Spofforth's Action — How the Demon Bowled, 1878

Spofforth had begun as a pure fast bowler in NSW intercolonial matches. His first-tour experience in England in 1878 led him to add medium and slow paces to his repertoire while keeping the same action.

On English pitches in 1878 the firm wickets blunted his fast bowling. He spent late June and July experimenting with slower deliveries and the cutter.

Spofforth was unusual in 19th-century cricket for both his physique and his deliberate use of pace variation. Contemporaries described his action as 'catherine-wheel' — long arms whirling, a high front leg, a long stride at delivery. By the 1878 English summer he had begun to slow himself down: at the Oval in August he bowled the same delivery action at three different paces, a quicker ball that nobody picked. Allan Steel called him 'the most difficult bowler to read in the world'. He was also the first bowler to use direct eye contact and stare-downs as a tactic — Tom Horan recorded that 'he glared at the batsman from the top of his run as if he were going to eat him'. The 6ft 3in frame and the famous 'demoniac' delivery — flying limbs and intent eyes — produced the impression of a hostile force unlike anything English batsmen had previously faced. By 1882 he was bowling well below medium pace at times yet still terrified the world's best.

“All legs, arms and nose.”

“He glared at the batsman from the top of his run as if he were going to eat him.”

Spofforth's action and method were widely imitated. Aubrey Smith, Tom Richardson, S.F. Barnes — all 19th- and early-20th-century English fast bowlers credited Spofforth as a model.