Doug Ring with the Australian cricket team in England in 1948

Doug Ring was a member of Donald Bradman's famous Australian cricket team which toured England in 1948. Bradman's men went undefeated in their 34 matches; this unprecedented feat by a Test side touring England earned them the sobriquet The Invincibles.
A leg spinner, Ring was not prominent in the team's success. Regarded as the last bowler to be selected for the team, Ring played in only the Fifth Test, taking one wicket for 44 runs (1/44) for the match and scoring nine runs in his only innings after replacing off spinner Ian Johnson, who was dropped for poor form. Along with Ron Hamence and Colin McCool, neither of whom played in a Test during the tour, Ring called himself "ground staff" because of the paucity of the trio's on-field duties in the major matches and they often sang ironic songs about their status.
For the entire tour, Ring took 60 first-class wickets at a bowling average of 21.81, the most expensive among Australia's frontline bowlers. As England agreed to have a new ball available 55 overs after the start of each innings in the Tests—more frequently than usual—fast bowling dominated over spin, and Ring was used primarily in the non-Test tour matches. Outside the Tests, only Bill Johnston bowled more overs, and Ring was used to relieve the workload on Bradman's pace spearheads to keep them fresh for the Tests. Ring scored 150 first-class runs at a batting average of 16.66 during the tour, and a top-score of 53 was his only effort beyond 50.
Background

Ring made his Test debut in the last international match of the 1947-48 Australian season, the Fifth Test against India. Australia rested a few of its players and some fringe cricketers such as Ring and Sam Loxton were given a debut so that their ability could be evaluated before the tour of England. Ring took six wickets for the match and was selected for the tour along with Loxton, who scored 80.
Early tour
Australia traditionally fielded its first-choice team in the tour opener, which was customarily against Worcestershire. In the lead-up to the match, Ring impressed Ray Robinson who was covering the tour. Robinson, writing for Sydney newspaper The Sun, suggested that Ring could be the number one spin bowler for the tour. Ultimately, Ring was omitted from this match, despite having replaced Colin McCool to make his Test debut in the fifth and final match against India in Australia during the 1947-48 season that preceded the tour of England; Ring had taken six wickets for 120 runs (6/120). Fellow leg spinner McCool and off spinner Ian Johnson—who had been regular Test players since World War II—were the two slow bowlers picked as Australia started their campaign with an innings victory.
Ring was called into the team for the second tour match against Leicestershire. He made two runs with the bat before being run out as Australia ended on 448. Bowling to an off-side field and varying his flight and pace with almost all of his deliveries pitching on or outside off stump, Ring took two top order wickets to leave the hosts at 3/56 before returning to take three late wickets as Leicestershire lost their last four wickets without addition to be all out for 130. Ring ended with 5/45. Most of his wickets can came from off side catches as the batsmen tried to hit deliveries spinning across the face of the bat. Made to follow on, Leicestershire scored 147 and lost by an innings. Ring failed to add to his wicket tally in the county's second innings, conceding 26 runs. Ring was rested for the next match against Yorkshire, on a damp pitch that suited slower bowling. It was the closest Australia came to defeat on the tour, as they scraped home by four wickets in a low-scoring affair. Ring then took 1/18 and 0/52 from a total of 44 overs as Australia amassed 4/414 declared and defeated Cambridge University by an innings.
In the following match, Australia crushed Essex by an innings and 451 runs, its largest winning margin for the summer. but Ring was unable to contribute to the surfeit of scoring, making only one. He bowled 18 overs and conceded a total of 35 runs without success as the hosts were bowled out for 83 and 187.
The next match was against the Marylebone Cricket Club at Lord's. The MCC fielded seven players who would represent England in the Tests, and were basically a full strength Test team, while Australia fielded their first-choice team. It was a chance for both teams to gain a psychological advantage. At this point of the tour, Ring had only taken ten wickets at an average of 28.30,
Ring was rested for Australia's first non-victory of the tour, a rain-affected draw against Lancashire. He returned for the match against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge, which was also drawn. triggering a collapse that saw the loss of four wickets for 27 runs to leave the hosts at 8/289. He also dismissed future Test batsman Reg Simpson for 70. The hosts were 32 runs short of making Australia bat again, but held on for a draw as time ran out.
Against Hampshire, He made a duck as Australia collapsed to 117 to trail by 78 runs, the first time the tourists had conceded a first innings lead during the English summer. Ring had a final chance to push for Test selection in the innings win over Sussex, the last match before the First Test. He bowled only two wicketless overs as the pacemen skittled the hosts for 86, and did not bat as Australia amassed 5/549 declared. He then took three consecutive wickets as Sussex fell from 5/98 to 8/109 before eventually being bowled out for 138. Ring ended with 3/42 from 13 overs.
Test omission
Ring's performances were not enough for him to take McCool's place in Bradman's first-choice team. Instead, Bill Johnston, who had taken 10/40 against Yorkshire and 11/117 against Hampshire on damp surfaces, was given the place on the opening morning of the First Test when rain appeared likely. This was followed by a drawn match against Yorkshire, in which Ring scored three runs and was not asked to bowl in the first innings. Yorkshire were bowled out for 206 from 90.1 overs; Bradman called on Ernie Toshack and Johnston to bowl 81.1 overs and did not entrust the other bowlers with substantial work.
Ring was overlooked for the Second Test at Lord's as Bradman retained the same XI, despite the incumbent spinner Johnson managing only 1/85 in the First Test. Australia won convincingly by 409 runs. The next match was against Surrey, starting the day after the finish of the Test. Ring took 3/51 from 21.2 overs in the first innings, leading the way in terms of wickets and overs; most of the Test bowlers were given a light workload. He then contributed an unbeaten 15 in Australia's first innings of 389. After Australia took a first innings lead of 168, Ring bowled another 24 overs in the second innings and took 1/54. He twice dismissed Jack Parker, who had top-scored in each innings with 76 and 81. Australia then chased down the 122 runs for victory in less than an hour, to complete a 10-wicket win.
In the match against Gloucestershire immediately before the Third Test, The Test was drawn amid inclement weather. This was not enough for Ring to force his way into the team for the Fourth Test at Headingley, despite the pitch being described as being favourable to spin bowling. Australia persisted with the same bowling attack and posted 3/404 in the second innings, setting a world record for the highest successful run-chase to win a Test. Former Australian Test leg spinner criticised the Australians for using only one spinner, pointing out that he and Chuck Fleetwood-Smith, a left-arm wrist spinner, had taken 17 wickets between them during the last Anglo-Australian Test at Headingley in 1938. England had been at 2/423 in their first innings, before collapsing to be 496 all out; O'Reilly blamed Australia's lack of early success on the absence of a leg spinner, attributing England's collapse to inept batting.
Immediately after the Headingley Test, Ring scored four as Australia amassed 456 against Derbyshire. He bowled the most overs in the first innings, taking 3/73 from 24 overs as the hosts made 240. He then took 0/23 from six overs after Australia enforced the follow on and ultimately won the match by an innings. Ring was then rested for the match against Warwickshire, which Australia won by nine wickets. Ring replaced him as the team's spinner. English skipper Norman Yardley won the toss and elected to bat on a rain-affected pitch, which was regarded as a surprising move by the majority of the press corps. Precipitation in the previous week caused an extremely wet outfield, which meant that the Test could not start until midday had passed.
Along with the effects of the rain on the pitch, the humid conditions assisted the Australian fast bowlers, who were able to make the ball bounce at variable heights. Led by Lindwall, who took 6/20, Australia skittled England for 52, and Ring did not get a chance to bowl. Ring then made nine before being caught by Jack Crapp in the slips as Australia replied with 389. England started their second innings 337 runs in arrears late on day two and resumed at 1/54 the next morning. During the first session, Ring bowled a tidy spell of 13 overs as Denis Compton and Len Hutton added only 67 runs for the session. Ring did not bowl consistently or accurately, and although the batsman hit him regularly, they did not place their shots, which often went to the fielders. There were four men in the off side ring and they had much work to do as Hutton hit the ball there repeatedly. The English batsmen progressed steadily although Ring had one confident appeal for lbw against Compton. Later in the day, Ring dismissed debutant Allan Watkins for two to take his only wicket of the match. Watkins lofted a delivery from Ring to the leg side straight into the hands of Hassett, who did not need to move from his position on the boundary, This was followed by a game against the Gentlemen of England, the leading amateurs in the country. Ring was not required to bat as Australia amassed 5/610 before declaring. He then bowled the most overs in the first innings, sending down 25.3 and taking the wickets of English Test batsmen Bill Edrich, Trevor Bailey and Freddie Brown. Ring ended with 3/74 as the hosts were bowled out for 245. Australia enforced the follow on, and Ring again shouldered the heaviest workload. He removed Reg Simpson to break the opening stand of 60. The Gentlemen progressed to 3/217 before Ring dismissed Edrich for 128, followed by George Mann for a duck without further addition to the score. Ring then bowled Yardley and dismissed Wilf Wooller soon after, leaving the hosts at 7/240; they were eventually all out for 284, which sealed an innings victory for Australia. Ring ended with 5/70 from 32 overs. The following match against Somerset followed a similar pattern. Ring did not bat as Australia declared at 5/560. He then took 2/17 in the first innings and was not required to bowl in the second innings as the hosts collapsed for 115 and 71 to cede another innings victory.
Ring was rested for the match against the South of England. Australia declared at 7/522 before the hosts made 298; rain ended the match before the second innings could start. Australia's biggest challenge in the post-Test tour matches was against the Leveson-Gower's XI. During the previous Australian tour of England in 1938, this team was effectively a full-strength England outfit, but this time Bradman insisted that only six current England Test players be allowed to play for the hosts. Bradman then fielded a full-strength team. He made only one change from the team that won the Fifth Test, dropping Ring for Johnson. Australia led by 312 runs on the first innings before persistent rain ended the match.
The tour ended with two non-first-class matches against Scotland. In the first, Ring made an unbeaten three as Australia scored 236. He bowled five overs without success in the first innings, before removing four of the first five batsmen in the second innings and ending with 4/20. Scotland made 85 and 111 to lose by an innings. In its summary of the tour, ' said that Ring "was never a trump card in the pack". Such was the strength of the bowling that Ring's 60 first-class wickets at an average of 21.81 made him the most expensive of the regular bowlers on the tour. Among the seven frontline bowlers, Ring's strike rate of 54.26 was the second least incisive and his economy rate of 40.20 was the second most expensive. Although McCool was less economical, he had the second highest strike rate, and while Toshack had the worst strike rate, he was the second most economical of the Australians in the first-class fixtures.
Ring did most of his work in the non-Test first-class matches, in which he sent down 3,088 deliveries. This was second only to Johnston, who bowled 3,251. In contrast, Lindwall and Miller sent down only 2,105 and 1,749 deliveries outside the Tests respectively, as Bradman sought to preserve them for hostile bursts with the new ball against England. Along with Lindwall, Ring was the equal third highest wicket-taker in first-class matches excluding the Tests, with 59, doing a large part of the work in the county matches so that the leading bowlers could conserve energy for the Tests.
Ring had limited opportunities with the bat. Along with Toshack and Johnston, he invariably batted in the bottom three positions. This was because Australia's other frontline bowlers tended to be capable with the bat; Lindwall, Miller, and McCool all made Test centuries and more than nine triple-figure first-class scores, with the latter pair averaging over 30 in Tests. Johnson passed fifty on 21 occasions in his first-class career, six of them in Tests. The strength of the batting side meant that Ring batted only 14 times in his 19 first-class matches on the tour, as Australia often batted only once and won by an innings, and several times declared their first innings closed before Ring could bat. Ring also took 12 catches. The trio were known to sing ironic songs about the paucity of their on-field duties during the tour.

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