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World Service,3 mins

The Bodyline Rhyme

Stumped

Available for over a year

Tensions may be mounting between England and Australia with the Ashes underway - but they would have to go a long way to match the events of the 1932-33 series. Back then, England's tactic of bowling short-pitched deliveries at the bodies of the Australian players - known as Bodyline - proved hugely controversial - and even threatened diplomatic relations between the two countries! England won the Bodyline series 4-1, but the aggressive tactic prompted changes to the laws of the game and endless debates about the rights and wrongs of short-pitched bowling. What is less well known is that the Bodyline series also inspired a song in a piece of musical theatre performed in Sydney, after the series had finished in 1933. Cricket enthusiast Jim Johnston has been researching the origins of the piece, and has re-recorded a version of the song especially for Stumped. Photo: Bodyline series, 1932-33 (Getty Images)

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