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Donald Bradman’s bats are a reminder of how this cricket legend played himself into the record books, earning the status of Australian icon.
Curator’s notes
Sir Donald George Bradman AC (27 August 1908–25 February 2001) was an Australian cricketer who is universally regarded as the greatest batsman of all time, and is one of Australia’s most popular sporting heroes.
He played his first Test in November 1928. By 1932 he dominated the game, and special bowling tactics, known as fast leg theory or Bodyline, were devised by England to reduce his dominance in a series of international matches in the Australian summer of 1932–33. Many say that the tactics devised were unsporting and dangerous, but they allowed England to win the series.
Bradman joined the armed forces during the Second World War, and returned to international cricket in 1948, leading ‘The Invincibles’, who went undefeated throughout the tour, a feat unmatched before or since. However, some on the tour did not regard him as a good leader.
Over an international career spanning 20 years from 1928 to 1948, Bradman’s batting achievements are unparalleled. Among those who have a meaningful Test match batting average through batting in more than 20 innings, his figure of 99.94 is higher than that achieved by any other cricketer. Next among those who have batted in more than 20 innings is South African Graeme Pollock with an average of 60.97.
After retiring from playing cricket, Bradman continued working as a stockbroker. He also became heavily involved in cricket administration, serving as a selector for the national team for nearly 30 years.
In 2000, Bradman was selected by a distinguished panel of experts as one of five Wisden Cricketers of the Century. Each member of the panel selected five cricketers, and Bradman was the only player to be named by all 100 correspondents. The other four cricketers selected for the honour were Sir Garfield Sobers (90 votes), Sir Jack Hobbs (30 votes), Shane Warne (27 votes) and Sir Vivian Richards (25 votes).
While Bradman has enjoyed a legendary status among most Australians, a few have raised issues that challenge aspects of his heroic image, including criticism of his sometime divisive captaincy.
