Classic Ashes matches

1932/33 - Third Test, Adelaide
13, 14, 16, 17, 18 & 19 January
England won by 338 runs

England 341 all out Maurice Leyland 83 Robert Wyatt 78 Eddie Paynter 77 Australia 222 all out Bill Ponsford 85 England 412 all out Wally Hammond 85 Les Ames 69 Douglas Jardine 56 Australia 193 all out Bill Woodfull 73* Don Bradman 66

On a tour that plumbed new depths, this was Bodyline's most unpleasant chapter.

Wisden described the match as "a disgrace to cricket" and the hostility towards Douglas Jardine and his England team hit an all-time low.

Bitter feeling in the stands spread to the centre with Australian captain Bill Woodfull taking his complaints directly to the English manager Pelham Warner.

Recrimination and ill-feeling cast a shadow over the game and England eased to a 338-run win with home morale low.

Australia had levelled the series in the preceding outing, and England's ruthless tactics in re-asserting their authority disgusted Woodfull.

"There are two teams out there; one is playing cricket and the other is not. It is too great a game to spoil," the skipper declared.

Woodfull had more reason than most to be angered having been hit in the chest by a Harold Larwood delivery.

As he recovered his composure he saw the field moving into their "leg theory" positions, much to the crowd's anger.

Later in Australia's first innings, Bertie Oldfield, after two hours at the crease, was forced to leave the action with a cracked skull having mis-hooked Larwood.

England recovered from 30-4 with half-centuries from Maurice Leyland, Robert Wyatt and Eddie Paynter.

Wally Hammond, Les Ames and captain Douglas Jardine weighed in with big scores as England complied a sizeable lead, leaving Australia a daunting target of 532 to win.

Larwodd and Gubby Allen, who refused to bowl Bodyline, each took four wickets as Australia soon subsided.

Bill Ponsford took a number of hits to the body and Bradman, for whom the controversial bowling tactic had been devised, flung the bat for 66.

Only Woodfull, leading from the front in becoming the first man to carry his bat twice in Tests, slowed England's march to victory.

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Did you know?
Harold Larwood, the main weapon in England's Bodyline attack, took 33 wickets in the series. On his return home he was made a scapegoat for the controversy and was asked to sign a letter of apology. He refused and never played another Test for England. He later moved to Australia where he lived until his death in 1995.