Tips for Buying a New Cricket Bat

When it comes to buying a new cricket bat there are a number of factors that you need to address before making your final decision to purchase a new cricket bat, such as:

- The brand,

- The size,

- The model,

- The weight,

…these are just a few factors to consider.

This article will look briefly at a few tips to follow when it comes to replacing your old favourite bat with a new cricket bat.

Choosing a cricket bat based on its brand really comes down to personally preference, as realistically there is not much major difference between brands. They all have cricket bats with similar attributes and features; it is the variation between models that I would pay closer attention too, not the brand name. However it is worth mentioning that some of the new Kookaburra cricket bat models are almost unique, as some are now reinforced with a new graphite matrix, giving “maximum power transfer and increased strength”.

When buying a new cricket bat, carefully select the model of cricket bat that most suitably fits your style of play. As some bats are designed specifically certain styles in mind, for example the Kookaburra Big Kahuna, is designed for strong, ‘big hitters’. Whereas the Kookaburra Kahuna Ricky Ponting cricket bat is an excellent choice for a stroke player who likes to hit boundaries.

It is very important when buying a new cricket bat to choose the correct size bat. As a bat that is too large or too small will only hinder your playing ability. I’ve found the best way to determine if a bat is of the right size, is to stand in your batting stance and rest the toe of the bat against the outside of your back foot, lean the cricket bat so that the top of the handle rests next to the inside groin of your front leg. If the bat is of the right size it should rest comfortably next to your box on the inside groin of your front leg.

The weight of a cricket bat is probably most important and you should choose a lighter bat where possible. A lot of players make the mistake of buying a bat which is too heavy and their performance suffers as a result, this is especially applicable to younger players who are often lulled into buying bats which are either to heavy or too big. As an adult I tend to choose a weight of around 2’ 8 – 2’ 10 oz, in a short handle (SH).

You should also take into account to grade and type of the willow of the cricket bat. Most bats are made from English Willow, which is a soft fibrous wood, with good striking qualities and is the best option. There is also Kashmir Willow, which is cheaper, harder and quite durable. It is often used in junior bats and produces less ball striking satisfaction. Always choose English Willow when given the option.

Cricket bat willow is graded on a scale from G1+ to G4. A willow grade of G1+ is the highest grade and is used by the top professionals, it is the best willow and is unbleached with straight even grains and no markings or discolouration. It’s more expensive but as always you get what you pay for!

Grade 4 (G4) willow is often non-oil and will usually have a covering on the face, such as an anti-scuff covering. It is the lowest grade of willow, which is represented in the price. If you have the money always opt for the highest grade willow you can afford.

You can now buy cricket bats online cheaper than you can offline, as online stores tend to have fewer costs associated with their businesses and so can offer cheaper prices and discounts. Also most offer guarantees on their bats so you can return it if the size or weight is not quite what you want. A sneaky tip; if you see a new bat you like go to your local store, check the size, weight, feel and pickup, then buy online, so you’ll get exactly what you want and save money in the process.

These are just a few ideas and tips I consider when buying a new cricket bat, most important are the bats size, weight and feel. Obviously the price is an important factor, but by buying online you can often save money.

Discover amazing cricket tips and tricks at www.cricketsecrets.com that you can use today to greatly improve your cricket results!

*Acknowledgements to Ian Canaway.

Cricket: The Greatest Sport On Earth?

I'm sure you'll agree with me that cricket is probably the greatest sport on Earth, well if you are a cricketer like me you will. The fact is for many people all around the world cricket is almost like a religion, every week fans and players go to training and watch matches, dedicated to the sport we cricketers all love.

Learning How To Play Cricket:
The problem with cricket is learning how to play cricket, importantly how to play cricket better than your opposition, and team mates, it's a great feeling to be the best player on the team. Many people think they can learn how to play cricket just by going down to nets, batting and bowling for a bit, then playing at the weekends.

The problem with this is that unless you have a good coach or senior players to oversee you, you will pick up bad habits which you reinforce every time you practice. You end up practicing bad habits and trust me this is the last thing you want.

If you are serious about learning how to play cricket you need to do the following things to help ensure your cricket success:

Join a club with a good coaching system in place and that actively trains players to become coaches themselves, this ensures that there is a good coaching network within the club and so will help you progress and improve.

Take an active approach to improving your cricket, read books, watch video clips, or even better coaching videos of top players and learn from them. When you go to training, don't just go through the motions, ask your coach or team mates to watch you play and pick out any faults and look to always make improvements.

If you have the money, pay your local pro or top coach to give you some one-on- one advice and guidance and find out where you need to be improving. If possible get someone to video you playing in a match or in the nets to help with this.

Learning how to play cricket and improving yourself as a player is a great goal to have. However, giving tips on how to play cricket in terms of batting, bowling and fielding are beyond the scope of this article. But if you follow the tips above and take and active approach to improving your cricket you won't go far wrong.

Discover amazing cricket tips and tricks and learn how to play awesome cricket so that you can explode your cricket results and destroy your opposition!

Visit, www.CricketSecrets.com right now to learn how to improve your cricket today!

*Acknowledgements to Ian Canaway

Life is like cricket, you sometimes score sixes or you get your off stump knocked over...

Over the years as I developed my enthusiasm for the game of cricket I started to see some similarities to cricket as I see in life in general. For example, when you play cricket you win some and you lose some (games). One day you can be so happy its like you are whacking Muralitharan or Warney for 6's, or you could be so down in the dumps that it feels like you are constantly getting bowled by a complete novice bowler. Or another analogy I've had thoughts of is like when you are happy you think of your home country thrashing the Aussies (for so long they have been dominant in world cricket) by more than an innings in a test and experiencing similar feelings to the elation the winning team would feel, or when you are sad its like if your team, for example, a known test nation like New Zealand, gets thrashed by more than an innings by perhaps a non test playing team such as Bermuda or even the USA.

Confidence and self esteem is one of the many things that drives us forward and motivates us to succeed in what we pursue. It is also how we pick up ourselves from catastrophic lows and maintain ourselves at the heights of happiness that defines our character. When I relate this to cricket I see a team that has been bowled out well short of a follow-on and they take either two paths: No#1- Sit around and do nothing and dig yourself into an even deeper hole, or no#2- Seek help and advice and work with yourself to climb yourself out of a very precarious situation (and perhaps win despite being forced to "follow on"). You see some cricketing teams get bogged down in examples like this, some just get conprehensively walloped and some do make a miraculous comeback and win, despite being made to follow on. Also as in cricket, you use the help and guidance of people around you to help yourself "win" instead of "lose". A cricket team is like a family or a group of closely-knit friends, they are there to help you through things and to perhaps improve yourself as a person, as you would do with your own cricketing techniques.

I see cricket as a good way to improve your life. For example there is a cricket team from Compton in Los Angeles USA called The Homiez and The Popz(I have done a post earlier this year that talks a bit about them). A few years ago their team members were gang associates, habitual drug users, even thiefs and ones having numerous other criminal records. Thanks to cricket their lives have perhaps taken a turn for the better. They have even been to the home country of cricket (England) and are working on going to Australia to play some teams there. Cricket has taught them self respect, respect in others, patience, and it takes them away from the often violent worlds they came from. Ted Hayes is their manager and from the work he has done with the team he appears to be infusing the team members with the values, virtues and life skills the game of cricket embodies.

It is from this little piece I have written that I see that cricket does indeed have a valuable place in society. It is up to us to enthusiastically embrace the game and maintain its values for other generations to come, so that cricket will maintain its unique place in history and remain a legacy.

Should Cricket have been in the Olympics?

Well the 2008 Beijing Olympics have finally arrived. As I am presently watching the opening ceremony and watching the masterful displays pieced to gether by meticulous choreography, I ponder to myself one question, one question that has made me write this post...Should cricket have been in the Olympics?

I bet there are many cricket lovers that are wondering the same thing. Is it because China isn't a leading cricket nation? It shouldn't really matter if China is or not. Cricket is fast gaining interest in this hugely populated country and because of its huge population there is a huge market for cricket in the country.

Perhaps the Twenty20 would have been a crowd favourite at the Olympics, as a Twenty20 game lasts around 3 to 4 hours, and most crowds would be able to watch a game of cricket for this long. Baseball lasts about the same duration.

Just imagine what if cricket was at the Beijing Olympics? It would've catapulted China furtherer up in the cricketing world and the sport itself would've got enormous amounts of exposure (as I have just heard on the commentary that there is approximately 4 billion people watching). Imagine that if cricket was in the Beijing Olympics there would be thousands and thousands of Chinese cricket teams sprouting up and forming a very stable foundation for the future of cricket in the country. Could you imagine that if cricket was in the olympics, it might have been a catalyst for, lets say an example, a major ODI/Twenty20 or a Super Test series being played beside the Yangtze River in the picturesque Gorges region? Or perhaps a super series involving all major cricketing nations including China in the modern metropolis of Beijing itself? The possibilities are endless and are only limited by the vastness of ones imagination, which are infinite.

Of course many people would have their views on whether cricket should've been in the Beijing Olympics. Feel free to let your opinions be known by voting in my poll which asks the very question.

George Bush "Playing" Cricket, What the F***!

Heres a picture for you all showing that yes, the President of the United States of America can "play" cricket!



*Acknowledgements to owner of picture.

Cricketing SEX Scandals

Over the years there have been many sex scandals in the beloved game of cricket. When most people combine the words "sex scandal" and "cricket" its most likely that Shane Warne will immediately come to mind. As a brilliant player as he is he has been involved in so many of them that everytime I have typed in "cricketing sex scandals" in Google almost every one of them brings up some reference to Warney. I respect him as a player (with his magical bowling skills etc) but I think that in some way his career may have been tarnished and will be remembered for not only his superiour skills on the field, but most likely also his "superior" skills in the sack and by texts to various women that were involved in many of his romps.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not slating him completely, for most of my life that I have been interested in cricket I have always looked up to Warney for his master legspinners and how lethal and magical his deliveries were (eg bowling Mike Gatting out, Bowling Andrew Strauss for his 700th wicket and so much more) and I would pick him in a select World XII anyday, but maybe he (and like other cricketers involved in sex scandals as well) needs to sort out his personal life, as by not doing so he has lost only one of the few things more precious than the brilliant game of cricket- His gorgous ex-wife Simone, regular access to his children, and breaking up that precious bond between family.

In the meantime here is a handful of links that go to articles that talk about cricketing scandals. I know I have ranted on mostly about Warney but like everyone else on this planet nobody is perfect, as there are many sex scandals out there, not only with other cricketers, but in real life away from cricket as well.

Shane Warne Involved in Yet Another Sex Scandal

Eleven Cricketing Scandals

Indian Cricket Captain Sex Scandal 2001

11 Cricketing Sex Scandals by Cricinfo.com

Sex Scandals by Freerepublic.com

Brett Lee's Backyard Cricket Game

Here's another awesome cricket game to play online! Just discovered it a couple months ago and have been meaning to put it on here, sorry for the wait! When you go to it you'll find it very funny and entertaining as it brilliantly captures the essence of backyard cricket. To play the game RIGHT CLICK on the following link --->>

Brett Lee Backyard Cricket

Have fun and enjoy!

I dream of cricket....How about you?

Have realised over the course of my life I have had alot of dreams when asleep about cricket, and to this day I can still remember many of them, anyone that has had dreams about cricket feel free to tell me about them, am interested to hear about them!

In the meantime heres a collection of the dreams I had that I can remember:

- Smacking a 6 off Andy Caddick to get a century at Lords and win the Test for New Zealand (1999), and getting 10 for 21 in the match.

- O.D.I Debut against South Africa in 2003, Chris Cairns was captain/coach, I got 72 off 52 balls by smacking Shaun Pollock all over Jade Stadium (nowadays known as A.M.I Stadium) and getting 5 for 42 including a hat-trick, and Shaun Pollock had me caught behind by Mark Boucher.

- Having a net session with Muttiah Muralithiran at Carisbrook. Him giving me some useful tips to get the ball to turn furtherer and technique on putting flight and drift in my deliveries. I try to bowl like him in real life but it's still a dream!

- Being the last wicket in at a tournament in Toronto in 2002 against India. NZ needed 5 runs to win off the last ball and Ashish Nehra was bowling. He had been bowling very well towards me and some of his deliveries were unplayable and unpredictable. The previous 2 deliveries I played and missed wildly, swinging the bat like I was casting out a line to fish, and the crowd were warming up as he was running in and in the blink of an eye I took a swat at his short pitched delivery and lucky for me it was going down leg-side and managed to pull off a miraculous hook shot for 6, It was like a scud missile ging at lightning speed. a very flat tragectory. India were dejected, New Zealand elated to win the tournament.

- Playing against Australia at the M.C.G and I was 5th wicket in, Shane Warne was bowling to me and he happened to bowl a wrong-in that drifted way down leg and I managed to pull off a Brendon McCullum like shot (I think its called the shovel shot?) and whacked the ball for 6, however it whacked into the giant replay screen and I broke it!

- Playing County cricket for Nottinghamshire and witnessed Chris Tremlett getting a hat-trick.

-Being the 1st bowler to bowl over 170km/h, bowling a yorker to Shahid Afridi and breaking his stumps for a duck.

And the list goes on...

I could go on forever about more dreams but will tell anyone that requests me to:)

Video Tutorials- How to Bat and Bowl and field

Here are some excellent videos that show you the basics of batting and bowling and fielding, they are clear and consice and you can play them in the same window as you are viewing this site, if you have any probs let me know and I will try my best to fix it, in the meantime enjoy the viewing:)

HOW TO BAT ---->>



HOW TO BOWL ---->>



Right Click HERE to view a video that gives excellent examples of all aspects relating to fielding and step by step methods. With Mark Waugh and Mark Taylor.

*NOTE: Right clicking enables you to view the link in a different window.

Player Profile(#18)...Don Bradman(Australia)

Sir Donald George Bradman, AC (27 August 1908—25 February 2001), often called The Don, was an Australian cricketer, generally acknowledged as the greatest batsman of all time. Later in his career he was an administrator and writer on the game. Bradman is one of Australia's most popular sporting heroes, and one of the most respected past players in other cricketing nations. His career Test batting average of 99.94 is by many measures the greatest statistical performance in any major sport.

The story of the young Don practising alone with a cricket stump and a golf ball is part of Australian folklore. Bradman’s meteoric rise from bush cricket to the Australian Test team took just over two years. Before his 22nd birthday, he set myriad records for high scoring (many of which stand even today) and became Australia's sporting idol at the height of the Great Depression. A controversial set of tactics, known as Bodyline, were devised by the England team to curb his batting brilliance.

During a twenty-year career, Bradman consistently scored at a level that made him "worth three batsmen to Australia". Committed to attacking, entertaining cricket, Bradman drew spectators in record numbers. He found the constant adulation an anathema, however, and it affected how he dealt with others. The focus of attention on his individual performances strained relationships with some team-mates, administrators and journalists, who thought him aloof and wary. After World War II, he made a dramatic comeback and in his final season captained an Australian team known as "The Invincibles". RC Robertson-Glasgow wrote of the English reaction to Bradman's retirement that, "... a miracle has been removed from among us. So must ancient Italy have felt when she heard of the death of Hannibal."

A complex, highly-driven man, not given to close personal relationships, Bradman maintained his pre-eminence by acting as an administrator, selector and writer for three decades following his retirement. His opinion was highly sought, but, in his declining years, he became very reclusive. However, his status as a national icon was still recognised, with the then Prime Minister of Australia, John Howard, calling him the "greatest living Australian". His image has appeared on postage stamps and coins, and he became the first living Australian to have a museum dedicated to his life.

Donald Bradman was the youngest child of George Bradman and his wife Emily (nee Whatman) when he was born 27 August 1908 at Cootamundra, New South Wales (NSW). He had a brother, Victor, and three sisters - Islet, Lilian and Elizabeth May. The family lived in nearby Yeo Yeo. When Bradman was about two-and-a-half years old, his parents moved to Bowral in the NSW Southern Highlands for the cooler climate.

Bradman practised batting incessantly during his youth. He invented his own solo cricket game, using a cricket stump for a bat, and a golf ball. A water tank, mounted on a curved brick stand, stood on a paved area behind the family home. When hit into the curved brick facing of the stand, the ball rebounded at high speed and varying angles -- and he attempted to hit it again. This form of practice developed his timing and reactions to a high degree. He hit his first century at the age of twelve, playing for the Bowral Public School against Mittagong High School.



Bush cricketer:
In 1920–21, he acted as scorer for the local Bowral team, captained by his uncle George Whatman, and once filled in when the team was short of players, scoring 37 not out. During the season, Bradman's father took him to the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) to watch the fifth Ashes Test match. On that day, Bradman formed an ambition. "I shall never be satisfied," he told his father, "until I play on this ground."

In 1922, he left school to work for a local real estate agent who encouraged his sporting pursuits by giving him time off when necessary. For two years, Bradman gave cricket away in favour of tennis.

Bradman resumed cricket in 1925–26, when several outstanding performances earned him the attention of the Sydney daily press. Competing on matting-over-concrete pitches, Bowral played other rural towns as part of the Berrima District competition. Against Wingello, a team that included the future Test bowler Bill O'Reilly, Bradman made 234.[6] In the competition final against Moss Vale, which extended over five consecutive Saturdays, Bradman scored 300.

During the following winter, an ageing Australian team lost the Ashes in England, and a number of Test players retired. The New South Wales Cricket Association began a hunt for new talent. Mindful of Bradman's big scores for Bowral, the association wrote to him, requesting his attendance at a practice session in Sydney. Subsequently, Bradman was chosen for the "Country Week" tournaments at both cricket and tennis, to be played during separate weeks. His boss presented him with a fateful ultimatum: he could only have one week away from work, so he had to choose between the two sports.

Bradman's performances during Country Week elicited an invitation to play grade cricket in Sydney for St George, where he scored 110 on debut, his first century on a turf wicket. At New Year 1927, he turned out for the NSW second team. For the remainder of the season, Bradman travelled the 130 km from Bowral to Sydney every Saturday to play for St George. Making a last appearance for his home town in the final against Moss Vale, he hit 320 not out.

First-class debut:
The next season continued the rapid rise of the "Boy from Bowral". Selected to replace the unfit Archie Jackson in the NSW team, Bradman made his first-class debut at the Adelaide Oval, aged nineteen. His innings of 118 featured what soon became his trademarks - fast footwork, calm confidence and rapid scoring. In the final match of the season, he made his first century at the SCG, against the Sheffield Shield champions Victoria. Despite his potential, Bradman was not chosen for the Australian second team to tour New Zealand.

Bradman decided that his chances for Test selection would be improved by moving to Sydney for the 1928–29 season, when England toured in defence of the Ashes. Initially, he continued working in real estate, but later took a promotions job with the sporting goods retailer Mick Simmons Ltd. In the first match of the Sheffield Shield season, he scored a century in each innings against Queensland and then made 87 and 132 not out against England. This earned him selection for the first Test at Brisbane.



Test Career:
Playing in only his tenth first-class match, Bradman found his initial Test a harsh learning experience. Caught on a sticky wicket, Australia was all out for 66 in the second innings and lost by 675 runs. The selectors dropped Bradman to twelfth man for the second Test. An injury to Bill Ponsford early in the match required Bradman to field as substitute while England amassed 636, following their 863 runs in the first Test. RS Whitington wrote, “... he had scored only nineteen himself and these experiences appear to have provided him with food for thought”.

Recalled for the next Test at Melbourne, Bradman scored 79 and 112 to become the youngest player to make a Test century, but it was in a losing team. Another loss followed in the fourth Test. Bradman reached 58 in the second innings and appeared set to guide the team to victory when he was run out. It was the only run out of his Test career and the losing margin was just 12 runs.

The improving Australians broke through to win the final Test. Bradman top-scored with 123 in the first innings, and was at the wicket in the second innings when his captain Jack Ryder hit the winning runs. He completed the season with 1,690 first-class runs (at 93.88 average), and his first multiple century, 340 not out against Victoria in a Sheffield Shield match, set a new ground record for the SCG.

Bradman averaged 113.28 in 1929–30. In a trial match to select the team to tour England, he was last man out in the first innings for 124. As his team followed on, the skipper Bill Woodfull asked Bradman to keep the pads on and open the second innings. By stumps, he was 205 not out, on his way to 225. Against Queensland at the SCG, Bradman set a world first-class record by scoring 452 not out, in only 415 minutes.

Although he was an obvious selection to tour England, Bradman's unorthodox style raised doubt that he could succeed on the slower English pitches. Percy Fender wrote:

"... he will always be in the category of the brilliant, if unsound, ones. Promise there is in Bradman in plenty, though watching him does not inspire one with any confidence that he desires to take the only course which will lead him to a fulfilment of that promise. He makes a mistake, then makes it again and again; he does not correct it, or look as if he were trying to do so. He seems to live for the exuberance of the moment."



1930 tour of England:
England was favoured to win the 1930 Ashes series. Much Australian hope rested with the potential of Bradman and Archie Jackson. With his elegant batting technique, Jackson appeared the brighter prospect of the pair. However, Bradman started with 236 at Worcester in his first innings on English soil. He scored 1,000 first-class runs by the end of May, the fifth player (and first Australian) to achieve this rare feat. In his first Test appearance in England Bradman hit 131 in the second innings but England won the game.

His batting reached a new level in the second Test at Lord's where he scored 254 as Australia won and levelled the series. Bradman rated this his best innings as, “practically without exception every ball went where it was intended to go”. Wisden noted his fast footwork in “hitting all round the wicket with power and accuracy” and his faultless concentration in keeping the ball along the ground.

This performance was surpassed at Leeds: Bradman scored a century before lunch on the first day of the Test match to equal the performances of Victor Trumper and Charlie Macartney. In the afternoon, Bradman added another century between lunch and tea, finishing the day on 309 not out. He remains the only Test player to pass 300 in one day’s play. His eventual score of 334 (46 boundaries) dominated the innings as the second highest score was 77 by Alan Kippax. Businessman Arthur Whitelaw later presented Bradman with a cheque for £1000 in appreciation of his (then) world record score. The match ended in anti-climax as poor weather prevented a result, as it did in the fourth Test.


The dynamic nature of Bradman’s batting contrasted sharply with his quiet, solitary off-field demeanour. He was described as aloof from his teammates and he did not offer to buy them a round of drinks, let alone share the money given to him by Whitelaw. A lot of the quiet time Bradman spent writing, as he had sold the rights to a book.

In the deciding Test at The Oval England made 405. During an innings stretching over three days due to intermittent rain, Bradman scored 232, which helped give Australia a big lead of 290 runs. In a crucial partnership with Archie Jackson, Bradman battled through a difficult session when England fast bowler Harold Larwood bowled short on a pitch enlivened by the rain. Wisden gave this period of play only a passing mention:

On the Wednesday morning the ball flew about a good deal, both batsmen frequently being hit on the body ... on more than one occasion each player cocked the ball up dangerously but always, as it happened, just wide of the fieldsmen.

However, a number of English players and commentators noted Bradman’s discomfort in playing the short, rising delivery. The revelation came too late for this particular match as Australia won by an innings to regain the Ashes. The impact of the victory in Australia was immense. With the economy sliding toward depression and unemployment rapidly rising, the country found solace in sporting triumph. The story of a self-taught 22 year-old from the bush who set a series of records against the old rival made Bradman a national hero.

In all, Bradman batted for 24½ hours during the Test series, scoring 974 runs at an average of 139.14 with a strike-rate of 61.65. His first-class tally for the tour, 2,960 runs (at 98.66 with ten centuries), was another record. Both his total of 974 runs and his three double centuries in one Test series still stand as records today.

Bradman was unprepared for the intensity of his reception in Australia; he became a "reluctant hero". Mick Simmons wanted to cash in on their employee’s newly won fame. They asked Bradman to leave his teammates behind in Fremantle and organised official receptions in Adelaide, Melbourne, Goulburn, his hometown Bowral and Sydney, where he received a brand new custom-built Chevrolet. At each stop, Bradman received a level of adulation that "embarrassed" him. This focus on an individual in a team game, "... permanently damaged relationships with his contemporaries". Commenting Australia's victory, the team's vice-captain Vic Richardson said, “... we could have played any team without Bradman, but we could not have played the blind school without Clarrie Grimmett”.



Reluctant hero:
In 1930–31, against the first West Indian side to visit Australia, Bradman’s scoring was more sedate than in England, although he did make 223 in 297 minutes in the third Test at Brisbane and 152 in 154 minutes in the following Test at Melbourne. The South Africans didn’t get off so lightly in the summer of 1931–32. For NSW against the tourists, he made 30, 135 and 219. In the Test matches, he scored 226 (277 minutes), 112 (155 minutes), 2 and 167 (183 minutes), and a new Australian Test record of 299 not out at Adelaide. Australia won nine of the ten Tests.

In fifteen Test matches since the beginning of 1930, Bradman had scored 2,227 runs at 131 average. Ten of his 18 innings were centuries, six of them beyond 200. His scoring rate was almost 44 runs per hour, with 856 (or 38.5%) scored in boundaries. Significantly, he had not hit a six, which typified the Bradman attitude: if he hit the ball along the ground, then it couldn’t be caught. During this phase of his career, his youth and natural fitness allowed him to adopt a “machine-like” approach to batting. The South African fast bowler Sandy Bell described bowling to him as, “heart-breaking ... with his sort of cynical grin, which rather reminds one of the Sphinx ... he never seems to perspire”.

Between these two seasons, Bradman seriously contemplated playing professional cricket in England with the Lancashire League club Accrington, a move that would end his Test career. A consortium of three Sydney businesses offered an alternative. They devised a two-year contract whereby Bradman wrote for Associated Newspapers, broadcast on Radio 2UE and promoted the menswear retailing chain FJ Palmer and Son. However, the contract increased Bradman’s dependence on his public profile, making it more difficult to lead the private life that he ardently desired.


Hundreds of onlookers gather as the Bradmans leave the church after their wedding ceremony in 1932.Bradman’s wedding to Jessie Menzies in April 1932 was chaotic and epitomised how difficult his desire for privacy was to attain. The church “was under siege all throughout the day ... uninvited guests stood on chairs and pews to get a better view”, police erected barriers that were broken down and many of those invited could not get a seat. Just weeks later, Bradman joined a private team organised by Arthur Mailey to tour the United States and Canada. He travelled with his wife, and the couple treated the trip as a honeymoon. Playing 51 games in 75 days, Bradman scored 3,779 runs at 102.1, with 18 centuries. Although the standard of play was not high, the amount of cricket Bradman had played in the previous three years, and the strains of his celebrity status, began to show on his return home.

Bodyline:

"As long as Australia has Bradman she will be invincible ... In order to keep alive the competitive spirit, the authorities might take a hint from billiards. It is almost time to request a legal limit on the number of runs Bradman should be allowed to make."

—News Chronicle, London

Plum Warner was an influential voice within the MCC, the club that administered English cricket at the time. He wrote of Bradman that, “England must evolve a new type of bowler and develop fresh ideas and strange tactics to curb his almost uncanny skill". Warner orchestrated the appointment of Douglas Jardine as England captain in 1931, as a prelude to Jardine leading the 1932–33 tour to Australia, with Warner as team manager.

Perceiving that Bradman struggled against bouncers during his 232 at The Oval, Jardine decided to combine traditional leg theory with short-pitched bowling to combat Bradman. He settled on the Notts fast bowlers Harold Larwood and Bill Voce as the spearheads for his tactics. In support, the England selectors chose another three pacemen for the squad. The unusually high number of fast bowlers caused a lot of comment in both countries and Bradman himself suspected a virulent intent.

Bradman had several other problems to deal with at this time. Among these were random bouts of illness from an undiagnosed malaise which had begun during the tour of North America; and that the Australian Board of Control had initially refused permission for him to write for the press -- this dispute was eventually resolved after Bradman threatened to quit the game.

In three first-class games against England before the Tests, Bradman averaged just 17.16 in six innings. Jardine decided to trial the new tactics in only one game, a fixture against an Australian XI at Melbourne. In this match, Bradman faced the leg theory and later warned local administrators that trouble was brewing if it continued. He withdrew from the first Test at Sydney amid rumours that he had suffered a nervous breakdown. Despite his absence, England bowled Bodyline (as it was now dubbed) and won an ill-tempered match in which Stan McCabe scored a famous century.

Australia took a first innings lead in the match, and another record crowd on 2 January 1933 watched Bradman hit a counterattacking second innings century. His unbeaten 103 (from 146 balls) in a team total of 191 helped set England a target of 251 to win. Bill O’Reilly and Bert Ironmonger bowled Australia to a series-levelling victory amid hopes that Bodyline was beaten.

The third Test at Adelaide Oval proved pivotal. Angry crowd scenes occurred after the Australian skipper Bill Woodfull and wicketkeeper Bert Oldfield were hit by bouncers. An apologetic Plum Warner entered the Australian dressing room and was rebuked by Woodfull. The Board of Control, in a cable to the MCC, repeated the allegation of poor sportsmanship directed at Warner by Woodfull. England continued with Bodyline despite Australian protests, and with the support of the MCC. The tourists won the last three Tests convincingly and regained the Ashes. Bradman caused controversy with his own tactics. Always seeking to score, he often backed away and hit the ball into the vacant half of the outfield with unorthodox shots reminiscent of tennis or golf. This brought him 396 runs (at 56.57) for the series and plaudits for attempting to find a solution to Bodyline. However, others thought it proved the theory that he didn’t handle the short ball very well. Jack Fingleton was in no doubt that Bradman's game altered irrevocably as a consequence, writing:

Bodyline was specially prepared, nutured for and expended on him and, in consequence, his technique underwent a change quicker than might have been the case with the passage of time. Bodyline plucked something vibrant from his art.


Near death:
In his farewell season for NSW, Bradman averaged 132.44, his best yet. He was appointed vice-captain for the 1934 tour of England. However, his health continued to be variable. Although he again started with a double century at Worcester, his famed concentration soon deserted him. Wisden wrote:

"... there were many occasions on which he was out to wild strokes. Indeed at one period he created the impression that, to some extent, he had lost control of himself and went in to bat with an almost complete disregard for anything in the shape of a defensive stroke."

At one stage, Bradman went 13 innings without a century, the longest such spell of his career, prompting suggestions that Bodyline had eroded his confidence and altered his technique. After three Tests, the series was one-all and Bradman had scored 133 runs in five innings. The Australians travelled to Sheffield and played a warm up game before the fourth Test. Bradman started slowly and then, "... the old Bradman [was] back with us, in the twinkling of an eye, almost". He went on to make 140, with the last 90 runs coming in just 45 minutes. On the opening day of the Test at Leeds, England were out for 200, but Australia slumped to 3/39, losing the third wicket from the last ball of the day. Listed to bat at number five, Bradman would start his innings the next day.

That evening, Bradman declined an invitation to dinner from Neville Cardus, telling the journalist that he wanted an early night because the team needed him to make a double century the next day. Cardus pointed out that his previous innings on the ground was 334, and the law of averages was against another such score. Bradman told Cardus, "I don’t believe in the law of averages".

Bradman batted all day and into the next. His record partnership of 388 with Bill Ponsford decimated the English attack. When he was finally out for 304 (473 balls, 43 fours and two sixes), Australia had a lead of 350 runs. However, rain prevented Australia winning. The effort stretched Bradman’s reserves of energy, and he didn’t play again until the fifth Test at The Oval, the match that would decide the Ashes.

In the first innings at The Oval, Bradman and Ponsford recorded another massive partnership, this time 451 runs. Bradman’s share was 244 from 271 balls, and the Australian total of 701 set up victory by 562 runs. For the fourth time in five series, the Ashes changed hands. England would not recover them again until after Bradman's retirement.

Seemingly restored to full health, Bradman blazed two centuries in the last two games of the tour. However, when he returned to London to prepare for the trip home, he experienced severe abdominal pain. It took a doctor more than 24 hours to diagnose acute appendicitis and a surgeon operated immediately. Bradman lost a lot of blood during the four-hour procedure and peritonitis set in. With penicillin and sulphonamides still experimental treatments at this time, this was usually a fatal condition. On 25 September, the hospital issued a statement that Bradman was struggling for his life and that blood donors were needed urgently.

"The effect of the announcement was little short of spectacular." The hospital could not deal with the number of donors, or with the volume of telephone calls the news generated, so the switchboard closed. Journalists were asked by their editors to prepare obituaries. Teammate Bill O’Reilly took a call from King George’s secretary, asking that the King be kept informed of the situation.


His 270 runs won the match for Australia and has been rated the greatest innings of all time.Jessie Bradman started the month-long journey to London as soon as she received the news. En route she heard a rumour that her husband had died. A telephone call clarified the situation and by the time she reached London, Bradman had begun a slow recovery. He followed medical advice to convalesce, taking several months to return to Australia and he missed the 1934–35 season.



Internal politics and the Test captaincy:
There was off-field intrigue in Australian cricket during the winter of 1935. Australia, scheduled to make a tour of South Africa the following summer, needed to replace the retired Bill Woodfull as captain. The Board of Control wanted Bradman to lead the team. On 8 August, the Board announced Bradman's withdrawal from the team due to a lack of fitness, yet he led the SA team in a full programme of matches in the absence of the Test players. Vic Richardson, whom Bradman replaced as SA captain, was made Test captain, even though his record didn’t warrant a place in the Australian team.

Chris Harte's analysis of the situation is that a prior (unspecified) commercial agreement forced Bradman to remain in Australia. Moreover, Harte attributes an ulterior motive to his relocation. The off-field behaviour of Richardson and other SA players had displeased the SACA, which was looking for new leadership. To help improve discipline, Bradman became a committeeman of the SACA, and a selector of the SA and Australian teams. He took his adopted state to the Sheffield Shield title for the first time in ten years, scoring 233 against Queensland, followed immediately by 357 against Victoria. He finished the season with an SA record of 369 (in 233 minutes) against Tasmania.

Australia defeated South Africa 4–0 and senior players such as Bill O’Reilly were pointed in their comments about the enjoyment of playing under Richardson's captaincy. A clique of players who were openly hostile toward Bradman formed during the tour. For some, the prospect of playing under Bradman was daunting, as was the knowledge that he would be sitting in judgment of their abilities in his role as a selector.

To start the new season, the Test side played a rest of Australia team captained by Bradman at Sydney in early October 1936. The Test XI suffered a big defeat, due to Bradman’s 212 and a bag of twelve wickets by leg-spinner Frank Ward. Bradman let the members of the Test team know that despite their recent success, the team still required improvement. Shortly after, Bradman's first child was born on 28 October, but died the next day. He stood out of cricket for two weeks, then made 192 in three hours against Victoria in the last match before the beginning of the Ashes series.

The Test selectors made five changes to the team from the previous match at Durban. Australia’s most successful bowler Clarrie Grimmett was replaced by Ward, one of four players making their debut. The controversy over Grimmett’s continuing omission from the team dogged Bradman for the next two years – he was regarded as having finished the veteran’s Test career.

Australia suffered the worst of the weather conditions in the opening two Tests and crashed to successive losses. Bradman made two ducks in his four innings, and it seemed the captaincy was affecting his form. The selectors made another four changes to the team for the third Test at Melbourne.

On New Year's day 1937, Bradman won the toss, but again failed with the bat. The Australians could not take advantage of an easy wicket and finished the day at 6/181. Rain dramatically altered the course of the game on the second day. Bradman declared to get England in on the sticky wicket; England conceded a lead of 124 and declared to get Australia back in; Bradman countered by reversing his batting order to protect his run-makers until the wicket improved. The ploy worked and Bradman went in at number seven. In an epic performance spread over three days, he battled a dose of influenza and scored 270 off 375 balls, sharing a record partnership of 346 with Jack Fingleton[72] and Australia went on to victory. In 2001, Wisden rated this performance as the best Test match innings of all time.

At Adelaide, England had the upper hand in the next Test when Bradman played another patient second innings, making 212 from 395 balls. Australia levelled the series when the erratic left-arm spinner “Chuck” Fleetwood-Smith bowled Australia to victory. In the series-deciding fifth Test, Bradman returned to a more aggressive style in top-scoring with 169 (off 191 balls) in Australia’s 604. The weight of runs demoralised the opposition and an innings victory ensued. Australia's achievement of winning a series after going 0–2 down has yet to be equalled in Test cricket.


End of an era:
During the 1938 tour of England, Bradman played the most consistent cricket of his career. He needed to score heavily as England had a strengthened batting line-up, while the Australian bowling was over-reliant on O’Reilly. Grimmett was overlooked, but Jack Fingleton made the team, so the clique of anti-Bradman players remained. Playing 26 innings on tour, Bradman recorded 13 centuries (a new Australian record) and again made a thousand first-class runs before the end of May, the only player to do so twice. In scoring 2,429 runs, Bradman achieved the highest average ever recorded in an English season: 115.66.


In the first Test, Australia conceded a big first innings score and looked likely to lose when Stan McCabe played his classic knock of 232, a performance Bradman rated as the best he had ever seen. With Australia forced to follow-on, Bradman fought hard to ensure McCabe’s effort was not in vain, and he secured the draw with 144 not out. It was the slowest Test hundred of his career and he played a similar innings of 102 not out in the next Test as Australia struggled to another draw. Rain completely washed out the third Test at Manchester.

Australia’s opportunity came at Headingley, a Test described by Bradman as the best he ever played. England batted first and made 223. During the Australian innings, Bradman backed himself by opting to bat on in poor light when he had the option to go off, and he scored 103 out of a total of 242. The gamble paid off, as an England collapse left a target of only 107, but Australia slumped to 4/61, with Bradman out for 16. As an approaching storm threatened to wash the game out, Lindsay Hassett hit Australia to a victory that retained the Ashes. For the only time in his life, the tension of the occasion got to Bradman and he couldn’t watch the closing stages of play. This response reflected the pressure that he felt all tour: he described the captaincy as “exhausting” and that he “found it difficult to keep going”.

Ironically, the euphoria of Leeds preceded Australia's heaviest defeat. At The Oval, England amassed a world record of 7/903 and their opening batsman Len Hutton scored 364 to break Bradman’s Ashes record. In an attempt to relieve the burden on his bowlers, Bradman took a rare turn at the bowling crease. During his third over, he fractured his ankle, and teammates carried him from the ground. With Bradman and Fingleton unable to bat, Australia was thrashed by an innings and 579 runs, which remains the largest margin in Test cricket history. Unfit to complete the tour, Bradman left the team in the hands of vice-captain Stan McCabe. At this point, Bradman felt that the burden of captaincy would prevent him from touring England again, although he didn’t make this decision public.

Despite the pressure of captaincy, Bradman’s batting form remained supreme. An experienced, mature player now more commonly called “The Don” had replaced the blitzing style of his early days as the “Boy from Bowral”.[ In 1938–39, he led SA to the Sheffield Shield and made a century in six consecutive innings to equal the world record of CB Fry. From the beginning of the 1938 tour of England (including preliminary games in Australia) until early 1939, Bradman totalled 21 first-class centuries in just 34 innings.



The 1939–40 season was Bradman's most productive ever for SA: 1,448 runs at 144.8 average. Included in Bradman’s three double centuries was 251 not out against NSW, the innings that he rated the best he ever played in the Sheffield Shield as he tamed Bill O’Reilly at the height of his form. However, it was the end of an era. The worsening situation in Europe led to the indefinite postponement of all cricket tours, and the suspension of the Sheffield Shield competition.

Troubled war years:
Bradman joined the RAAF on 28 June 1940 and was passed fit for air crew duty. He bided time in Adelaide as the RAAF had more recruits than it could equip and train. Four months later, the Governor-General of Australia, Lord Gowrie, persuaded Bradman to transfer to the army, a move that was criticised as a safer option for him. Given the rank of lieutenant, he was posted to the Army School of Physical Training at Frankston, Victoria, to act as a divisional supervisor of physical training. The exertion of the job aggravated his chronic muscular problems, diagnosed as fibrositis. Surprisingly, a routine army test revealed that Bradman had poor eyesight.

Invalided out of service in June 1941, Bradman spent months recuperating, unable to shave himself or comb his hair due to muscular pain. He resumed stockbroking during 1942. In his biography of Bradman, Charles Williams expounded the theory that the physical problems were psychosomatic, induced by stress and possibly clinical depression. Bradman read the book's manuscript and did not disagree. Had any cricket been played at this time, he would not have been available. Although he found some relief in 1945 when referred to the Melbourne masseur Ern Saunders, Bradman permanently lost the feeling in the thumb and index finger of his right hand.

In June 1945, D. Bradman faced a financial crisis when the firm of Harry Hodgetts collapsed due to fraud and embezzlement. Many assumed that Bradman was complicit in the collapse; he was sometimes (erroneously) referred to as a partner of Hodgetts. Bradman moved quickly to set up his own business utilizing Hodgetts’ client list and his old office in Grenfell Street, Adelaide. The fallout led to a prison term for Hodgetts, and left a stigma attached to Bradman’s name in the city’s business community for many years.

However, the SA Cricket Association had no hesitation in appointing Bradman as their delegate to the Board of Control in place of Hodgetts. Now working alongside some of the men he had battled in the 1930s, Bradman quickly became a leading light in the administration of the game. He resumed his position as a Test selector, and played a major role in planning for post-war cricket.

"The ghost of a once great cricketer":
Bradman suffered regular bouts of fibrositis while coming to terms with increased administrative duties and the establishment of his business. He played for SA in two matches to help with the re-establishment of first-class cricket and later described his batting as “painstaking.” Batting against the Australian Services team, Bradman scored 112 in less than two hours, yet Dick Whitington (playing for the Services) wrote that, “I have seen today the ghost of a once great cricketer.” Bradman declined a tour of New Zealand and spent the winter of 1946 unsure if he had played his last match.

With the English team due to arrive for the Ashes series, the media and the public were anxious to know if Bradman would lead Australia. His doctor recommended against a return to the game. Encouraged by his wife, Bradman agreed to play in lead-up fixtures to the Test series. After hitting two centuries, Bradman made himself available for the first Test at The Gabba.

The pivotal moment of the Ashes contest came as early as the first day of the series. After compiling an unconfident 28 runs, Bradman hit a ball to the gully fieldsman, Jack Ikin. An appeal for a catch was contentiously denied, the umpire ruling it a bump ball. At the end of the over, England captain Wally Hammond had a verbal dig at Bradman, and “from then on the series was a cricketing war just when most people desired peace.” Bradman regained his finest pre-war form in making 187, following that with 234 during the second Test at Sydney. Australia won both matches by an innings. Jack Fingleton speculated that had the decision at Brisbane had gone against him, Bradman would have retired, such were his fitness problems.

In the remainder of the series, Bradman made three half-centuries in six innings, but was unable to make another century. Nevertheless, his team won handsomely by 3-0. He was the leading batsman on either side, with an average of 97.14. Nearly 850,000 spectators watched the Tests, which helped lift public spirits after the war.

Century of centuries and "The Invincibles":
India made its first tour of Australia in the 1947–48 season. On 15 November Bradman made 172 against them for an Australian XI at Sydney, his one hundredth first-class century. The first non-Englishman to achieve the milestone, Bradman remains the only Australian to do so. In five Tests, he scored 715 runs (at 178.75 average). His last double century (201) came at Adelaide, and he scored a century in each innings of the Melbourne Test. On the eve of the fifth Test, he announced that the match would be his last in Australia, although he would tour England as a farewell.

Australia had assembled one of the great teams of cricket history. Bradman made it known that he wanted to go through the tour unbeaten, a feat never before accomplished. English spectators were drawn to the matches knowing that it would be their last opportunity to see Bradman in action. RC Robertson-Glasgow observed of Bradman that:

"Next to Mr. Winston Churchill, he was the most celebrated man in England during the summer of 1948. His appearances throughout the country were like one continuous farewell matinée. At last his batting showed human fallibility. Often, especially at the start of the innings, he played where the ball wasn't, and spectators rubbed their eyes."

Despite his waning powers, Bradman compiled eleven centuries in his 2,428 runs (average 89.92). His highest score of the tour (187) came against Essex, when the team compiled a world record of 721 runs in a day. In the Tests, he scored a century at Nottingham, but his only truly vintage performance was in the fourth Test at Leeds. England declared on the last morning of the game, setting Australia a world record 404 runs to win in only 345 minutes on a heavily-worn wicket. In partnership with Arthur Morris (182), Bradman reeled off 173 not out and the match was won with fifteen minutes to spare. The journalist Ray Robinson called the victory “the 'finest ever' in its conquest of seemingly insuperable odds.”

In the final Test at The Oval, Bradman walked out to bat in Australia’s first innings, and received a standing ovation from the crowd and three cheers from the opposition. His Test batting average stood at 101.39. Facing the wrist-spin of Eric Hollies, Bradman pushed forward to the second ball that he faced, was deceived by a wrong 'un, and bowled between bat and pad for no score. An England batting collapse resulted in an innings defeat, denying Bradman the opportunity to bat again and so his average finished at 99.94 – just four runs short of an even hundred. The story perpetuated over many years that Bradman missed the ball because of tears in his eyes was a claim he denied for the rest of his life.

The Australian team won the Ashes 4–0, completed the tour unbeaten, and have entered history as “The Invincibles.” Just as Bradman’s legend grew, rather than diminished, over the years, so too has the reputation of the 1948 team. For Bradman, it was the most personally fulfilling period of his playing days, as the divisiveness of the 1930s had passed. He wrote:

"Knowing the personnel, I was confident that here at last was the great opportunity which I had longed for. A team of cricketers whose respect and loyalty were unquestioned, who would regard me in a fatherly sense and listen to my advice, follow my guidance and not question my handling of affairs ... there are no longer any fears that they will query the wisdom of what you do. The result is a sense of freedom to give full reign to your own creative ability and personal judgment."


After his return to Australia, Bradman played in his own Testimonial match at Melbourne, scoring his 117th and last century, and receiving ₤9,342 in proceeds. In the 1949 New Year’s Honours List, Bradman was made a Knight Bachelor for his services to the game, and the following year he published a memoir, Farewell to Cricket. Bradman accepted offers from the Daily Mail to travel with, and write about, the 1953 and 1956 Australian teams in England, but never succumbed to the lure of regular journalism. The Art of Cricket, his final book published in 1958, is an instructional manual that retains its relevance today.

In June 1954, Bradman retired from his stockbroking business and then earned a “comfortable” income as a board member of sixteen publicly-listed companies. His highest profile affiliation was with Argo Investments Limited, where he was Chairman for a number of years. Charles Williams commented that, "[b]usiness was excluded on medical grounds, [so] the only sensible alternative was a career in the administration of the game which he loved and to which he had given most of his active life".

The MCC awarded Bradman life membership in 1958 and his portrait hung in the Long Room at Lord's. He opened the “Bradman Stand” at the SCG in January 1974. Later that year, he attended a Lord's Taverners function in London where he experienced heart problems, which forced him to limit his appearances to select occasions only. With his wife, Bradman returned to Bowral in 1976, where the new cricket ground was named in his honour. He gave the keynote speech at the historic Centenary Test at Melbourne in 1977 and the following year he attended a reunion of his 1948 team, organised by the Primary Club charity. On 16 June 1979, the Australian government awarded Bradman the nation’s highest civilian honour, Companion of the Order of Australia (AC). In 1980, he resigned from the ACB and led a more secluded life.


Administrative career:

"Bradman was more than a cricket player nonpareil. He was [...] an astute and progressive administrator; an expansive thinker, philosopher and writer on the game. Indeed, in some respects, he was as powerful, persuasive and influential a figure off the ground as he was on it."

—Mike Coward

In addition to acting as South Australia's delegate to the Board of Control from 1945 to 1980, Bradman was a committeeman of the SACA between 1935 and 1986. It is estimated that he attended 1,713 SACA meetings during this half century of service. Aside from two years in the early 1950s, he filled a selector's berth for the Test team between 1936 and 1971.

Cricket suffered an increase in defensive play during the 1950s. As a selector, Bradman favoured attacking, positive cricketers who entertained the paying public. He formed an alliance with Australian captain Richie Benaud, seeking more attractive play. The duo was given much of the credit for the exciting 1960–61 tour by the West Indies, which included the first-ever tied Test, played at Brisbane.

He served two high-profile periods as Chairman of the Board of Control, in 1960–63 and 1969–72. During the first, he dealt with the growing prevalence of illegal bowling actions in the game, a problem that he adjudged "the most complex I have known in cricket, because it is not a matter of fact but of opinion". The major controversy of his second stint was a proposed tour of Australia by South Africa in 1971–72. On Bradman's recommendation, the series was cancelled.

In the late 1970s, Bradman played an important role during the World Series Cricket schism as a member of a special Australian Cricket Board committee formed to handle the crisis. He was criticised for not airing an opinion, but he dealt with World Series Cricket far more pragmatically than other administrators. Richie Benaud, in his capacity as a consultant to WSC, prepared a document on the inner workings of official cricket. In it, he described Bradman as "a brilliant administrator and businessman", warning that he was not to be underestimated.

As Australian captain, Ian Chappell fought with Bradman over the issue of player remuneration in the early 1970s. Chappell has recently commented that Bradman should have been more empathetic toward the players, considering his own clashes with administrators during the 1930s. While Chappell has suggested that Bradman was responsible for the split, and that he was parsimonious and treated the ACB's money as his own, Gideon Haigh considers that Bradman was merely applying the standards of his own generation without taking into account that society (and sport) had changed:

Bradman's playing philosophy—that cricket should not be a career, and that those good enough could profit from other avenues—also seems to have borne on his approach to administration. Biographers have disserved Bradman in glossing over his years in officialdom. His strength and scruples over more than three decades were exemplary; the foremost master of the game became its staunchest servant. But he largely missed the secular shift toward the professionalisation of sport in the late '60s and early '70s, which finally found expression in Kerry Packer's World Series Cricket [....] Discussing Packer, Bradman told biographer Charles Williams in January 1995 he "accepted that cricket had to become professional".

Later years and legacy:
Cricket writer David Frith summed up the paradox of the continuing fascination with Bradman:

"As the years passed, with no lessening of his reclusiveness, so his public stature continued to grow, until the sense of reverence and unquestioning worship left many of his contemporaries scratching their heads in wondering admiration."

Although he was modest about his own abilities and generous in his praise of other cricketers, “Bradman knew perfectly well how great a player he had been”. In his latter years, Bradman carefully selected the people to whom he gave interviews, in an attempt to influence his legacy. He assisted Michael Page, Roland Perry and Charles Williams, who all produced biographical works about Bradman during the 1980s and 1990s. Bradman agreed to an extensive interview for ABC radio, broadcast as Bradman: The Don Declares in eight 55-minute episodes during 1988.

After his wife's death in 1997, Bradman suffered “a discernable and not unexpected wilting of spirit”. On his ninetieth birthday, he hosted a meeting with his two favourite modern players, Shane Warne and Sachin Tendulkar, but he was not seen in his familiar place at the Adelaide Oval again. Hospitalised with pneumonia in December 2000, he returned home in the New Year and died there on 25 February 2001.

Bradman was the first living Australian featured on an Australian postage stamp, issued in 1997. In 2001, a major arterial road in Adelaide was re-named Sir Donald Bradman Drive. After his death, the Australian Government produced a 20 cent coin to commemorate his life.

Family life:
This collection of Bradman's private letters published in 2004 has given researchers new insights into Bradman's personal life.The Bradmans lived in the same modest, suburban house in Holden Street, Kensington Park in Adelaide for all but the first three years of their married life. They experienced much personal tragedy in raising their children. Their first-born son died less than 48 hours after he was born and their second son, John (born in 1939) contracted polio during an epidemic of the disease that swept Adelaide in the summer of 1951–52. Their daughter Shirley was born in 1941 with cerebral palsy. Bradman attempted to keep his children away from the limelight as much as possible.

However, the burden of his family name proved too great for John Bradman to handle. After studying law and qualifying as a barrister, he changed his last name to Bradsen by deed poll in 1972. He went on to a distinguished career as a lecturer in law at Adelaide University. Although claims were made that he became estranged from his father, it was more a matter of “the pair inhabit[ing] different worlds”.After his death, a collection of personal letters written by Bradman to his close friend Rohan Rivett between 1953 and 1977 was released and gave researchers new insights into Bradman’s family life. The letters detail the strain between father and son.

Bradman’s reclusiveness in later life is partly attributable to the on-going health problems of his wife. Jessie had open-heart surgery in her sixties and later needed a hip replacement. She died in 1997 from leukaemia. This had a dispiriting effect on Bradman, but the upside was a strengthening of his relationship with his son. The pair became much closer in Bradman’s last years and John resolved to change his name back to Bradman. Since his father’s death, John Bradman has become the spokesperson for the family and has been involved in defending Bradman in a number of disputes about the Bradman legacy.

The relationship between Bradman and his parents and siblings is less clear. Little biographical information on them is available from the period after Bradman moved to Adelaide. Nine months after Bradman’s death, his nephew Paul Bradman criticised him as a “snob” and a “loner” who forgot his connections in Bowral, and who failed to attend the funerals of his mother and father.



*Acknowledgements to Wikipedia.org, Cricinfo.com and owners of pictures and videos used.

Playing cricket on a road while drunk is dangerous but fun!

Hey everybody!

Just thought I had to tell all you enthusiastic fans of the great game of a drunken game I played lastnight. We were having a party at my sisters flat and as the party got bigger it got more rowdy etc and naturally some others and myself thought of playing backyard cricket. Trouble is the house didnt have a backyard suitable for playing and there were no lights so seeing searing inswinging yorkers and scud missile like deliveries would have proved near impossible so we went down to the end of the street where it connected to one of the main roads of the area and instantly we decided to play a game on the road with total disreguard to any of the traffic travelling either way. We found a street bin on the corner and the power pole on the other side of the street and between them two objects we made a temporary wicket. The pitch was rock hars and provided prodigious amounts of seam and turn and also a bit of bounce when the tennis ball was banged in hard. I used the pitch to a good effect with my off spinners that were flat but had a decent amount of turn and made a leading 1st grade opener nick the ball into 1st slip, she done a good job to snare the wicket. Also my medium pacers had an effect as I also used guile and the seam to bamboozle some of the batsmen. I was suprised I could bowl reasonably well despite polishing off three quarters of a 20 pack of beer (the cans were 440ml each) and everybody else was just as tanked as myself which made the game fun and memorable, and I think i scored 62 (well i smacked the tennis ball into a window (which thank god it didnt shatter or break)as I kept smacking the ball around but eventually fell out to a well executed spin delivery which I played on to the stumps aka the rubbish bin on the street. The game was called to an unfortunate end when one of us saw two police cars with their lights on coming down the road in the distance and we managed to abandon the wicket without being found out by the men (and woman) in blue. It was a game thoroughly enjoyed by all and from time to time we had some crowds cheering us on, it why I love the game of cricket, the atmosphere, the thrills, the comraderie and the entertainment it provides. I hope cricket lives on for a very very long time.

*Note: unfortunately we don't have any video footage of this game we played that we know of, if by miraculous luck I do I will let you all know!

In the International Spotlight...Canada Cricket

The Canada cricket team is the national cricket team representing Canada in men's international competition. It is run by Cricket Canada.

While Canada is not sanctioned to play Test matches, the team does take part in One Day International matches and also in first-class games (in the ICC Intercontinental Cup) against other non-Test-playing opposition, with the rivalry against the United States cricket team being as strong in cricket as it is in other team sports. The match between these two nations is in fact the oldest international fixture in cricket, having first been played in 1844.

Canadian cricket has tended to take a lower profile than most other sports, and the team tends to be composed of expatriates from more successful cricketing nations either trying to achieve a level of international experience or having been deemed too old for their respective national teams. The 2003 World Cup squad, for example, contained players born in Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan and the West Indies.

Perhaps the most successful exponent of Canadian cricket has been all-rounder John Davison. Davison was born in Canada but played club and — occasionally — first class cricket in Australia, achieving a reputation as something of a journeyman. Taking advantage of his Canadian birth, he became a regular in the national squad. At the 2003 World Cup, Davison hit the fastest century in tournament history against the West Indies in what was ultimately a losing cause. One year later, in the ICC Intercontinental Cup against the USA, he proved the difference between the two sides taking 17 wickets for 137 runs (the best haul in first-class cricket since England's Jim Laker took 19 wickets in 1956) as well as scoring 84 runs of his own.

EARLY DAYS:
It is generally thought that cricket was introduced to Canada by British soldiers after the Battle of the Plains of Abraham in 1759, although the earliest confirmed reference to cricket is of matches played on Saint Helen's Island, Quebec in 1785 on what became the site of Expo 67.

The roots of modern Canadian cricket though come from the regions of Upper Canada, in particular Toronto, then known as York. During the early years of the nineteenth century, a schoolmaster by the name of George Anthony Barber encouraged the game there, and founded the Toronto Cricket Club in 1827. Barber instigated a game played between the Toronto Cricket Club and the cricket team of Upper Canada College in 1836, a game won by the college team. This game has been annually ever since. As already mentioned, Canada played its first international against the USA in 1844 in New York at St George's Cricket Club, now the site of the New York University medical centre.


LATE 19TH CENTURY:
George Parr led an English team to Canada in 1859, which was the first ever international cricket tour. A product of the tour was a book by Fred Lillywhite entitled "The English Cricketers’ Trip to Canada and the United States", published the following year. On the tour, which also ventured into the USA, the team won all five official matches against a 22 of Lower Canada (by 8 wickets at Montreal, Quebec on 26 October-27 September), a 22 of the United States (by an innings and 64 runs at Holboken, NY on 3-5 October), a different 22 of the United States (by 7 wickets at Philadelphia on 10-12 October), a 22 of Lower Canada (by 10 wickets at Hamilton, Ontario on 17 October-19 October) and a further 22 of the United States (by an innings and 68 runs at Rochester, NY on 21 October-25 October). There were also some exhibition matches and two excursions to view the Niagara Falls.

When Canada became a nation in 1867, cricket was so popular it was declared the national sport by John A. Macdonald, the first Prime Minister of Canada. Unfortunately, the influence of baseball from the United States saw a decline in the popularity of cricket, despite tours from English and Australian teams. The third tour by an English team in 1872 featured none other than the famous W. G. Grace. The first Australian team to tour came in 1877, and they returned in 1893 beating Canada by an innings. Three games were played against Ireland between 1888 and 1890, Ireland winning one, with the other two drawn. A tour of North America by the Australians in 1913 saw two first class games (both won by the tourists) against a combined Canada/USA team. The second of these, played at Rosedale, Toronto was the first first class match played in Canada.


1887 ENGLAND TOUR:
After an unofficial tour in 1880, which saw the Canadian captain arrested during a game against Leicestershire and the tour abandoned, the first official tour of the United Kingdom by a Canadian team took place in 1887. The tour started with two matches against Ireland, against whom Canada drew one game and lost the other, followed by two matches against Scotland with the same result. The tour then ventured into the north east of England with a defeat against the Gentlemen of Northumberland and a draw against Durham.

The tour then continuted with various matches against county sides and others, with wins coming against the Gentlemen of Derbyshire and the Gentlemen of Warwickshire. The Canadian team finished the tour with a win/loss record of 2/5 with the remaining twelve games all drawn.


1950s:
The Marylebone Cricket Club visited Canada in 1951, the highlight of which was the first first-class game played by the Canadian national team, played in Armour Heights, Toronto, which was won by the visiting side. This was followed in 1954 by a tour to England on which Canada played eighteen games, four of which were given first class status, including one against Pakistan who were also touring England at the same time. [5] The MCC again visited Canada in 1959 under Dennis Silk, and played a 3-day game against a Canada XI in Toronto which they won by 10 wickets. They were undefeated throughout the tour, winning most of their matches by wide margins, but had a closely fought draw against the Toronto Cricket Club. However, it would be fifty years before Canada would next play a first class cricket match.


1960s:
The annual series of matches between Canada and the USA continued, alternating between the countries. In the 1963 match in Toronto, Ray Nascimento scored 176, then a record for the series.


1970s:
Canada drew a game against Ireland in 1973, and the following year again embarked on a tour of England. The tour was a much lower profile than the 1954 tour, with the games being against club sides, county second XIs, and minor counties. Canada had a 4/6 win/loss record on the tour, with a further six games being drawn. In 1979, Canada participated in the first ICC Trophy. They reached the final of the competition, which qualified them for the 1979 World Cup, where they played their first One Day Internationals. The World Cup was not a successful tournament for the Canadians though, and they failed to progress beyond the first round, losing all three games.


1980s:
Canada participated in the ICC Trophy again in 1982 and 1986. They could not repeat their success of 1979 though, and failed to progress beyond the first round on both occasions. Other internationals in the 1980s include a no result game against Ireland in 1981, and a 3 wicket loss to Barbados.


1990s:
The 1990s saw Canada progress up the international ladder, playing in three further ICC Trophy tournaments, their best being a seventh place finish in 1997. They also began competing in West Indian domestic one-day cricket in 1996, and competed in the Commonwealth Games cricket tournament in 1998, though they did not progress beyond the first round.


2000s:
2000 saw Canada host the first ICC Americas Championship, a tournament which they won. The following year they embarked on a tour to Sri Lanka, but the highlight of 2001 was their hosting of the ICC Trophy. They finished third in the tournament, which qualified them for the 2003 World Cup. It was this ICC Trophy tournament that first saw the emergence of John Davison, who was to become one of Canada's most successful players.

Canada played various matches in the build up to the World Cup, visiting Argentina in April 2002, finishing as runners up to long time rivals the USA in the Americas Championship, swiftly followed by a fifth place finish in the ICC 6 Nations Challenge in Namibia. The West Indian A team toured Canada later in the year, and Canada won the one-day series 2-1, and drew a two day game. This was followed by Canada's best performance to date in West Indian domestic one-day cricket, winning two games in their first round group, just missing out on qualification for the semi finals.

The World Cup itself was a tournament of contrasting fortunes for the Canadians. They started with their first ODI win, over Bangladesh. Two games later saw them dismissed for 36 against Sri Lanka, then the lowest score in one-day international history. The next game against the West Indies saw John Davison score the fastest ever World Cup century, although Canada lost that game, and did not progress past the first round.


PRESENT DAY:
2004 started badly for Canada, with a last place finish in the Six Nations Challenge in the United Arab Emirates after Canada lost all their games. They'd improved significantly by the time of the ICC Americas Championship in Bermuda, which they won. Also in 2004, Canada participated in the first ICC Intercontinental Cup, finishing as runners up to Scotland. The highlight of this tournament was the game against the USA in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, when John Davison recorded the best match bowling figures since Jim Laker's 19 wickets against Australia in 1956.

In 2005, Canada again finished third in the ICC Trophy, which gained them official ODI status from 2006 until the 2009 ICC World Cup Qualifier, as well as qualifying them for the 2007 World Cup. Their performance in the Intercontinental Cup that year was not as good as in 2004 however, as they did not make it past the first round.

In 2006, Canada put in good performances in the four-day ICC Intercontinental Cup, beating Kenya by 25 runs and Bermuda by nine wickets, but their one day form was a complete reversal, losing three times to Bermuda and Kenya, and a further loss to Zimbabwe.

In August, Canada took part in the first Division of the Americas Championship. They beat Argentina and long time rivals the USA, but lost to the Cayman Islands and eventual winners Bermuda, and finished third, their worst performance so far in this tournament.

In June and July 2008, Canada will host Bermuda for three ODIs and Intercontinental Cup matches against Bermuda and Scotland. In August, Canada will travel to Ireland for an ODI and an Intercontinental Cup match.

TOURNAMENT HISTORY:

World Cup
1975: Did not participate
1979: First round
1983 to 1999 inclusive: Did not qualify
2003: First round
2007: First round

Intercontinental Cup
2004: Runners up
2005: First round

Commonwealth Games
1998: First round

ICC 6 Nations Challenge
2002: 5th place
2004: 6th place

ICC Trophy
1979: Runners up
1982: First round
1986: First round
1990: Second round
1994: Second round
1997: 7th place
2001: 3rd place
2005: 3rd place

ICC Americas Championship
2000: Won
2002: Runners up
2004: Won
2006: 3rd place

CURRENT SQUAD:

ODI:
Abdul Jabbar
Ashish Bagai (Captain/Wicketkeeper)
Geoff Barnett
Trevin Bastiampillai
Umar Bhatti
Desmond Chumney
Austin Codrington
Sunil Dhaniram
Haninder Dhillon
Stewart Heaney
Calvert Hooper
Nicholas Ifill
Sandeep Jyoti
Arvind Kandappah
Don Maxwell
Mohammad Iqbal
Asif Mulla
Mohsin Mulla
Henry Osinde
Jason Patraj
Qaiser Ali
Abdool Samad
Kevin Sandher
Surendra Seeraj
Shahzad Khan
Aftab Shamshudeen
Durand Soraine
Sanjayan Thuraisingam
Steven Welsh

First class:

Hemnarine Chattergoon
Ashish Patel
Krunalbhai Patel
Ravishankar Puvendran

NOTABLE FORMER PLAYERS:
John Davison
George Codrington
Anderson Cummins

CANADA UNDER 19S:
The Canadian Under 19 team have competed in the Under 19 World Cup on two occasions. In 2002, they were eliminated in the first round, meaning they competed in the plate competition, in which they did not win a game. They repeated this performance in the 2004 competition.


RECORDS:

ODI Cricket:
Highest team total: 312/4 v Ireland, 4 February 2007 at Nairobi, Kenya

Highest individual score: 137*, Ashish Bagai v Scotland, 31 January 2007 at Nairobi,Kenya

Best innings bowling: 5/27, Austin Codrington v Bangladesh, 11 February 2003 at Kingsmead, Durban, South Africa

LINKS:

Canada ODI Career Batting

Canadian Cricket Association official website

Independent website covering Canadian cricket

Cricinfo article on the history of Canadian cricket

Fan blog covering national team matches





*Acknowledgements to Cricinfo.com, Wikipedia.com, Canadian Cricket Association, Owners of displayed Pictures

Player Profile(#16)...Shane Bond(New Zealand)

Shane Edward Bond (born 7 June 1975 in Christchurch, New Zealand) is a New Zealand cricketer. He has represented New Zealand in Test match, One Day International and Twenty20 International cricket as well as playing for Canterbury in New Zealand domestic cricket and Warwickshire in English domestic cricket. Bond is a right-arm fast bowler.

Bond's career has been plagued with injuries, chiefly recurring stress fractures of the back. He had surgery in 2004 to try and prevent further injury, but it was only partially successful. In recent years he has suffered back problems, knee injuries and an abdominal tear. These problems, in conjunction with a late start to his fully professional cricket career, have limited his appearances in both international and domestic cricket. Since his debut in the 2001/02 season, he has only managed to appear in 17 Test matches for New Zealand.

His international career is currently on hold, and may possibly be finished, after he initially signed for, and consequently played for the Delhi Giants in, the 'rebel' Indian Cricket League during March 2008, causing the New Zealand cricket board to terminate his central contract in January 2008. His decision to take part in the Indian Cricket League has also affected his future in domestic cricket, with it currently still unclear as to whether he will be able to fulfill a contract to play cricket in England for Hampshire during 2008.

Bond is a fast bowler capable of regularly bowling at speeds in excess of 145 km/h. He was first recorded breaking the 150km/h barrier in the 2001/02 season. In contrast to some other fully fast bowlers, Bond combines pace with control and accuracy, assets which have seen him find success in all forms of the game.

Limiting the statistics to players who have bowled at least 1000 balls, he holds the record for the best strike rate (27.5) in ODI's and has the third best average (19.32). In Tests, limiting the statistics to player who have bowled at least 2000 balls, his Test strike rate, (38.9), currently ranks fourth in the all-time list and his average (22.39) currently sits at number 40. Amongst current players who have bowled over 2000 balls in Tests, only Stuart Clark, Muttiah Muralitharan and Dale Steyn have better averages.

Bond usually bats quite far down the batting order, at number nine or later, but he is capable of slogging some quick runs towards the end of an innings.

Bond made his first-class debut for Canterbury on 20 January 1997, in a match against Central Districts. He was relatively old when he made his first-class debut, at 21 years and 7 months old, and for the first few years of his career he played relatively little first-class cricket, playing only 12 matches for Canterbury in his first three seasons. His bowling figures in his first three seasons were solid but unspectacular. Bond stopped playing cricket professionally for one year after he joined the New Zealand Police in November 1999, which left him no time to pursue his cricket career. He returned to play several games for Canterbury in the 2000/01 season and had reasonable success despite his year off. He was handed his first international opportunity early in the 2001/02 season, and from then, due to injuries and international commitments he was mainly unavailable to play for Canterbury, and only appeared in eight State Championship and ten State Shield games in seven seasons.

He made a brief appearance in English county cricket in the 2002 season, representing Warwickshire in three County Championship games, finding moderate success with the ball. He has signed to return to England to play for Hampshire in the 2008 season, but whether he will be able to play due to his association with the Indian Cricket League is still not decided.

Bond appeared in seven Twenty20 games for the Delhi Giants during the March/April 2008 version of the league, but had little success, only taking two wickets at 86.50.

Bond enjoyed strong success against Australia during his career. On 26 January 2002, Shane Bond bowled New Zealand to victory over Australia, getting 5/25. In the Cricket World Cup, Bond achieved 6/23 again against Australia (New Zealand's best bowling performance in ODIs at the time)[citation needed] - which including being on a hat-trick after getting Damien Martyn and Brad Hogg in consecutive deliveries. Bond struggled with a number of back problems which cause soft tissue to break.[citation needed] These injuries had ruled him out in a lot of international cricket in the past.

Against India, Bond saved New Zealand from defeat with a spell of 6/19, including the wickets of Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly and Virender Sehwag. These are the best One Day International bowling performances by a New Zealander to date.[citation needed]

In a Test match against the West Indies, Bond took 5-69, his fourth 5-wicket haul in just 13 International Tests Matches, and went on to win the man of the match award. He stated that this was one of his best ever bowling efforts. New Zealand went on to defeat the West Indies by 27 runs.[citation needed]

On 14 January 2007, Bond took a hat-trick in the last over against Australia in a one-day international at the Bellerive Oval, dismissing Cameron White, Andrew Symonds and Nathan Bracken in successive deliveries, becoming just the second New Zealand player to take a hat-trick in limited-overs international cricket, although the game was still lost by 105 runs.


A graph showing Bond's test career bowling statistics and how they have varied over time.Shortly Afterwards on 23 January 2007 Bond became the second-fastest bowler in history to take 100 One-Day wickets, behind Pakistan's Saqlain Mushtaq by one match. Bond, however, needed 54 fewer deliveries to achieve the feat, and was the fastest bowler to take 100 wickets in terms of number of deliveries bowled.[citation needed]

On 16 February 2007, Bond took 5-23, his fourth 5-wicket haul, in the 2007 Chappell-Hadlee Trophy. This enabled New Zealand to dismiss Australia for 149, giving the New Zealanders a 10-wicket victory over them, the Australians' heaviest one day defeat, and although he sat out the final game in the Chappell-Hadlee series, he was instrumental in the eventual 3-0 series win for the first time in Chappell-Hadlee Trophy history.[citation needed]

On May 16, 2007, Shane Bond was named New Zealand cricketer of the year for the 2006/2007 season and the best bowler for that season. In September Bond was named in the ICC's best performing test side over the past year.


A breath of fresh air since his introduction to Test cricket on the Australian tour of 2001-02, Shane Bond has given New Zealand a rare fast-bowling option. He is among the fastest bowlers in the world, and with his arrival the potency of the attack has increased. The quickest New Zealander to reach 50 one-day international wickets, including a national best of 6 for 22 against Australia in the 2003 World Cup, his potential is only limited by his susceptibility to injury, having suffered crippling stress-fractures in his feet and back. These injuries forced him to miss out on all cricket from May 2003, including a proposed stint with Warwickshire in the English County Championship that year. However, after passing a fitness test, he was picked for the tour of England in 2004, but flew home during the second Test after failing to recover from his back injury. His fast, inswinging yorker commands the respect of the best batsmen in the game - but only when he's fit. He took 13 wickets at 9.23 against Zimbabwe in 2005, including 10 for 99 in the second Test at Bulawayo - his first ten-wicket haul - and in the process became the quickest among all New Zealand bowlers to get to 50 Test wickets, achieving the mark in only his 12th match. Unsurprisingly, he again broke down and was out of the game for another nine months with a knee injury. Another comeback was cut short when back problems kept him out of the first Champions Trophy game in 2006 but he returned again and was destructive in the CB Series in Australia. His sore back surfaced once more in Australia but he overcame it and continued his outstanding form against the world champions. His 5 for 23 in the first game of the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy in February 2007 augured well for Bond's second World Cup. He picked up 13 wickets in the tournament and finished as the most economical bowler. However, frequent injuries interrupted Bond's career and the fast bowler joined the lucrative Indian Cricket League in 2008. The New Zealand board reacted to this move by terminating Bond's national contract although they did not rule out the possibility of his return.

View the full list of 190 articles relating to Shane Bond

*Acknowledgements to Cricinfo.com, Wikipedia.com, Cricinfo staff, Owners of pictures, and associated links