Don Bradman’s unbeaten 1948 team-the greatest!

By A.C.De Silva
 

Lankans played against Bradman

The mere mention of Bradman’s name in any nook and corner of a household associated with cricket here in Sri Lanka will undoubtedly raise some interest. The interest will be because of the fact that the great Australian batsman also played here in Sri Lanka in 1948 as the captain of the team in a whistle-stop match against Ceylon captained by M. Sathasivam.

Australia who batted first on that occasion, made 184 for 8 wickets declared with Barnes making 49 retd. Miller 46 and Loxton 29. Sathi Coomaraswamy was the pick of the Ceylon bowlers with 4 for 45 and R.L. de Kretser 2 for 39.

Ceylon was 46 for 2 wickets when rain put a stop to the match.

The Ceylon team was captained by M. Sathasivam. Some of the other Sri Lanka players were: S. Nagendra, Sargo Jayawickrema, Bertie Wijesinghe, C.I.Gunasekera, Allen and B.R. Heyn. A note of interest is that Bertie Wijesinha is still among the living.

Former famous Australian cricketer and writer Fingleton was here and he praised the Ceylonese side for their fielding.

CRICKET: What was the greatest allround team to tour England? On record the 1948 Australian team under Sir Donald Bradman was the greatest allround team to tour England. He was a shrewd cricketing head. Opinions will always differ on whether it was stronger than Warwick Armstrong’s great team of 1921, but if one goes by records, Bradman’s team was triumphant. It never knew defeat whereas Armstrong’s great side went down to a side organised towards the end of the tour by Archie McLaren.

Bradman’s team, therefore, remains pre-eminent in the scorebooks. Like Armstrong’s, it benefited by coming after a World War. The AIF team, under Herbie Collins, provided the nucleus of the Australian team for a decade and more after the war. Men like Pellew, Gregory, Oldfield, Taylor and others stood high in Australian cricket annals.

Charlie Macartney at first played with that AIF in England after the war but Charlie was anxious to get home after the mud of France and Ted McDonald was another who came to re-inforce the ranks of the cricketing soldiers, as did Armstrong himself.

It is purely a matter for speculation how the warriors of Bradman would have fared against those of Armstrong. Such things can only be conjectured but, knowing the batsmen of 1948 as well as Jack Fingleton did (he played with many of them) there is no doubt that Jack Gregory and Ted McDonald, with their thunderbolts, would have given a lot of worry for many batsmen of 1948.

A few were none too keen on bouncers although it was felt that the spin of Mailey, Armstrong and Macartney would not have bothered unduly Bradman’s batsmen.

They were much too fleet of foot, particularly the Don though at 40 his great days of wizardry were past.

Hasset, the team’s Vice-Captain and Miller, one of the best allrounders of all time, came from the Australian Services team that played good cricket in England after the Second War, Men like Arthur Morris and Ray Lindwall were in the services in the islands war against Japan and Bradman, Barnes, Brown, Johnson (Ian), Don Tallon, a great ‘keeper’ and Toshack were around before the war in Australia.

One who came from the obscurity in Australia and to the very top was Bill Johnston, the Victorian left-hand speedster, who was as good a left-hander as seen by many. He could bowl swingers and could turn, if needed, to spinners. Additionally, Bill was one of the best players on tour.

England in sore plight

The Australians of 1948 met England when it was in a sore plight. The Bombing devastation of the war was on all sides and rationed and the poor food did not make for vitamins in the country’s cricket.

What affected the cricket of the country most and played into the Australian hands was the rule that enabled the Australians to take a new ball at the end of 55 overs. It seemed to be made to order for Bradman’s men.

Lindwall, and it is doubtful that the world has ever known a more a skilful and artful fast bowler and Keith Miller, had barely put on their sweaters after the first new ball than they seemed to be getting ready for the second.

There was no respite for the poor English batsmen and when the two champions were being spied, Bill Johnston came on to worry the life out of the men at the crease.

And to this when Toshak was added with his nagging deliveries on or outside the leg stump, and the Australian bowling was rarely mastered.

The side had two capable slow leg-break bowlers in Doug Ring and Col. McCool but the final Test at the Oval was the only Test that they had between them. The constant new ball made them redundant and Bradman, as shrewd a cricketing head as ever led an Australian team, was not lightly tossing side the rich gift of a new ball every 55 overs presented to him by the English legislators.

On his last of four playing tours, Bradman was accepted like royalty whenever he played. His final appearance at Lord’s when thousands gathered on the field and hoped for a final glimpse of him on the Australian balcony.

He didn’t come out. He had played his last innings at Lord’s and left it at that.

Bradman - merciless

So there it was, Don Bradman who aimed to get an unbeaten record on the tour, which had never been done before by an Australian team, and when he set his mind on something he was merciless, leaving nothing to chance. He was also a captain well above the ordinary, thinking quickly and clearly. Bradman and his wonderful team of 1948 carried too many guns for the English, hard hit as they were by war.

Dennis Compton played several truly great innings, pulling and hooking ferociously, the many bouncers hurled by Miller and Lindwall.

Bradman, himself, hit two splendid centuries and finished his Test career at the Oval when he was bowled by Eric Hollies for a duck.

Hassett scored well, as did Arthur Morris, but the giant of years to come was the then 19-year-old Neil Harvey who made a great century in his first Test at Headingley and was with Bradman when the massive target of 404 for 4, shorn of time Yardley batting on the last day was achieved. Bradman sent Harvey in ahead of him to the pavilion when the game ended.

The real old-timers have said that the 1909 Australian team to England held all the trumps, many are of the view that Armstrong who led the side had many victories, but one thing Don Bradman’s team has the record - unbeaten.