Cricket's Greatest #1: Sir Don Bradman

There was once a kid who was alone, lived secluded from everyone and played on his own. He had a hoard of games at his disposal but cricket had a special place in his heart. He enacted ‘Test matches’, playing the role of every English and Aussie player then. The boy, though, never felt he was ‘the chosen one’, the one he would become later on in his life.

With time, his fascination for the game grew as he incessantly practiced solo, working on improving his game. When he was selected to join New South Wales to tour the Southern states of Australia, where he scored 118 at Adelaide on debut, he got his first big break and thus began his cricketing journey to greatness. In his first international tour in 1930, he managed to make 2960 runs with a batting average of 98.66 which included 10 centuries. At the end of his career in 1948, the man had given the cricketing world a batting average of 99.94 to be awestruck at. This legend of the game was none other than Don Bradman!

The Australian legend who made the English crowd root for him at the expense of their national side, Don Bradman never failed in a tour, for he was a highly driven man who consistently played the part of a trailblazer and wanted to taste nothing but success. In a career which is known for the astronomically batting average, Bradman’s average was a mammoth 89.92 even in his last tour, speaking volumes about the great man’s dedication.

A man whose greatness was evident very early in his career, Bradman would go on to be Australia’s greatest batsman ever, for he single-handedly dismantled oppositions with his displays. None but former Aussie captain Bill Woodfull could explain this better. “He is worth three batsmen to Australia”. Right by the time he played his third test match which was against England, some English newspapers already carried the headlines of ‘Bradman versus England’. That was how fast Bradman attained greatness, that was how much he instilled fear in the minds of oppositions. As he carried out his task of consistently demolishing oppositions, Bradman formed an integral part of the famous ‘Invincibles’ side which became the first team to go on an entire tour of England unbeaten, captaining the side to glory!

Bradman lived in a time when something like T20’s would never have thought of even in the wildest dreams of people. Yet, the master was an explosive batsman who shattered record after record and created new ones, consistently entertaining the fans. Most notably in 1930 in a Sheffield Shield match at the Sydney Cricket Ground, he broke the record for the highest score in the world in first-class cricket by smashing the previous record of 437 runs held by Bill Ponsford. Bradman was 452 runs not out in that match, but the icing on the cake was that he did it in just 415 minutes.

‘The Don’ was a lethal batsman who didn’t just destroy the opposition, but relished in doing so. He was a top class fielder too. George Hele, an Australian umpire, famously marveled that Bradman, who stood at square leg during a match, once hit the one stump that was visible to him with three successive throws!

Don Bradman interview, in which he demonstrates different strokes, filmed in 1930, Tour of England

Bradman was not only a great cricketer but a great human being too. He symbolised a man who was thoughtful, analytical, modest and utterly committed as he went on to be part of cricket even after his retirement in various capacities as administrator, writer and selector, while the adulation for him never stopped. His team-mates recount that with Bradman, if ever a batting error was committed, it was never repeated. Such was his dedication to his craft, his persistence to attain perfection.

On 25 February 2001, Sir Donald Bradman breathed his last, at the age of 92 and the cricketing world sustained an irreparable loss. This was a man who was out of the ordinary, was out of the league, out of competition. His prowess was his own, his abilities decided by him only. He was the true master, a master of his own world. He is undoubtedly the greatest cricketer the world has ever seen.

“When Bradman batted, attendances almost doubled … as soon as the word went around that Bradman was making runs, crowds began to pour through the turnstiles.” – Keith Dunstan

“I well remember, when he reached 250, the people around me expressing their amazement, and dismay, very volubly, when what must have been a Cockney retorted: ‘Blimey, what are you worrying about? It’s only a quarter of a thousand!’ “ – H.F. Mathews

“Some teams are so anxious to see Bradman bat that they willingly send Australia in to bat just to watch him.” – Daily Pictorial

Edited by Zico