 Although English bowlers did aim at the batsmen 's body in the opening tour matches , they did not follow through by packing the leg @-@ side field until Bill Woodfull led an Australian XI against the tourists in Melbourne on 18 – 22 November , in what was effectively a Test rehearsal . Jardine was rested from that match and his deputy , Bob Wyatt , deployed the full bodyline tactics for the first time on the tour . The match was drawn and Woodfull struggled , making 18 and a duck . <unk> his hopping technique and attempting to play unorthodox shots resembling overhead tennis smashes , Bradman failed to make an impact , and England were <unk> ahead of the Tests . Seeing the bruising balls hit the Australian batsmen on several occasions in this game and the next angered the spectators . 
