Editing Bodyline (section)

===Leg theory bowling===
In the 19th century, most cricketers considered it unsportsmanlike to bowl the ball at the leg stump or for batsmen to hit on the leg side. But by the early years of the 20th century, some bowlers, usually [[Spin bowling|slow]] or [[Fast bowling|medium-paced]], used [[leg theory]] as a tactic; the ball was aimed outside the line of leg stump and the fielders placed on that side of the field, the object being to test the batsman's patience and force a rash stroke.<ref name=F22-23/> Two English left-arm bowlers, [[George Hirst]] in 1903–04 and [[Frank Foster (cricketer)|Frank Foster]] in 1911–12, bowled leg theory to packed leg side fields in Test matches in Australia;<ref name="Frith, pp. 18–19">Frith, pp. 18–19.</ref> [[Warwick Armstrong]] also used it regularly for Australia.<ref>Frith, p. 25.</ref> In the years immediately before the First World War, several bowlers used leg theory in English [[county cricket]].<ref name=F22-23>Frith, pp. 22–23.</ref> Amongst these was the South African [[Basil Melle]], who utilised leg theory bowling playing for [[Oxford University Cricket Club|Oxford University]] during the 1913 season, in which he took 55 wickets and in [[The University Match (cricket)|The University Match]] dominated the [[Cambridge University Cricket Club|Cambridge University]] batsmen.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J6NsDwAAQBAJ|title=Cricket and society in South Africa, 1910-1971: from union to isolation|publisher=[[Springer International Publishing]]|location=[[London]]|first1=Bruce|last1=Murray|first2=Jonty|last2=Winch|first3=Richard|last3=Parry|year=2018|page=143|isbn=9783319936086|oclc=1050448400|language=en}}</ref>

When cricket resumed after the war, few bowlers maintained the tactic, which was unpopular with spectators owing to its negativity. [[Fred Root]], the [[Worcestershire County Cricket Club|Worcestershire]] bowler, used it regularly and with considerable success in county cricket. Root later defended the use of leg theory—and bodyline—observing that when bowlers bowled outside off stump, the batsmen always had the option to let the ball pass them without playing a shot, so they could scarcely complain.<ref>Frith, p. 23.</ref>

Some fast bowlers experimented with leg theory prior to 1932, sometimes accompanying the tactic with [[Bouncer (cricket)|short-pitched bowling]]. In 1925, Australian [[John Scott (Australian cricketer, born 1888)|Jack Scott]] first bowled a form of what would later have been called bodyline in a state match for New South Wales; his captain [[Herbie Collins]] disliked it and would not let him use it again. Other Australian captains were less particular, including [[Vic Richardson]], who asked the South Australian bowler [[Lance Gun]] to use it in 1925,<ref name=F27-29>Frith, pp. 27–29.</ref> and later let Scott use it when he moved to South Australia. Scott repeated the tactics against the MCC in 1928–29.<ref>Douglas, pp. 79–80.</ref><ref name=Fr29>Frith, pp. 28–29.</ref> In [[1927 English cricket season|1927]], in a Test trial match, [[Edward Clark (cricketer)|"Nobby" Clark]] bowled short to a leg-trap (a cluster of fielders placed close on the leg side). He was representing England in a side captained by [[Douglas Jardine]].<ref>Douglas, pp. 59–60.</ref> In 1928–29, [[Harry Alexander (cricketer)|Harry Alexander]] bowled fast leg theory at an England team,<ref>Douglas, p. 83.</ref> and [[Harold Larwood]] briefly used a similar tactic on that same tour in two Test matches.<ref name=Fr29/> [[Freddie Calthorpe]], the England captain, criticised [[Learie Constantine]]'s use of short-pitched bowling to a leg side field in a Test match in 1930;<ref>Howat (1976), p. 60.</ref> one such ball struck [[Andy Sandham]], but Constantine only reverted to more conventional tactics after a complaint from the England team.<ref>Frith, pp. 31–32.</ref>