Who was Sir Donald Bradman?
Sir Donald Bradman was an Australian cricketer, commonly referred to as “The Don”. He had a test batting average of 99.94. This has been even called as the greatest achievement by a sportsman in any major sport. In 1997, John Howard, Prime Minister of Australia, called him ‘the greatest living Australian’.
Bradman was born on George and Emily Bradman on August 27, 1908 in New South Wales, Australia. Bradman played from a very early age. As a child, Bradman worked on his timing by hitting a golf ball against a water tank. Bradman scored his first century when he was merely twelve years old, while playing for his high school.
Massive First Appearance in Cricket
Bradman made his debut when he was nineteen years old at the Adelaide Oval. He scored 118 runs for the New South Wales cricket team. In 1928, the cricketer played his first test match against England. His debut performance was not noteworthy, but he scored 79 and 112 runs n the third test match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Bradman became the youngest player at the time t has scored a test century.
In 1930, he was chosen to play in the Ashes series against England. He scored 131 and 254 runs in the first and the second tests respectively. In the third test match, he recovered a triple century, and second scored a double century in the fourth and final match, thus, contributing to Australia’s win in the Ashes.
During Second World War Donald Role
The 1932-33 Ashes series was held in Australia the England player, Douglas Jar dine, came up with the ‘bodyline’ tactic to combat the batting skills of Bradman. This bowling tactic was considered to be physically threatening for a batsman. This batting Bradman’s performance in the match. His batting average of the series was 56. England won the series.
In the 1938 tour of England, the cricketer performance exceedingly well. Bradman played in 26 innings and scored 13 centuries for his team. During the Second World War, in 1940, the cricket joined the Royal Australian Air Force in aircrew duty. However, he soon the army as a lieutenant. Bradman was posted at the Army School of Physical Training. His health was severely affected during his time there, due to the stressful job. In 1941, he was discharged from service.
As a Great Cricketer Achievements of Donald Bradman
In the mid-1940s, Bradman returned to cricket. He played final test match at The Oval in 1948, against England. The cricket ended his career with a test batting average of 99.94. Bradman is the only test played it has scored 300 runs in a single day.
Donald Bradman scored 6996 runs in 52 test matches throughout his career. He has scored a total of 29 international test centuries. He held the record of scoring 974 runs in a series, the most scored by any player in test history till date. In 1949, he was knighted for his services as a cricketer.
Bradman is the only Australian cricketer to have gotten such an honor. In 1979, the Australian government honored him with the title of a Companion of the Order of Australia. He was called the ‘Greatest Cricketer of the Twentieth Century’ by the Wisden Cricket Almanack in 2000.
Love Context and Retirement of Bradman
Bradman married Jessie Martha Menzies in 1932, after a twelve-year-long courtship. Lady Bradman passed away in 1997 due to cancer. She was 88 years old. Sir Donald Bradman died at the age of 92 on February 25, 2001. The cricketer wrote a few books in his lifetime. His first book called Don Bradman’s Book_ The Story of My Cricketing Life with Hints on Bating, Bowling and Fielding was published in 1930.
Other books by Bradman include My Cricketing Life, Farewell to Cricket and The Art of Cricket. The Royal Australian Mint issued a commemorative gold coin with the image of the cricketer on August 27, 2008. In the following years, Bradman was included into the ICC Cricket Hall OF Fame.