One thing to note is that the first two photographs are of Bert Oldfield after he was hit by a non-Bodyline ball that deflected off his bat into his face.
Oldfield later admitted that the injury was in fact his fault, because he top-edged a ball that was only just short of a length, (from the Independent)
The first photograph of Oldfield has become almost the visual definition of the brutalities of Bodyline, despite the fact that the ball was not aimed at his face in that specific instance. As is obvious from the photographs, they didn't have helmets back then. These days, most cricketers wear helmets with faceguards as standard, and those faceguards have saved many cricketers from the same fate as Oldfield.
One thing to note is that the first two photographs are of Bert Oldfield after he was hit by a non-Bodyline ball that deflected off his bat into his face.
ReplyDeleteOldfield later admitted that the injury was in fact his fault, because he top-edged a ball that was only just short of a length, (from the
Independent)
The first photograph of Oldfield has become almost the visual definition of the brutalities of Bodyline, despite the fact that the ball was not aimed at his face in that specific instance. As is obvious from the photographs, they didn't have helmets back then. These days, most cricketers wear helmets with faceguards as standard, and those faceguards have saved many cricketers from the same fate as Oldfield.