Harold Larwood was a bowler of great speed combined with considerable control. This made him a force to be reckoned with in the years between 1926 and 1933. Although not a large man, his superb action allowed him to bowl in excess of 90 mph, and also provided some movement through the air. The 1932 tour of Australia was notorious for the tactics employed by England under the captaincy of Jardine, who instructed his faster bowlers to aim at the batsman, not the wicket. This was a terrifying prospect when Larwood was bowling. The political repercussions of the tour resulted in Larwood never being picked for England again (after refusing to apologise), and occasional oversight of how effective Larwood was when bowling conventionally.

 

He was a hard hitting and successful batsman, making 98 against Australia in the final test in 1933. David Frith (in "The Fast Men", Corgi Books, 1977) describes his action as follows: " The run up was smooth and silent, the leap composed and balanced, long left arm high, the lunge of the front foot giving maximum pull. " He was timed at 96 mph, but may well have been faster. Numerous batsmen suggest that he was the fastest of his time, and possibly the fastest high class bowler ever. (Dave Liverman)

 

The Beginning :

 

Time hung heavily on the hands of a two year old boy one June day in 1907 in the tiny Nottinghamshire mining village of Nuncargate. Discovering a pint of paraffin in a bottle in the scullery of his father's modest cottage, the child promptly swallowed part of the contents. A hastily summoned doctor pumped out the oil in time to save the child's life.

 

The incident started something, for the boy's father decided that his son needed some kind of interest to keep him out of mischief. From and old fence paling he made a tiny cricket bat and presented it to his son together with a rubber ball to push about the garden. It solved the problem and the boy began spending hours in the backyard playing with his new toys.

 

It wasn't long before young Harold Larwood was pestering his father for more bats and balls. 'I can remember only from the time when I was about five. From that age I hardly spent any leisure time without a bat or ball in my hands. I kept my father poor buying me ninepenny balls. They usually lasted about a week because I hit them so hard and so often. I became attached to the game, so far as I understood it, that unless my father kept me in bed under threat of punishment - and he could dish it out - I would even get up before breakfast to play. By now I was carving my own bats out of any old piece of wood I could find.'

 

At the age of 14 the legal age a boy could work down a mine, Larwood became a pit boy. On the very first day he mustered a team of pit boys, played a team of local boys and bowled them out in 3 overs. He was a pit boy for 3 years, on pay days gave every penny to his mother. The wages were 32 shillings, it was a lot of money. When Larwood turned 17 he took a job on the night shift at another mine near by, the Langton Colliery.

 

'Cricket was my outlet. I played often in the late summer evenings although very tired after a day's work. As a slightly built boy of fifteen I played in the Nuncargate second eleven as a fast bowler, the other players being men in their 20's. In my first season I took 76 wickets at an average of less than 5 runs. Two years later I was promoted to the village's first team. Bowling in sandshoes because I didn't own a pair of boots, I sent down 20 overs during the match, even though I'd worked down the mine all the previous night.'

'I remember the game as if it were last week. After a few overs my nose began to blled. Team mates, men they were , urged me to leave the field. I refused and kept on bowling. Down the mine I dreamed of cricket; I bowled imaginery balls in the dark; I sent the stumps spinning and heard them rattling in the tunnels. No mishap was going to stop me from bwoling in the real game, especially this one.'

 

'My nose bled worse than ever, spattering my shirt. I was again advised to go off but I continued to bowl. Then a ball caught the middle stump. My next delivery scattered the incoming batsman;s wicket. Although feeling a bit weak by now I got ready for one more, and hit the off stump. It was my first hat-trick.'

'Cricket was my reason for living.'

 

One day about a year later he got the shock of his life. Joe Hardstaff went up to Harold in Nuncargate and said "Harold, my boy, how’d you like to go to Trent Bridge for a trial ?". Larwood couldn’t believe it, how was it possible ? "Surely not, Mr Hardstaff ?". "I think you have possibilities, you might even become a great cricketer one of these days". Little did Joe Hardstaff know then that Larwood would become the most feared fast bowler in his time.

 

"To be frank, I did not believe I would get as far as a trial with Notts. But Joe arranged it, otherwise it might never have happened. I had to have the proper gear and it cost my father £9 - a small fortune at the time. I’d have been laughed off the ground without them."

 

In 1923, Larwood was then 18 years old and with his father to accompany him made his way to Trent Bridge, home of Nottinghamshire Country Cricket Club for the trial. He bowled to several batsmen at the nets, but they all played him without any problems. He was bowling to experienced County players, one or two even made encouraging remarks.

 

"I must have made a good impression because a club official to us into his office and asked me if I would sign on for a year with a view to becoming a professional".

 

Needless to say, Harold accepted ! A year after joining Notts as a probationer he was given his first County game, against Northants and he took one wicket. "I wasn’t ready and was sent back to the nets" he said.

 

Half way through the 1925 season, when he was 20, he had his first real start in County cricket against Yorkshire at Sheffield. "Herbert Sutcliffe faced up to me. Or rather, I faced up to him. He looked surprised at the speed of my first ball as it went past him. The second came off his bat and flew into the safe hands of my skipper, Arthur Carr, at slip."

 

After taking Sutcliffe’s wicket and two others in the Yorkshire game he had a permanent place in the Notts side and from that moment on all he wanted to do was keep his place. His first County 50 came in the return fixture against Northants in 1925, two months after he had won his Cap and blazer. (In the two months he had taken 52 wickets at less than 22 runs each). "I went on to make 70 in the match in a 151 run partnership with W. Payton. Almost 5,000 people applauded and cheered me when I got to my 50."

 

The pony pit boy had come a long way. (Miles Orchard)

 

The quotes above are taken from Harold Larwood's book 'The Larwood Story' written by Harold and Kevin Perkins. For more information on Harold please visit Our Official Harold Larwood website.