D. G. Bradman, 1927-37

In 1937 D. G. Bradman completed ten years of first-class cricket. During that period many of his batting performances have been unprecedented. He has broken one record after another and already, in actual achievement, he has far surpassed the performances of all other batsmen of Australia. There is an easy-going tendency to discount the significance of cricket records and averages and in some circumstances they may be misleading. But, in the long run, the records may lead irresistibly to certain conclusions, and in Bradman's case, they prove beyond doubt that he is one of the very greatest batsmen of all time, possessing the faculty of doing his best on the most important occasions.

Owing to the limited quantity of first-class cricket, the feat of scoring 1,000 runs in an Australian season is rarely performed. Very few Australian cricketers have done it at all and, with the exception of Bradman, not one of them more than twice. Bradman has scored 1,000 runs in every season he has played except his first, i.e., on eight separate and consecutive occasions. The details are:

During the ten years under review, Bradman made two visits to England, his figures being:

As Bradman has not played first-class cricket outside England and Australia, a summary of his complete first-class record is:

(a)
• Record Aggregate for an Australian first-class season.
(b)
• Record Aggregate for an Australian visiting England.

Bradman's record may be further analysed thus:

(A) TEST CRICKET

(B) SHEFFIELD SHIELD

(C) Other First-class

A further classification is as follows:

(A) IN AUSTRALIA

(B) IN ENGLAND

Bradman, in first-class cricket, has made 61 centuries, which is a record number for any Australian cricketer. They were obtained as follows:

(c)
• His first innings in first-class cricket.
(d)
• A record score for New South Wales v. Victoria.
(e)
• World's record score for first-class cricket.
(f)
• Both centuries were scored on the one day.
(g)
• Record score in Tests between Australia and England.
(h)
• His first innings in England.
(i)
• During his innings, Bradman reached 1,000 runs before the end of May.
(j)
• A record score in Test cricket in Australia.
(k)
• In seven successive matches, Bradman scored his seven centuries in 1931-32, six of them against South Africa.
(l)
• His first innings for South Australia in the Sheffield Shield.

Bradman has scored 18 centuries in Test matches, having equalled Hobbs's record in obtaining 12 centuries in England v. Australia Tests. Bradman obtained 4 Test centuries against South Africa and 2 against the West Indies. Of his 18 Test centuries, 10 have exceeded 200, 7 of the 10 having been made against England. He has taken part in five series of Tests for Australia v. England, his amazing figures being:

(m) A record aggregate for any Test series.

* Signifies not out.

In no fewer than 27 of his 61 three-figure innings, Bradman has scored 200 runs or over. It follows that, provided Bradman has reached 100, it is almost an even chance than he will reach 200. Averaging his century scores, the result is 194 runs per innings, or 242 per completed innings.

His performances in minor cricket may be briefly mentioned. In Australian grade or pennant cricket, he has scored 4,304 runs at an average of 86 per innings. In all second-class matches he has scored 19,131 runs, also at an average of 86 per innings. During the tour of the Australian team to America in 1932, he scored 3,779 runs at an average of 102, obtaining 18 centuries. In first and second-class cricket, he has aggregated 141 centuries.

Bradman's figures are necessarily silent as to important aspects of his batting. At times the speed of his scoring has been phenomenal. For instance, his world's record score of 452 was made in 406 minutes. Typical of his brilliant hitting in Sheffield Shield cricket was the 238 in 195 minutes obtained for New South Wales against Victoria in 1932. His record Test score of 334 at Leeds in 1930 was made in 381 minutes. In 1934 at Folkestone he hit Freeman for 30 runs in an over. At Scarborough in the same season he scored 132 in ninety minutes. In 1931-32, in a second-class fixture at Blackheath, New South Wales, Bradman and Wendell Bill scored 102 runs in three eight-ball overs, Bradman obtaining 100 out of the 102. He hit ten 6's and nine 4's including 40 from one over. His total for the innings was 256, including fourteen 6s and twenty-nine 4s.

Whatever the original limitations of his stroke repertoire, Bradman has become the master of every stroke in the game. But the outstanding quality of his batting skill is that he employs it functionally, ever adjusting it to the task in hand. In England in 1934, when he was fighting against the onset of illness, some of the critics declared that he had degenerated into a mere slogger. But he rose to the great occasions of the fourth and fifth Tests. Undoubtedly his big partnerships with Ponsford in those two games accentuated his illness and the operation he subsequently underwent prevented his playing cricket again until 1935-36. He then captained South Australia to its first Sheffield Shield Championship since 1926-27. Most recently, what I have called the functional character of his batting has been shown during his three great Test centuries against the last England side. Characteristic of Bradman's in-cricket is his perfect running between wickets and his shepherding of younger players during critical periods of an innings. Moreover, the team value of his performances is also evidenced by the fact that they have frequently synchronized with partnerships during which Bradman's partner has also batted with remarkable success.

Indeed, the team value of his mammoth scores has been immense. His innings have ensured not only practical freedom from the risk of defeat, but very often actual victory. Thus, in games without time limit, he has exceeded 200 on seven occasions (all of them Tests), and each time his side has won. Upon the other twenty occasions when he has scored 200 or more, his side has lost only once--a Testimonial Match where the result was of no significance. Bradman's powers include, but are not limited to, magnificent batting skill, backed by patience, concentration and determination. In addition he has the extremely rare quality of cricket imagination and employs it scientifically. Throughout his Sheffield Shield cricket career, the 4 and a third-day or the 4-day time limit has been in force. Bradman it was who first appreciated the increased importance of the time factor in such matches. He also perceived that, even in limitless Test matches, and certainly in Tests subject to a time limit, quick scoring must usually be of enormous advantage to his side. Thus, both in Australia and England, Bradman has always endeavoured to accelerate the rate of scoring during the course of the day's cricket, a practice which few batsmen of modern times have adopted.

During the period of Bradman's career, the treatment of international cricket by the popular Press has often added to the responsibilities of the players; and, in Bradman's case, praise and blame have sometimes succeeded each other with bewildering rapidity. Fortunately his character has enabled him to concentrate all his attentions upon the game itself. Further he has vindicated the opinions of many that he would be a great success as captain, and it now seems certain that he will captain Australia for some time to come.

I cannot part with the subject of this sketch without expressing gratitude for the infinite pleasure which Bradman's batting has given to all cricket lovers. Unique as his record is, it cannot adequately describe his cricketing genius. Despite all his honours, Donald Bradman is still as modest and unassuming as the young country lad who came to Sydney in 1927 intent upon success in the greatest of all games.