Braddles, The Don and The Boy From Bowral, there are many names of Sir Donald George Bradman. But Sir Don Bradman is rarely referred to by his names. Cricket enthusiasts dedicate all kinds of adjectives to the greatest Test Batsman of all time. The Don dominated top bowling lineups in the early 20th century and finished his career with a staggering Test batting average of 99.94. The Don Bradman inspired several generations of great batsmen including the great Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara. Bradman breathed his last in 2001 but his legacy lives on through his records and his era of dominance.
I started the process of framing this article by conceptualising hundreds of adjectives that would do justice in defining the greatness and dominance of Sir Bradman. But it didn’t take much to realise that no amount of writing could put Bradman’s sheer dominance into words. In the era of uncovered pitches, helmets without a grill and furious pace attacks, Bradman stood like a pillar, intimidating fiery fast bowlers with his willow.
“Every ball went exactly where I wanted it to go until the ball that got me out,” the Don had once said. That ball was what stood between the Don Bradman and a career Test average of 100. We all know a lot about The Don but there’s a lot more about The Don than we all know. This article features 7 lesser-known facts about Sir Don Bradman.
Bradman’s meaning in Cricket’s dictionary
When a thing happens for the first time on the field, there’s no technical definition and in such cases, the player’s name or surname is used to give the phenomenon a technical name. Mankading was derived from Vinoo Mankad’s name. But the greatest word in Cricket’s dictionary is Bradmanesque- a word made from Bradman’s name. A batsman’s inning is appreciated with the word Bradmanesque when cricket pundits see the reminiscence of The Don Bradman in that particular inning.
He Had Italian Blood
Emanuel Danero was among the first Italians to migrate to Australia. Emanuel married Mary Corner and had 14 children with her. After Mary’s death, Emanuel married Maryann Parkinson and the two had 10 children. Despite two marriages, Emanuel had another daughter (Sophia Neich) with Mary Cupitt. Sophia then married William Whatman and the sixth child of the couple, Emily, married George Bradman. Emily and George gave birth to the future of Australian cricket and the greatest Test Batsman Sir Don Bradman.
Also Read, 6 Cricketers Who Started Their Career As Bowler But Became Batsmen
Song About Bradman
There are not many batsmen who have had songs written to celebrate their great innings. But Sir Don Bradman was anything but ordinary. Australia was touring England in 1930 when Bradman left a greater impact on the English bowlers than the Great Depression. He scored 974 runs in that tour and Jack O’Hagan wrote a song titled ‘Our Bradman’ to laud The Don’s greatness. The lyrics of the song go like:
“Who is it that all Australia raves about?
Who has won our very highest praise?
Now is it Amy Johnson, or little Mickey Mouse?
No! it’s just a country lad who’s bringing down the house.
And he’s Our Don Bradman and I ask you, is he any good?
And so on.”
Losing Wicket To An India
Bradman never set his foot on the Indian soil but an Indian still managed to claim The Don Bradman’s wicket. During Australia’s Ashes tour in the 1930s, Australia played against Club Cricket Conference. Indian all-rounder Nazir Ali was also a part of the team. Nazir dropped Bradman on 4 and he went on to score 70 runs. However, it was Nazir who helped his side get rid of Bradman’s onslaught.
A Fully Qualified Umpire
Sir Bradman’s judgement skills were as good as his batting skills. He went on to pass the umpiring test conducted by New South Wales Cricket Association on August 2, 1933. Bradman was also a fully qualified umpire. However, he never did umpiring at First-Class level.
Aircraft Named After Bradman
Sir Don Bradman got acceptance, acknowledgment and respect in almost every part of the cricketing world. But it was Austria, a team with Affiliate status from ICC, that honoured Bradman in a very unique way. Lauda Air (now Austrian Airlines) named a Boeing 777-2Z9 aircraft Sir Donald Bradman. The aircraft flew on the Vienna-Sydney-Melbourne route.
Playing Squash As Training For Cricket
Just like cricket, Sir Don Bradman was great at Squash too. He himself admitted that playing Squash helped in improving footwork, posture, balance and developing ball sense- all of which is necessary for cricket. On August 18, 1939, Bradman hit a boundary in the squash court. He defeated tennis star Don Turnbull to win the Amateur Squash Rackets Championship of SA. It was a perfect tale of resilience and come back as Bradman emerged victorious in the final three sets ( 10-8, 9-3, 10-8 ) after losing the first two sets 0-9, 4-9.
