Sir Donald Bradman
November 14th 2007 22:41
Sir Donald Bradman was a famous Australian cricketer, and a fervent supporter of the sport. His batting average in Tests was an incredible 99.94, making him, by that measure, the best batsman in cricket history.He was born in 1908 in New South Wales, in Cootamundra, then moved to Bowral in the Southern Highlands where he played a rough bush cricket. A common legend is that he practised with a stump and a golf ball, inspiring hordes of young Australian boys to practise with anything: wooden sticks, gardening shears, broken lamps.He was asked to move up to the grade cricket league in Sydney, where he played fro St. George. He quickly gained prominence as a big hitter, and racked up the big, big numbers.At the age of 19, he premiered at the Adelaide Oval, setting the tone by nailing an innings of 118, which would set the tone for the rest of the season. Upon entering his first International Test, he became the youngest player to score a century, playing with Australia against England.
After the 1930 tour of England, where Bradman scored 974 runs, he received an intense reception back in Australia. He wasn't comfortable with this level of fame, and spent a lot of quiet time by himself, writing.The English came up with a plan to take Bradman out: throw the ball at him. The tactic was called Bodyline, and became a topic of heated controversy, as the game was supposed to be quite gentlemanly. Australians are still angry about this dirty trick and the controversy is part of the NSW high school curriculum.By the late 30s, Bradman was at the top of his game, despite battling injuries and illnesses. When the war in Europe took off, he joined the RAAF, then transferred to the Army, where the toll on his body was punishing.In the 1947-1948 season, Bradman scored his 100th century, the first non-Englishman to do so... it is still quite a milestone as no other Australian has beat this record.The legacy of Bradman is so overwhelming in Australia that his inspiration continues today. Someone was walking by as I wrote this entry and berated me at length about how good he was as a batsman, and how 'those dirty Poms' came up with the Bodyline to defeat Bradman. He represents something that all Australians can cheer for: a country boy that became really good at sports