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BRADMAN- WHY WAS HE SO GOOD?

Its the most asked question in Cricket, a question that has been posed for over 80 years, and one that will continue to be asked while Cricket is played. How can a diminutive man, born in country New South Wales at the dawn of a new uncertain nation become a colossus of not only Cricket but of world sport. From the green playing fields of the Mother Country, to the dusty pitches of the Far East to the Cape of Africa and the vast expanse of this sunburnt country, how could one human being be twice as good as any other player in the storied history of this ancient game? There are numerous theories, each one pointing to a half truth, some tantalising convincing, but nothing of a singularity to pin point the genius of this seemingly unremarkable man. His record speaks for itself, a Test average of 99.94, a First Class average of 95.14 and 117 centuries over a career spanning 20 years. This was with the Second World War intervening, making it all the more remarkable that he was able to pick up where he left off in1939 and score a century in his first Test back in 1946. It has been postulated that from statistical studies based on a bell curve that only one in 200,000 Test cricketers should be the equal of Bradman. If 50 new Test players were to be capped each year, the next Bradman would appear in 6,000 years! In Baseball terms an average of .400 is nearly unachievable over a career. Occasionally a batter will achieve this feat over one season; just as a Cricketer will achieve an average of 100 over a season. Ty Cobb holds the record for the best average over a career of .366. For Cobb to stand equal to Bradman in the pantheon of world sport he would have to achieve a batting average of .392, a figure deemed to be beyond the realms of human ability. Comparing Bradmans record against all other Test cricketers, the same comparisons are reached. Just as Ty Cobbs average of .366 to Bradmans average of .392, compare Graeme Pollock, George Headley and Herbert Sutcliffes averages of 60.97, 60.83 and 60.73 respectively to Bradmans 99.94.

Four months after Bradmans death in 2001 the Australian High Commission in London organised a discussion at Lords. The day was attended by cricket luminaries Sir Alec Bedser (a man who had dismissed Bradman many times), Ted Dexter and Trevor Bailey. Also present were Lord Alexander of Weedon (President of the MCC and a QC), Richard Holt, a research professor who had extensively studied videos of Bradman, and Sir Timothy Rice, the famed lyricist and cricket author. These learned men all came together to discuss and try to find the answer as to why Bradman was so dominant. After four hours of discussion the ultimate conclusion was they didnt know. This was not surprising as, when Bradman himself was asked the same question; his answer was frustratingly I dont know. Bradman did not see himself as anything special. Then why is his record so unbelievable? By todays standards Bradman was tiny, standing only 5 foot 7 inches. His eyesight when tested during his brief stint in military service was below average, his reflexes were above average, honed by hours of practice but not extraordinary enough to explain his dominance. The celebrated film of a young Bradman hitting a golf ball with a cricket stump against the base of a water tank at his home in Bowral is part of Australian folklore. Constant lonely hours of practice would have honed his dexterity and powers of concentration. Much has been written lately on the 10,000 hour rule of practice and what it takes to be expert at a particular field of endeavour with meaningful practice. Bradman would surely have had 10,000 hours of meaningful practice by the time his teenage years had ended; such was the endless lonely hours he spent after school and at weekends. In the book Bradman Revisited, A. L Shillingshaw analysed Bradmans grip, stance and his rotary method of preparing for a stroke. Bradman used an unorthodox grip preferring the V of his lower hand to be in line with the insertion of the bat handle. The toe of the bat rested between his feet rather that the textbook method of behind the back foot. He stood perfectly still until the bowler arrived at the crease. A split second before the ball was released he levered his bat in a circular motion towards the slips instead of directly behind himself as the M.C.C manual would have dictated. This gave him perfect balance to play his shots. It seems that no other player in the game have had the same combination

of grip, stance and early movement as Bradman. Could it have been the patience and determination to control a golf ball with a stump rebounding off at all angles off the base of a circular water tank that unknowingly to the young Bradman helped him to develop a unique combination of mechanics and in consequence a batting style that was to take him to unforseen feats of batsmanship? Bradman had ignored the orthodox for the unorthodox unknowingly. It was a blessing that he was never coached, as to have come under the guidance of what was expected of pure stroke play would have inhibited Bradmans command of uninhibited batting. It is worth remembering that apart from two days of a Test match that his father took him to, the next time he saw first class cricket was in fact his first game for N.S.W. Imagine today with the blanket coverage of cricket in the media, a player playing his first Sheffield Shield match having never watched a Test match or first class match. It seems that Bradman tucked away in rural Bowral, far from any big city was making up his own unique brand of cricket against that water tank, hour after solitary hour. Practicing against the water tank for hours on end not only contributed to a unique technique, one in concert with a rhythm that was displayed on countless cricket grounds, but to a steel like ability to concentrate for enormous periods of time. In no other sport is concentration more important than in the art of batting. Six hours of batting under a blazing sun can sap the concentration of the most determined mind. Batting is a cruel pass time with no second chances. Research shows that Bradman was just as likely to be dismissed between nought and 15 compared to other great batsmen. After he was set, from 15 onwards the chance of being dismissed dropped to a third of other great batsmen. This was especially true between 50 and 150. Bradman must have had a mind like a steel trap, his concentration akin to a micro surgeon operating for hours on end. Concentration then is a facet of the game that sets Bradman apart. Consider the present. How often do we see a modern day batsman playing a false stroke? Dismissals from unplayable balls are few and far between. Batsmen are dismissed through lack of patience and not waiting for the right ball to come along. In his entire career Bradman only hit six sixes in Test cricket, preferring to abide by the theory that you

cant get caught if you hit the ball along the ground. Again this shows tremendous discipline. Hours of youthful practice in the backyard not only honed Bradmans concentration skills; it gave him a control of the ball unmatched by his contemporaries. This control of the ball is amply demonstrated by the following anecdote. Playing in a tour match in England, legspinner Frank Vigar was given the last over of the morning. Bradman left the first ball and then cracked the next four to the midwicket boundary. Essex captain Tom Pearce kept reinforcing the leg side; Bradman kept threading the ball between the fielders. Before the final ball, wicketkeeper Frank Rist said to him: "Haven't you got any other shots?" "I'll show you those after lunch," Bradman replied, before threading the sixth ball to precisely the same place for his fifth consecutive boundary. Then he turned to Rist and said: "I did say after lunch." From concentration and ball skills comes unshakeable confidence. C.R.L. James wrote that other cricketers had inhibitions Bradman never knew. He has said every ball for me is the first ball and that I never think theres a possibility of anybody getting me out. Bradman also had what most would call a killer instinct. He never wanted to be beatenat any sport. In 1934 he played a game of billiards with Walter Lindrum. If any sportsman in history had the right to challenge Bradman for dominance in his chosen pursuit, it was Lindrum. Soundly beaten, Bradman had a billiards room built in his new home in Adelaide. Practicing every day he more than matched Lindrum on the return bout. In 1934, having only played squash socially took on Don Turnbull, a Davis Cup champion, for the South Australian open squash title. Despite being beaten in the first two sets, he eventually recovered to win the next three sets and the title. In 1968 Colin Cowdrey invited Bradman to a game of Royal Tennis. Cowdrey was 36 and proficient at the game, Bradman 60 and had never played the game. Bradman asked Cowdrey for the rule book which

consisted of hundreds of pages, read it over night, played Cowdrey the next day, corrected him on some of the rules and beat him. Tennis and golf were other sports that Bradman excelled in. As a youngster he had to make a decision between tennis and cricket. He won the NSW country championship and beat every Australian Wimbledon player in friendly matches in his junior years. In golf he shot under par at numerous courses in South Australia and Victoria. He shot his age into his eighties. So why was Bradman so good? Maybe he did the one percenters and they all added up to 99.94%. There is no doubt that Bradman had extraordinary ball skills, honed against that water tank. Its a good lesson in life that there is no substitute for practice. But what of that grip, that stance and that back lift? It is fascinating that no one else before or since has used that exact combination of techniques. That is what came natural to Bradman and despite experimenting with more orthodox methods, quickly reverted to what felt best. There have been players who have displayed immense concentration, who were supremely fit, who were steely in their determination to win at all costs, and who had beautiful techniques and all the shots. But none could achieve a life time average of over 60. The beauty of all this is that this question will go on being pondered for all time, because frankly there doesnt seem to be anywhere a definitive answer. We will just go on wondering! Finally if there was any doubt about Bradmans skill at batting apart from raw statistics it is worth noting an anecdote related by Jeff Thomson. At a social event during the rest day of a Test in Adelaide during the 70s, organised at a winery which had a nearby cricket ground, Bradman was coaxed into facing a few balls from a couple of young cricketers on the verge of state selection. A reluctant Bradman, then in his 60s took off his tie and jacket and faced up to the boys who out of respect for his age and the fact he was not wearing pads and gloves bowled some gentle medium pace. When Bradman started turning back the clock and playing shots the boys picked up the pace. According to Thompson, the faster they bowled, the harder Bradman

smote them to the boundary. Thompson had always wondered how someone could be twice as good as Greg Chappell. That day he was to find his answer.

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