Sir Donald Bradman – the cricketing giant

By A.C De Silva

Sir Donald Bradman needs no introduction. He was a legend in the game. Don Bradman was the most efficient, batsman ever to grace the game of cricket. This is unanimous.

Sir Donald Bradman possessed the technique and intelligence that took him to the very pinnacle of the sport.

Speaking about cricketers of the past, the name of Bradman automatically comes to the mind of cricketers of the past and all those who write about the game. When a gentleman cares for many others over the years, he naturally becomes a much talked off person – and Sir Donald Bradman was undoubtedly a much loved person.

The great cricketer that he was, he was born on August 27 in 1908 and though he passed away in 2001, he had done cricket proud.

He learnt the game by throwing a golf ball at the base of a water tank with his right hand whilst holding a cricket stump in his left, then gripping the stump with both hands, he would attempt to score ‘runs’.

By hitting the unpredictable golf ball on to the laundry wall or door. It was this incredible skill that developed his extraordinary eye and hand co-ordination.

Lankan fans saw Bradman play

Cricket followers in Sri Lanka had the good fortune of seeing the great man in action in 1930 at the Colombo Cricket Club grounds. He played two matches (one-day).

A record crowed hoped to watch Bradman in full flight, but he batted with restraint to score 40 out of a modest total of 213.

Bradman did not play in Sri Lanka in 1934 and 1938 owing to ill health. In 1948, Bradman made his final appearance in Colombo and he scored a carefully grafted 20 on a pitch subsequently bound to be two yards short.

So, the past cricket fans have some consolation in the fact that they saw for a fleeting moment the attractive batting of the world class batsman Donald Bradman.

Bradman the best

It a question is asked as to who was the best batsman ever to grace a cricket field? There is only one possible answer – Bradman! He surveyed an entire age and over five decades after he called it quits to the game.

It was a blessing for the ‘hapless’, if not helpless bowlers who had received enough ‘stick’ till then from the punishing blade of Bradman – the short statured batting monarch. Bradman’s enormous prowess with the bat was evident when he scored his first century in schools cricket, in New South Wales at the age of 12.

Then he shot up like a star in his own right. Scores of 320,300 and 230 in successive matches, tell a story of their own, much better than a thousand words put together.

Entered big-time cricket 1926-27

In 1926-27, Bradman made his entry into big-time cricket. In his very first match, he made a ‘ton’. He skippered New South Wales.

Bradman’s success, in reality, is the success story of cricket. Expectations were high when he made his debut in Tests, against England in 1928.

He didn’t disappoint, yet he was dropped after his first game. He was recalled to the side in the Melbourne Test, later in the series. He put up a fire performance and made 79, followed by a century – both delightful knocks. Thereafter, his place in the Australian team, was as secure as the Bank of England, despite the trauma he had to face in the wake of Douglas Jardine’s infamous ‘bodyline’ bowling series.

Bradman - the star who made instant news headlines could sight the ball quite early like all great batsmen.

Scoring runs in matches was Bradman’s hobby and he was the only batsman to have scored a triple-century in Tests twice, including the one posted in only a single day’s play, Bradman, in 52 Tests, recorded a staggering 6,996 runs with the aid of 29 hundreds, at an average of 99.94. His overall first-class record was no less stunning: 338 innings; 28,067 runs, 117 hundreds; 95.14 average.

If Eric Hollies had not got him out for a ‘duck’ in his last Test innings at the Oval, in 1948, but given him just a boundary, Bradman’s average would have been precisely 100!

Bradman, without a any doubt was the one-man nuclear taskforce of his time – and beyond.

Sir Donald Bradman Fact file

1908 – Born Donald George Bradman, August 27 in Cootamundra
1911 – Family moved to Bowral – 80 km – North West of Sydney.
1920 – Scored first century, for Bowral – High School against Mittagong.

1926 – Joined St. George in the Sydney club competition after they agreed to pay his commuting costs from Bowral. Run out for 110 on debut.

1927 – Made first-class debut for NSW against South Australia, scoring 118 and 33 batting at number seven.

1928 – Made Test debut against England in Brisbane, scoring 18 and 1. Dropped for second Test, but recalled for the third Test and made 79 112.

1930 – Set first class world record score of 452 not out for NSW vs Queensland.

1930 – Made first of four Asnes tours to England, scoring 974 runs at 139.14. Made four centuries including then world record of 334 not out (including 309 in a single day) at Leeds.

1932 – Married childhood sweetheart Hessie Menzies in Sydney on April 30.

1932-33 – Scored 396 runs at 56.57 including one century in the infamous “Bodyline” series. England captain Douglas Jardin instructed his bowlers to deliver short-pitched balls at the Australian batsmen’s bodies in an attempt to curb Bradman’s scoring. England won the series but the praactice soured relations between the two countries and the tactics was later outlawed.

1934 – Scored 758 runs at 94.75 including a triple century, at Leeds and a double century at the Oval, on tour in England and almost died when he was struck down by an appendicitis.

1936 – Moved from Sydney to Adelaide, building a new home and a career as a stockbroker. Appointed Australian Test Captain later that year.

1938 – Appointed national selector. Served until 1950.
1939 – Son John born.

1940 – Joined Australian Airforce, then transferred to the Army. Invalided out the following year because of back problems and poor eyesight.

1941 – Daughter Shirley born.

1947 – Scored his 100th First Class Century against India for an Australian XI at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

1948 – Played his last Test series, leading the “Invincibles” in England. Made a second ball ‘duck’ in his final innings, bowled by Eric Mollies, at the Oval when he needed just four runs for a career average of 100. He finished his 52-Test career with 6,996 runs at an average of 99.94, including 29 centuries.

1949 – Played his final first-class match, sooring 30 for South Australia against Victoria. During his career, scored 28,067 runs at an average of 95.14 including 117 centuries.

1949 – Knighted for services to cricket.
1954 – Reappointed National Selector – Served until 1971.
1960 – Appointed Chairman of Australian Cricket Board, serving on and off until 1972.
1989 – Bewral opened a museum commemorating his achievements.
1997 – Jessie died, aged 88, from cancer.

1998 – Mark Taylor equals Bradman’s Australian Test record 334 against Pakistan but decided not to pass him, reclaring his innings ckesedon for respect to Bradman.

2000 – Son John reclaimed the family name after decades of living under the alias Bradson, to avoid public attention.

2001 – Sir Donald died in his sleep on February 25, aged 92.