Bill Ponsford: exponent of total batting

``HE WAS the founder of total batting, the first to make a habit of regarding 100 as merely the opening battle in a campaign for a larger triumph,'' said Ray Robinson. Lest anyone should think of Don Bradman, let it be made clear at the outset itself that the doyen of Australian cricket writers did not mean him when he made that sweeping statement about one of his illustrious countrymen who graced the game with his graceful presence. The late Ray Robinson was actually referring to Bill Ponsford who had carved a special niche for himself in an era which saw many outstanding batsmen.

As the cricket world is celebrating his birth centenary this year (he was born on October 19, 1900), it may be interesting to know something about this champion bat. It was his insatiable appetite for runs and the resultant consistency and prolificity of alarming proportions that made Ponsford a dangerous customer. He was always held in awe by his opponents and team-mates alike because he carried all before him. Until Bradman appeared on the scene and stamped his authority with his phenomenal batsmanship, Ponsford was the biggest draw down under.

When Victoria was to play New South Wales (NSW) in Sydney in January 1928, big banners hit the city and suburbs right in the eye. They proclaimed: ``Bill Ponsford in the town. Come to the cricket ground and see the world's greatest batsman.'' It was a brilliant idea of the bigwigs of the NSW Cricket Association to cash in on the amazing popularity of the Victorian. The move produced desired results, what with ``the attendance being 67,614 over the days of play and the gate-takings 4,606 pounds'', both being new records for a Sheffield Shield match in Sydney.

It could not have been otherwise because in December 1927 Ponsford had made 1,146 runs in only 5 innings at a whopping average of 229.20. His scores were 133, 437, 202, 38, 316. Ponsford's triple hundred meant he notched up 11 centuries in 11 consecutive matches down under. For on the heels of his 102 in 1925-26 came his innings of 214 and 54, 151, 352,108 and 84, 12 and 110 in 1926-27; they were followed by 131 and 7 before the floodgates were opened in December 1927.

Incidentally, when Ponsford made 437 against Queensland (having already scored a quadruple hundred, 429, in Victoria's mammoth score of 1059 against Tasmania at Melbourne in 1922-23) on December 17, 1927, Bradman also hit a century on the same day, 118 in his maiden first-class innings, against South Australia. Of course, Bradman eventually broke Ponsford's record of the highest individual score by an Australian when he scored 452 not out against Queensland in 1929-30. Ponsford's telegram to Bradman read: ``Congratulations on your great feat - a batsman of your ability deserves the honour.''

Everything about Ponsford appeared to be on a bigger scale. Born in North Fitzroy, Melbourne, on October 19, 1900, Ponsford was 5 feet 9 inches tall. He wielded a heavy bat which was fondly termed ``Big Bertha'' because of its weight - 2 lb 10 oz, or 12 kg. Although scores of 6 and 19 on first-class debut against Johnny Douglas' side in 1920-21 did not indicate that he was a legend in the making, Ponsford continued to remain in the limelight, twice making three centuries on the trot, including the famous 429, before finally donning the national colours.

Ponsford celebrated his entry into the heavyweight division of cricket with 110 at Sydney followed by 128 at Melbourne against England in 1924-25. Two centuries in his first two Tests were portents of the future. But he did not have a happy tour of England in 1926. Tonsilitis was said to be the reason for his inability to adjust to softer pitches in a dismally wet English summer. However, once back to Australia, he was his usual voracious self, plundering 1,229 runs at 122.90 in six fixtures, including 352 in Victoria's imposing total of 1107 against NSW.

At the beginning of the 1928-29 season in Australia, when the Englishmen were the tourists, Ponsford's comment that Harold Larwood ``is not really a fast bowler'' had appeared in a Melbourne newspaper. This was, mind well, three years before the acrimonious Bodyline series. It infuriated Larwood so much that he vowed to clip Ponsford's wings. In the first Test at Brisbane, he was done in by Larwood in both the innings. Ponsford's stumps were scattered for 2 in the first and in the second he was caught behind for 6.

In the next Test at Sydney, the Aussie had made only 5 when a Larwood missile fractured a bone in his hand. There was no way Ponsford could have taken further part in the rubber. There were reasons to believe that Larwood had become his bogey and although Ponsford made 330 runs at 55.00 in the 1930 series in England, including his own favourite 110 at The Oval, the enmity between the two resumed in the infamous 1932-33 series in Australia.

Besides Bradman, Ponsford was the other leading Australian batsman Larwood and company were eager to gun down. The selectors did not play Ponsford in all the five matches and though he essayed a very plucky innings of 85 in the third Test at Adelaide, it was apparent that Larwood caused much problems for Ponsford. This was the same Ponsford who had scored, not long ago, 467 runs at 77.83 against the West Indies in 1930- 31,including 183 in the second Test at Sydney. But the Bodyline series marked a premature, tragic end to his Test career in Australia. Before he finally called it a day, England saw Ponsford in all his glory and splendour. He scored 1,784 runs at 77.56 on the tour, including 569 at 94.83 in the Test rubber. At Headingley, Ponsford scored 181 and added 388 runs for the fourth wicket with Bradman in five and half hours after a dramatic batting collapse.

This was the first time the two great batsmen had ever shared a major partnership. As Charles Williams revealed, old superlatives were dusted down by the press and brought out again. Their stand was described as ``a double concerto of classical cricket woven sic0 like a superb counterpart in the texture of Australia's innings.'' Ponsford and Bradman were again involved in a huge partnership in the last Test at The Oval, adding 451 runs for the second wicket in a shade over five hours. It was Ponsford's farewell Test appearance and he made it quite memorable by playing an innings of 266. He was only 34 and, as Bradman pointed out, ``still a magnificent player.''

Ponsford figured in 29 Tests and in 48 innings scored 2,122 runs at 48.22 with the help of 7 centuries. In all, he compiled 13,819 runs at 65.18 in 162 first-class matches and 235 innings, including 47 centuries.

Only the advent of Bradman shaded Ponsford's achievements a bit and prevented a greater scale in history. But they still appear staggering, to say the least. Though several batsmen have played an innings of 400 in first-class cricket, Ponsford is the only one to have achieved the feat twice. He once scored 300 runs in a day's play against NSW. He scored 100 runs in a session on nine occasions. One in every five of his innings exceeded 100. And 13 of his hundreds surpassed 200.

A right-hand opening batsman, Ponsford had formed, in company of Bill Woodfull, one of Victoria's and Australia's most successful opening pairs. They struck 20 partnerships of over 100, including one of 375 runs, against NSW at Melbourne in 1926-27. Being an opener, Ponsford's technique was as solid as his temperament was sound. Ray Webster commented: ``Relentless concentration, a near impregnable defence and careful stroke selection convinced many bowlers that Ponsford was the most difficult of all batsmen to dismiss, Bradman included.''

Bradman described Ponsford as a ``splendid'' batsman, Bill O'Reilly said Ponsford was ``the greatest concentrator'' he bowled against and Learie Constantine valued Ponsford ``worth two of any other batsman I have seen for a big game.'' Ray Robinson remarked: ``In his operations against bowlers he used everything that would serve his ends, from digging in for protracted trench warfare to launching summer offensives.''

Ponsford was decidedly a superb batsman of spin bowling. Against Clarrie Grimmett, ``a bowler to whom all batsmen deficient in footwork were pushovers,'' Ponsford scored 9 centuries (ranging from 108 to 336) in the last 15 matches in which they played against each other. He was probably not so convincing against high quality fast bowling and men like Larwood tended to expose him. In his efforts to overcome a fallibility against genuine pace bowling, Ponsford would move a bit too far across only to be bowled round his legs.

Jack Fingleton in particular was one of the more vocal of the Ponsford critics. ``Obviously, Larwood gave Ponsford much anxiety, and there was certainly substance in the claim that fast bowlers - the best of them, that is - sometimes found a chink in his armour or, to be more precise, caused a flutter in his temperament and a stutter in his footwork. That was something no slow bowler ever did,'' wrote Fingleton.

But Bradman, a witness to many of Ponsford's tours de force, was convinced of the Victorian's ability to handle the hot pace. Bradman defended his colleague: ``There were innuendos against Ponsford that he was afraid of fast bowling. Pure rubbish. I've seen him take tremendous thrashings - have seen his body black and blue - covered with bruises. He did take the view, and rightly so, that cricket was not supposed to be a game in which a batsman's superiority should cause him to be the subject of attack - whereby physical injury became a paramount consideration. He could play fast bowling splendidly''. William Harold Ponsford passed into ages on April 6, 1991, at Kyneton, Victoria, Australia.

HARESH PANDYA

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