nairbe
Active Member
It was an Indian born English captain in Douglas Jardine who was the original cheat.
I may very well be well out of step with many but calling Douglas Jardine a cheat is very poor form. He was ruthless and cold but never a cheat. He engineered a fielding concept called 'Leg Theory' it was incredibly successful. When analysed it was brilliant and in todays world of helmets and body pads it would not be anywhere near as controversial. It was taken out of play purely by a change of laws that stops the fielding team, placing more than two fielders behind square on the leg side making bowling aimed at leg stump easier to play. The West Indies didn't need more than that with chin music aimed at middle. It was no more safe as a system and in an era with no helmets would also have been a controversy.