Douglas Jardine

Douglas Jardine

Jardine in 1932
Personal information
Full name	Douglas Robert Jardine
Born	(1900-10-23)23 October 1900 Malabar Hill, Bombay, Bombay Presidency, British India
Died	18 June 1958(1958-06-18) (aged 57) Montreux, Vaud, Switzerland
Nickname	The Iron Duke
Batting	Right-handed
Bowling	Right-arm leg break
Role	Top-order Batsman
International information
National side	England
Test debut (cap 235)	23 June 1928 v West Indies
Last Test	10 February 1934 v India
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1920–1923	Oxford University
1921–1933	Surrey
1925–1933/34	Marylebone Cricket Club
Career statistics
Competition Test First-class Matches 22 262 Runs scored 1,296 14,848 Batting average 48.00 46.83 100s/50s 1/10 35/72 Top score 127 214 Balls bowled 6 2,582 Wickets 0 48 Bowling average – 31.10 5 wickets in innings 0 1 10 wickets in match 0 0 Best bowling 0/10 6/28 Catches/stumpings 26/– 188/–
Source: ESPNcricinfo, 17 May 2008

Douglas Robert Jardine (23 October 1900 – 18 June 1958) was an English cricketer who played 22 Test matches for England, captaining the side in 15 of those matches between 1931 and 1934. A right-handed batsman, he is best known for captaining the English team during their successful 1932–33 Ashes tour of Australia. During that series, England employed "Bodyline" tactics against the Australian batsmen, headed by Donald Bradman, wherein bowlers pitched the ball short on the line of leg stump to rise towards the bodies of the batsmen in a manner that some contemporary players and critics viewed as intimidatory and physically dangerous. As captain, Jardine was the person responsible for the implementation of Bodyline.

A controversial figure among cricketers, partially for what was perceived by some to be an arrogant and patrician manner, he was well known for his dislike of Australian players and crowds, and thus was unpopular in Australia, especially so after the Bodyline tour. However, many who played under his leadership regarded him as an excellent and dedicated captain. He was also famous in cricket circles for wearing a multi-coloured Harlequin cap.

After establishing an early reputation as a prolific schoolboy batsman, Jardine played cricket for Winchester College, attended the University of Oxford, playing for its cricket team, and then played for Surrey County Cricket Club as an amateur. He developed a stubborn, defensive method of batting which was considered unusual for an amateur at the time, and he received occasional criticism for negative batting. Nonetheless, Jardine was selected in Test matches for the first time in 1928, and went on to play with some success in the Test series in Australia in 1928–29. Following this tour, his business commitments prevented him from playing as much cricket. However, in 1931, he was asked to captain England in a Test against New Zealand. Although there were some initial misgivings about his captaincy, Jardine led England in the next three cricket seasons and on two overseas tours, one of which was the Australian tour of 1932–33. Of his 15 Tests as captain, he won nine, drew five and lost only one. He retired from all first-class cricket in 1934 following a tour to India.

Although Jardine was a qualified solicitor he did not work much in law, choosing instead to devote most of his working life to banking and, later on, journalism. He joined the Territorial Army in the Second World War and spent most of it posted in India. After the war, he worked as company secretary at a paper manufacturer and also returned to journalism. While on a business trip in 1957, he became ill with what proved to be lung cancer and died, aged 57, in 1958.