Larwood made his County debut for Nottinghamshire in 1924. An international bow followed two years later with six wickets against Australia.

Joe Hardstaff, his team-mate in his county and England, nick-named him 'Silent Killer'.

"I used to field at cover point and as Loll came up on that smooth carpet-slipped run of his, and I moved into the batsman, I used to listen hard -- to find out what kind of delivery he was going to bowl. If I could hear his feet tip-tapping over the turf, I knew he would be well within himself -- he would still be quick, mind.

"But when I couldn't hear him running up I used to look at the batsman and think: 'You're a split second away from trouble, son,' because I knew that Loll was coming in on his toes and he was going to let slip the fastest he'd got."

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