook, caught on the run by Bill Brown on the fine leg boundary after attempting a hook shot. However, he was forced to leave the field with a groin strain with figures of 1/30. After England were out for 165, Lindwall came out to bat at 7/365 without a runner and he added 107 runs for the eighth wicket with vice-captain Lindsay Hassett. Hassett reached his century and proceeded to 137 in almost six hours of batting, before Bedser struck Hassett's off stump. Lindwall was then caught by wicket-keeper Godfrey Evans down the leg side four runs later, but Australia managed to advance to 509, giving them a 344-run lead.

Although Lindwall was able to run between the wickets, he did not take the field in the second innings and the 12th man Neil Harvey replaced him. Fingleton said that Harvey was "by far the most brilliant fieldsman of both sides". However, Yardley was sceptical as to whether Lindwall was sufficiently injured to be forced from the field, but did not formally object to the presence of Harvey on the field. England made 441 and Australia reached their target of 98 to complete an eight wicket victory.

Due to his injury, Lindwall did not play in the two matches leading up the Second Test. Australia proceeded to defeat Northamptonshire by an innings and drew with Yorkshire.

Second Test

Main article: Second Test, 1948 Ashes series

Two weeks later, Lindwall was subjected to a thorough fitness exam on the morning of the Second Test at Lord's. Bradman was not convinced of the bowler's fitness, but Lindwall—keen to play at the historic ground known as the "home of cricket"—was able to convince his captain to gamble on his inclusion. Australia won the toss and elected to bat, allowing Lindwall further time to recover. He contributed 15 to Australia's total of 350. He then took the new ball and felt pain in his groin again after delivering his first ball to Len Hutton. Despite this, Lindwall persevered through the pain.

Lindwall had Washbrook caught behind for eight in his fourth over. Before lunch, Lindwall bowled six overs and took 1/7, while Johnston accompanied him from the other end. Lindwall then clean bowled Bill Edrich, who was playing across the line for five. Tom Dollery then came out and played the first ball with his pads before being bowled for a duck by the next delivery. This was part of a six-over post-lunch spell by Lindwall that yielded 2/11 as the batsmen appeared unable to deal with his extreme pace. England were 4/46 and Australia firmly in control.

Lindwall later returned with the new ball to bowl English captain Norman Yardley after an 87-run stand with Compton, before bowling Alec Bedser off an inside edge from a bouncer to finish with 5/70 as Australia took a 135-run first innings lead. He then came to the crease with Australia at 5/416 and contributed 25 as the tourists declared at 7/460 immediately upon his dismissal, leaving England to chase a world-record 596 for victory.

Further showers breathed extra life into the pitch, and Lindwall and Johnston extracted steep bounce with the new ball, troubling the English batsmen. Miller dropped Hutton from Lindwall's bowling before he had scored and the batsmen played and missed multiple times. Hutton had trouble playing Lindwall in the deteriorating light with no sightscreen, and Fingleton described it as "probably Hutton's worst effort in a Test".

Hutton and Washbrook took the score to 42, England's highest partnership of the series before Hutton edged Lindwall to Johnson in the slips and was out for 13. Lindwall returned with the score at 6/141. Dollery shaped to duck under a Lindwall bouncer, but it skidded through low and bowled him. Lindwall bowled Laker for a duck later in the same over to leave England at 8/141. The match ended when Doug Wright hit Ernie Toshack to Lindwall and was caught for four. Lindwall ended with 3/61 as Australia took a 409-run victory. In later years, Bradman told Lindwall that he pretended not to notice Lindwall's pain. Lindwall was worried that Bradman had noticed his injury, but Bradman later claimed that he feigned ignorance to allow Lindwall to relax.

With Lindwall carrying an injury into the Second Test, he was rested by Bradman for the match against Surrey, which started on the following day and ended in a ten-wicket victory. He returned for the match against Gloucestershire. Australia made 7/774, its highest score of the tour and the second highest by an Australian team in England, but Lindwall was not able to take advantage of this, as Australia declared when he was yet to score. He then bowled a total of 21 overs without success, taking 0/41 as Australia won by an innings and 363 runs.

Third Test

Main article: Third Test, 1948 Ashes series

When the teams reconvened at Old Trafford for the Third Test, Hutton had been dropped. The reason was said to be Hutton's struggles against Lindwall's short-pitched bowling. The Australians were pleased, feeling that Hutton was England's best batsman. England batted first and made 363, with Compton making an unbeaten 145 despite being hit on the arm and then being felled by a Lindwall bouncer that he top-edged into his face. This forced Compton to leave the field with a bloodied eyebrow with the score at 2/33. Lindwall then removed George Emmett, who fended a short ball to Sid Barnes at short leg. Emmett had been surprised by Lindwall's bouncer and took his eyes from the ball, fending with one hand on the bat. Lindwall then struck Edrich on the hand with a short ball, provoking angry heckling from spectators who compared him to Harold Larwood.

Lindwall then trapped Jack Crapp, who did not offer a shot, and had Edrich gloving a rearing ball to the wicket-keeper to leave England at 5/119. Compton returned to revive the innings as Lindwall ended with 4/99 after later having Godfrey Evans caught behind from an expansive cut shot. Lindwall came into bat at 6/172 with Sid Barnes forced to retire hurt and Australia facing the prospect of the follow on. He then received five consecutive bouncers from Edrich, one of which hit him in the hand, evoking cheers from the home crowd. He made 23 as Australia struggled to 221 and avoided the follow on.

At the start of England's second innings, Washbrook took a single from Lindwall. Lindwall then removed Emmett for a duck. He pitched an outswinger on the line of off stump and Emmett edged it to wicket-keeper Tallon, who took it in his right hand with a dive. This brought his tormentor Edrich to the crease. Bradman advised Lindwall not to bowl any bouncers at Edrich, fearing that it would be interpreted as retaliation and lead to a negative media reaction. However, Miller did retaliate with four consecutive bouncers, earning the ire of the crowd. He struck Edrich on the body before Bradman intervened and ordered him to stop, before apologising to Edrich.

Lindwall then bounced Washbrook and was no balled by umpire Davies for dragging his foot. After a disagreement, Davies then threw Lindwall his jumper, but the matter faded away and the paceman was not no balled again after discussing the matter with Bradman. Lindwall then bounced Washbrook again and this time the England opener went for the hook shot. The ball flew in the air straight towards Hassett at fine leg, who dropped in on the third attempt. Having received a life on 21, Washbrook settled down and reached 50 in only 70 minutes with England at 1/80. Lindwall returned later for a new spell and almost hit Washbrook in the head. He ended with 1/37 as England declared at 3/174. The match petered into a draw after the entire fourth day was washed out with Lindwall not required as Australia safely batted out a draw on the final day.

Lindwall played in Australia's only match before the Fourth Test. He took a total of 3/59 from 25 overs and score one against Middlesex as Australia won by an innings, removing the home team's captain George Mann twice and also Edrich.

Fourth Test

Main article: Fourth Test, 1948 Ashes series

Hutton returned for the Fourth Test at Headingley and an opening partnership of 168 resulted until he was bowled for 81 by Lindwall. Hutton went onto the front foot and was clean bowled, much to the dismay of the home crowd. The large partnership came after Washbrook had decided to forego the hook shot against Lindwall's bouncers, which had brought him undone in the past. England did not lose another wicket until the last over of the day, when Washbrook was dismissed by Johnston for 143 in the last over, hitting a catch to Lindwall.

During the innings, Lindwall appealed for a leg before wicket dismissal four times while wicket-keeper Ron Saggers, standing in for the injured Tallon, did not support the appeal, instead remaining silent. England ran up a large score of 496, with Lindwall having Compton caught down the leg side to give Saggers his first Test catch to leave England at 6/473. Lindwall ended with 2/79 from 38 overs. Fingleton said "this grand fast bowler held the side together splendidly and answered every call".

In reply, Australia was still some way behind when Lindwall came in at 6/329. With the fall of Sam Loxton and Ron Saggers in quick succession, Australia was at 8/355 with only Bill Johnston and Ernie Toshack remaining. Lindwall hit out, scoring 77, an innings marked by powerful driving and pulling, dominating in stands of 48 and 55 with Johnston and Toshack respectively. Of the 103 added for the last two wickets, Johnston and Toshack managed only 25 between them. Johnston accompanied Lindwall for 80 minutes, before the injured Toshack lasted the last 50 minutes until stumps, with Johnston running for him. Australia were 9/457 at stumps, with Lindwall on 76 and Toshack on 12. Sunday was a rest day, and on Monday, the next morning, Lindwall was the last man out at 458 in the third over of the day, leaving Australia 38 runs in arrears on the first innings. Bedser took the final wicket as Lindwall edged into the slips cordon and Crapp took the catch low down in his left hand.

England then made a strong start in their second innings. When Australia then took the new bal, Lindwall then changed to bowling from around the wicket and was warned for running on the pitch. England reached 2/232 before Lindwall trapped Edrich to end a 103-run partnership. He then bowled Jack Crapp to leave England at 4/260, triggering a collapse to 7/293. Lindwall took 2/84 as England suffered a collapse and declared on the final day at 8/365, leaving Australia to chase a world Test record of 404 for victory, which they did successfully. Centuries to Bradman and Morris in a 301-run stand saw Australia seal the series 3–0 with a world record.

The paceman was rested for the match against Derbyshire immediately after the Headingley Test, which Australia won by an innings. He returned for the match against Glamorgan and took 2/36 in a rain-affected match which did not reach the second innings. Lindwall then took 3/27 in the first innings against Warwickshire, taking three consecutive middle-order wickets, including Test batsmen Tom Dollery and Abdul Hafeez Kardar as the hosts fell for 138. In reply, Australia stumbled to 6/161 when Lindwall joined Hassett and put on 70 for the seventh wicket, the largest partnership of a low-scoring match. Lindwall ended with 45, the second top-score of the entire match, as Australia took a 116-run lead. Lindwall then took the first wicket and ended with 1/32 as Australia won by nine wickets. Australia then faced Lancashire for the second time on the tour. Lindwall made 17 in Australia's first innings of 321 and then dismissed the home side's first three batsmen, taking 3/32 as Lancashire fell for 130. Australia then made 3/265 and declared to leave the hosts a target of 456. Lindwall bowled both openers with the new ball, but Lancashire appeared to be safe at 5/191. Lindwall returned and bowled Jack Ikin for 99 and Dick Pollard for a duck without scoring, but Lancashire lost no further wickets and were 7/191 when stumps were drawn, with Lindwall taking 4/27. Lindwall was then rested from the non-first-class match against Durham, which was a rain-affected draw.

Fifth Test

Main article: Fifth Test, 1948 Ashes series

The final Test at The Oval saw Lindwall at his best. English skipper Yardley won the toss and elected to bat on a rain affected pitch. The damp conditions meant that sawdust had to be added in large amounts to allow the players to keep their grip. The humid conditions, along with the rain, assisted the bowlers, with Lindwall in particular managing to make the ball bounce at variable heights.

After Miller had taken an early wickets, Lindwall bounced Compton, resulting in an edge towards the slips cordon. However, the ball continued to rise and cleared the ring of Australian fielders. Hutton called Compton through for a run, but his surprised partner was watching the ball going towards the fielders and dropped his bat in panic. Luckily for Compton, the ball went to Hassett at third man, who stopped the ball and waited for Compton to regain his bat and his composure before returning the ball, thereby forfeiting the opportunity to run Compton out. However, this gesture did not cost Australia many runs because when Compton was on three, Lindwall bowled another bouncer. Compton went for a hook shot and Arthur Morris ran from his position at short square leg to take a difficult catch and England were 3/17. Fingleton described the catch as "one of the catches of the season".

After the lunch break, England had struggled to 4/35, before Lindwall bowled Yardley with a swinging Yorker. The debutant Watkins then batted for 16 balls. He missed an attempted hook shot from a short ball and was then hit in the shoulder from another bouncer. He was then dismissed without scoring after playing across the line and being trapped lbw by Johnston for a duck to leave England at 6/42. For his troubles, Watkins also collected a bruise that inhibited his bowling later in the match. Lindwall then removed Godfrey Evans, Alec Bedser and Young, all yorked in the space of two runs. England fell from 6/45 to 9/47 when Hollies walked in at No. 11 to accompany Hutton. Hutton then hit the only boundary of the innings, lofting Lindwall for a straight drive back over his head. The ball almost went for six, landing just short of the boundary. The innings ended at 52 when Hutton—who never appeared troubled by the bowling—leg glanced and was caught by wicket-keeper Don Tallon, who caught the ball one-handed at full stretch to his left. Lindwall described the catch as one of the best he had ever seen. In his post-lunch spell, Lindwall bowled 8.1 overs, taking five wickets for eight runs, finishing with 6/20 in 16.1 overs. Bradman described the spell as "the most devastating and one of the fastest I ever saw in Test cricket". Fingleton, who played against the [Bodyline]] attack in 1932–33, said that "I was watching a man almost the equal of Larwood in pace...Truly a great bowler".

After Australia had replied with 389, with Lindwall making nine, England batted for a second time. Lindwall made the early breakthrough, bowling John Dewes, who offered no shot, for 10 to leave England 1/20. Dewes had often committed to playing the ball from the front foot before the bowler delivered the ball, thereby putting himself into difficulty.

Early on the third day, Lindwall bowled Edrich—who was playing across the line—for 28 with the score at 64, before Compton and Hutton consolidated the innings and took the score to 2/121 at lunch. Soon after, on 39, Compton aimed a hard cut shot from Johnston's bowling, which flew into Lindwall's left hand at second slip for a "freak slip catch" to leave England at 3/125. Lindwall then returned and bowled Evans for eight. Evans appeared to not detect Lindwall's yorker in the poor light, and the umpires called off play due to bad light after an appeal by Yardley. The next morning, England were bowled out for 188, giving Australia an innings victory and the series 4–0. Lindwall took 3/50 to give him 9/70 for the match. He ended the series as the leading wicket-taker with 27 wickets at 19.62, and scored 191 runs at 31.83.

Closing matches

Seven matches remained on Bradman's quest to go through a tour of England without defeat. Australia batted first against Kent and Lindwall made only one in a total of 361. Lindwall then took two wickets with the new ball to help reduce the hosts to 5/16, ending with 2/16. Forced to follow on after scoring 51, Kent were reduced to 4/37 by three early Lindwall wickets, including Tony Pawson and former Test wicket-keeper Les Ames. Lindwall ended with 4/25 as Kent capitulated for 124 and lost by an innings. Of his total of 6/41 from 15 overs, Lindwall bowled four of his victims. This was followed by a match against the Gentlemen of England. Lindwall was not required to bat and after taking 1/39 in the first innings, Bradman allowed him to rest in the second innings as Australia completed an innings victory. Lindwall was rested from the match against Somerset, which resulted in another innings victory. He returned against the South of England—a representative team—scoring an unbeaten 17 in an unbroken 61-run stand with Sam Loxton before Australia declared at 7/522. He then took 1/45 as rain ended the match before the second innings could start.

Australia's biggest challenge in the post-Test tour matches was against the Leveson-Gower's XI. During the last tour in 1938, this team was effectively a full-strength England outfit, but this time Bradman insisted that only six England Test players be allowed to play for the hosts. Bradman then fielded a full-strength team. In a rain-interrupted match, Lindwall bowled Hutton for a duck. He returned and then took five of the last six wickets to fall as the opposition lost their last six wickets for 57 runs. His last five victims were former England captain Walter Robins, and Test players Freddie Brown, Evans, Bedser and Laker. Lindwall ended with 6/59, four of whom were bowled, while the other two were caught by Ian Johnson. He then made five as Australia declared at 8/489 and time ran out with Leveson-Gower's XI at 0/75.

The tour ended with two non-first-class matches against Scotland. Lindwall was rested from the first, which Australia won by an innings. In the second, he signed off in a low key manner, scoring 15 and taking a total of 0/28 from 14 overs as Australia ended the tour with another innings triumph.

Role

A chart showing Lindwall's batting performance during the tour. The runs scored per innings are represented by the bars, with the red bars being Test innings and the pink bars being other first-class innings. The blue line is the average of the five most recent innings and the dots indicate not outs.

When fit, Lindwall opened the Test bowling with Miller, and the pair bowled in short and fiery bursts with the new ball. The English authorities had agreed that a new ball would be available every 55 overs, more frequently than usual. This played directly into the hands of the Australians with their strong pace attack, as a new ball is ideal for fast bowling. Thus Bradman wanted to preserve his two first-choice bowlers for a fresh attack every 55 overs. As a result, Lindwall bowled 224 overs, while Australia's third fast bowler Bill Johnston bowled 306. He led the Test bowling averages with 27 wickets at 19.62 in the Tests, making him the equal-leading wicket-taker along with Johnston, who averaged 19.62, and substantially more than the next best, England's Alec Bedser who took 18 at 38.22. Lindwall's role as the leading strike bowler is borne out in his economy rate and strike rate for both Tests and all first-class matches. He was the least economical of the three fast bowlers, but took wickets more frequently than any other frontline bowler.

In all first-class matches, he took 86 wickets at 15.68 and held onto 14 catches, fielding in the slips. There were many consecutive matches during the tour with no rest day in between, so Bradman ensured that Miller and Lindwall remained fresh for the new ball bursts in Tests by giving them a smaller proportion of the bowling during the tour matches. During all first-class matches, Johnston bowled 851.1 overs, Johnson 668 and Lindwall 573.4, Toshack 502 while Miller bowled only 429.4 overs. Outside the Tests, Lindwall bowled 349.3 overs, only the fifth heaviest workload in those matches.

The English were unable to cope with his high pace and swing, with 43 of his wickets coming after the batsmen had missed the ball and were bowled. Lindwall's Test haul of 27 scalps equalled the record for an Australian fast bowler in England. For the entire tour, scored 411 runs at 24.17 with two fifties, including 191 at 31.83 in the Tests. During the tour, Lindwall had limited opportunities with the bat, usually batting between No. 7 and No. 9. It was hard for him to get any higher up the order as Australia's other specialist bowlers, such as Colin McCool, Ian Johnson and Doug Ring, who all scored centuries and more than 20 fifties each during their first-class career and were of similar batting ability to him. As Australia often won by an innings, and often declared in the first innings due to their batting strength, Lindwall only had 20 innings in his 22, although he was often effective when he did get an opportunity.

Wisden recognised him by naming him as one of its five Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1949, citing his ability to allow Australia to seize the initiative in all but one of the Tests by achieving early breakthroughs against their batting. Wisden said that "by whatever standard he is judged", Lindwall must "be placed permanently in the gallery of great fast bowlers", attributing his success to "superb control of length and direction, his change of pace and general skill, the like of which in a slower bowler could be classed as cunning". The ferocity of Lindwall's bouncer often prompted opposing batsmen to retreat onto the back foot even before he had released the ball.

References

• Cashman, Franks, Maxwell, Sainsbury, Stoddart, Weaver, Webster (1997). The A-Z of Australian cricketers. Melbourne: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-550604-9.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
• Fingleton, Jack (1949). Brightly fades the Don. Collins.
• Perry, Roland (2000). Captain Australia: A history of the celebrated captains of Australian Test cricket. Sydney: Random House Australia. ISBN 1-74051-174-3.
• Perry, Roland (2001). Bradman's best: Sir Donald Bradman's selection of the best team in cricket history. Random House Australia. ISBN 0-09184-051-1.
• Perry, Roland (2005). Miller's Luck: the life and loves of Keith Miller, Australia's greatest all-rounder. Sydney: Random House. ISBN 9781741662221.
• Pollard, Jack (1990). From Bradman to Border: Australian Cricket 1948–89. Harper Collins. ISBN 0-207-16124-0.