Darling Len Image 1 Victoria 1934

Description

South Yarra, Melbourne, Victoria born left-hand batsman Len Darling was athletically built and a graceful, dashing player with a fine array of attacking strokes which he used to good effect in the Sheffield Shield for Victoria. Darling played in his first senior match as a 17-year-old in 1926-27, but had to wait until 1928-29 before making his début in the Shield at Sydney in an amazing match. Victoria fought off defeat after New South Wales had declared at 713-6, leaving Bradman 340 not out. Victoria inevitably followed on but, helped by 96 from Darling, gained an honourable draw. That season he hit 87 at Melbourne against an M.C.C. team containing Larwood, Tate, Freeman and Geary in their attack. He made no showing again until 1931-32 when he made his maiden hundred and averaged 48.88 in the Shield.

The next year he came right to the fore, averaging 69.14 in state matches with three hundreds, and was brought in to bolster Australia’s beleaguered Test team for the last two Tests of the Bodyline series at Brisbane and Sydney. At Brisbane on debut in February 1933 he was run out for 39 in the second innings; and at Sydney his attacking 85 was top score in a total of 435. Many thought he was less bothered by the onslaught of Larwood and company than anyone else except Stan McCabe.

In 1933-34 he made his highest score, 188 against Queensland, and his 93 at Sydney in the final Shield match of the season enabled Victoria to draw and thus take the trophy by a single point. In England in 1934 the other batsmen were dwarfed by Bradman and Ponsford. Darling played in the first four Tests, but achieved little, and Wisden commented on his tendency to flick at balls moving away. In other matches he played some delightful innings and made 1,022 runs on the tour at 34.06. Back at home in 1934-35, he was in brilliant form, hitting three hundreds in successive matches, and was an automatic choice for the 1935-36 tour of South Africa. There he had a much better series and averaged 45.80 with two further half centuries. He played the last of his 12 Test matches against England in the famous New Year Test at Melbourne; in front of a 65,000 crowd he held two brilliant catches to dispose Hammond and Leyland. It was his only Test of the series as Australia experimented with several young batsman.

At the end of the season, when he was only 27, he suddenly retired from cricket and moved to Adelaide. In 100 first class matches he made 5,780 runs for an average of 42.50, which included 16 hundreds and 26 half centuries, with a highest score of 188. His total in 12 Tests was 474 runs at 27.88. He was a superb fielder in any position and a moderate right-arm medium pace bowler, whose 32 first class wickets cost exactly 47 apiece with a best return of 3-57. He also took 59 catches in first class play.

Darling once told a story of fielding on the boundary at the Sydney Cricket Ground and positioning himself to catch a big hit from Don Bradman. While the ball was still in the air, according to Darling, the crowd yelled at him to drop the catch. This occurred in Bradman’s last innings for New South Wales in 1934. Darling did in fact take the catch to end Bradman’s innings. Bradman was out for 128, with him hitting three sixes in the over, and getting caught while trying to hit his fourth.

“If ever there has been a better team man than Darls”, wrote Bill “Tiger” O’Reilly, “I have not yet had the pleasure of meeting him.”

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