Sir Donald Bradman.. help for assignment!!?

Question

The question is: What were the contributions and significance of Sir Donald Bradman in the 1930's?

Answer 1

For many of Australia's younger generations and even the middle-aged, the cricketing-great, Sir Donald Bradman, retired from test cricket before they were born. Yet, there are not many Australians today who do not, at the very least, know who he was and have a sense of pride for what he contributed to cricket and to Australia.

Sir Donald Bradman was born on 27 August 1908 in a rural town in New South Wales called Cootamundra. He grew up in Bowral as an athletic child where he began by playing backyard cricket. While at home he used to bounce an old golf ball off a water tank and hit it on the rebound with a cricket stump. It has been said that it was during those early days that Bradman first developed the necessary skills to prepare him for his future. It was a future in which he would come to be revered as the greatest batsman in Australian history, if not the world.

'The run-making machine,' as he would become known in his later life, showed talent throughout his younger years, scoring his first century in the Bowral High School cricket team while still only twelve. At 17 he was a regular player for the Bowral senior team and during the 1925-1926 season, he made 1318 runs in 23 innings. He then progressed on to playing cricket for Sydney's St. George Club at a first grade level until he was selected in 1927 to join the New South Wales team. By the following year, selectors saw such great potential in him that he was invited to play for Australia.

In 1928 he played his very first Test match representing Australia against England in the Ashes series, however it did not look to be a promising start. He scored only 18 runs in the first innings and 1 in the second. He was dropped from the Second Test, but was given a second chance for the Third Test and did not disappoint. In the 1928-1929 season he amassed 1690 runs of which more than 700 were scored in the form of a century on the batting oval. From there, he never looked back, splitting his bat on the ball that gave him his hundred to work his way into the record books as the youngest ever player to score a Test century at the age of 20 years and four months. See image 1

From those early beginnings, Bradman continued on to change the history of cricket, re-writing more records in both the national and international sectors than ever thought possible for one person. Many of these records, over half a century on, are yet to be superseded, not only by any Australian cricket player but by any professional cricket player in the world.

Bradman's career in first-class cricket as a prodigious batsman extended for over two decades. One of the most memorable moments was during a match in the Sheffield Shield competition in 1930 when he made the highest personal score in a first-class match in Australia, 452 runs scored in a world record time of 415 minutes. He later went on to captain the South Australian Sheffield Shield team, become a selector for State and national teams and captain Australia twelve times. In his total career he amassed 271 centuries and scored an extraordinary total of 50 731 runs from 669 innings. Later that year, on the 1930 Ashes Tour, Bradman made his highest test score (334) at Headingly in Leeds. See video

Bradman was not only famous for his batting but his name is also synonymous with the style of bowling which was invented by the British in an attempt to respond to his increasing number of unanswered runs. 'Fast leg theory' or 'Bodyline' as it more infamously became known from the 1932-1933 Test series, was a dangerous tactic devised by the English which intimidated and even injured batsmen who faced it. Bradman eventually managed to develop a strategy around the Bodyline attack, before any rules were introduced to restrict it. The technique had still managed to meet the British objectives, that is, to limit Bradman's batting score and win the Test series. See image 2

Controversy also continued to follow Bradman off the pitch throughout his life. Like many popular figures in today's society, Bradman also had to deal with the legalities of contracts and agreements. In 1930 he was approached to write a book, but could not publish it until after returning from England due to a clause in his touring contract which prevented him working for any media company for the duration of the tour. While he did not publish the book, he made a start on writing it. By the time that the team had returned from England, some components of it had already been published in the London Daily Star. Bradman himself was innocent, having played no part in the negotiations with the newspaper and having received no money from the deal. Despite this, Bradman was found to be in breach of his contract and was fined £50.

In 1948, Bradman entered the cricket oval to bat in what would be his last Test match before retirement. Earlier in the series, he had scored 173 runs on the final day, allowing Australia to retain the Ashes. He needed to score only four runs in his last match to bring his career's Test match batting average to 100 exactly. In a surprising anticlimax, Bradman was out for a duck, scoring not a single run. However, nothing could diminish the support of the public for this cricketing great who still managed to record an astonishing personal Test match average of 99.94 runs. Still to this day there is not a single first-class batsman in the world who has even come close to surpassing this record. The South African Graeme Pollock's 60.97 is the second highest Test match average for a player with an extended career. See image 3

Even after he had retired from cricket, Bradman was still being recognised for his contributions not only as a sporting hero but also as an inspirational figure worldwide. In 1949 he was awarded the status of Knight Bachelor. In 1979 he was honoured with what is now Australia's highest civil award, a Companion of the Order of Australia. He passed away in 2001 at 92 years of age, and was inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame five years after his death. See image 4

Bradman was an exceptional batsman; in fact he was probably one of the best that the world will ever see. Bradman's almost unbelievable achievements were a result of nothing more than pure talent and ability. His overall statistics were superior to his peers' not only during the time of his own career but also remain unrivalled today. While nothing should ever detract from the Bradman legacy, it needs to be explained how context played a role in elevating him to the almost-surreal cult status which continues to surround his memory today.

At the time that Bradman was beginning to become a significant figure not only in the sporting domain but also on the international scene, Australia itself was still finding its place in the world. It was a comparatively young nation compared to the rest of the world, and while it managed to escape the First World War with some heavy casualties and a newly-established national character, it now faced the Great Depression. See animation

During the Depression, the majority of the Australian public were without food, jobs and even homes. Every day was a constant struggle for them. It was a period of severe hardships and as a result many of them turned their attention to sport to take their minds off their situations. Cricket, in particular, has always been a sport for which Australians have felt deep affection. Even before the separate colonies of Australia were united by Federation and recognised as a nation, there was an Australian cricket team. In 1882 the first Australian cricket team travelled to England, the birthplace of modern cricket, where they defeated the English cricket team. This simple victory in a game of cricket against their motherland instilled a great amount of national pride in Australians.

In much in the same way as that game of cricket had done in 1882, the heroic abilities of Bradman during the 1930s boosted the morale of society and renewed their sense of national pride. Ordinary people could escape the worries of their daily lives by immersing themselves in stories of Bradman's heroic sporting feats. As a result, he was often described by others at the time as a 'bright star,' owing to the way he inspired people, even in the most desolate of times.

Answer 2

in 1930 there was no batting technique Don Bradman developed how to play drives, cut, pulls properly. He innovated batting so much that all basics which are tought to young batsman for pst 40 years are developed by Sir Don. Modern day batsman like Lara, Sachin, Ponting etc all uses technique which he created in 1930's

Answer 3

He was a worthy opponent.

Asked a few years before his death how many he thought he might manage to average against the West Indies fast bowlers, he replied:  "Oh, about fifthy or sixty".

The surprised commentator said:  "Is that all?"  Bradman replied:  "Well I am eighty five you know!"