Bodyline Casualty

For the first time, Bodyline Casualty - The Bert Oldfield Story reveals the complete story of an Australian cricket legend.

A world-record-holding wicket-keeper to this day, Bert Oldfield put everything on the line for his country - on the battlefield and on the cricket field. The sole survivor of a bomb blast in World War One, he later suffered a life-changing skull fracture during the infamous 1932-33 Bodyline Ashes series.

In this gripping biography, Gavin Gleeson uncovers previously unknown details of Oldfield’s pivotal role in the Bodyline controversy, including his strained relationship with Donald Bradman, his surprising gesture of kindness toward England captain Douglas Jardine, and his eventual friendship with Harld Larwood - the very man who struck the Bodyline blow.

From imprisonment in an Egyptian dungeon, to working in a venereal disease clinic, and saving a lion from death row, Oldfield’s life defied convention. He played almost every Test series between the wars, only to re-enlist in active service throughout World War Two. A successful businessman and devoted family man, the hard knocks Oldfield sustained in sport and war ultimately let to the seizures that beset his later year.