3 most impactful centuries of the 20th century

#1. Don Bradman (270) Ashes 1937 3rd Test, MCG

Don Bradman is considered the greatest batsmen to have ever played the game

Perhaps it is only rhetorical, that such a significant historical list of cricket centuries has the 1st global batting superstar at the top - Sir Don Bradman and his century at the Ashes of 1937. But, in order to understand the impact of this innings of Donald Bradman on cricket history, a little background information is essential.

Background of the Match: Australia had come into the 3rd Test of the Ashes of 1937, after being absolutely annihilated in the first two Test matches, by England. The margins of victory had been 322 runs and an innings and 22 runs, at Brisbane and Sydney, respectively. The English victory of the Ashes was looking inevitable and Bradman’s captaincy had been heavily questioned by cricket experts and analysts. This was the backdrop of the 3rd Test match at MCG.

Course of the match: Australia finished the 1st day of the match at 181 for 6. However, overnight rains affected the pitch bigtime, and in order to put the opposition in, on a spiteful pitch, Bradman strategically declared the innings on 200 for 9, next day morning. England, as expected, succumbed to 76 for 7 on the damp pitch and then the English Captain Allen purposefully declared the innings as well, with the hope of backfiring Bradman’s strategy on Australia.

However, his Australian counterpart, had other plans, as he sent out two tail-enders, O'Reilly and Fleetwood-Smith to open the innings, in order to protect his top order batsmen. When the first wicket fell, came out another tail ender, in the form of Frank Ward. In unforeseen circumstances, Bradman almost reversed the entire Aussie batting order. As a consequence, the best batsmen came out to bat, only when the pitch had improved significantly.

Bradman, himself came out to bat when the Australian scorecard read 97 for 5, and he knew extremely well that, with the pitch conditions improving fast, it would not be tough for England to chase anything under 300 in the 4th innings. Australia’s only chance of keeping the series alive rested upon the Don.

No wonder, the legend lived up to the expectations. He piled on runs, as the wicket improved slowly, playing with patience and perseverance, to compile a historical inning of 270 runs, thus batting England out of the contest.

Historical Importance: This was exactly where the Ashes 1937 turned and Australia won the 3rd Test match and went on to win the next two Test matches, to seal the series 3-2. The double century of Bradman was much more significant than turning the Ashes towards Australia, because the Australian selectors, who were contemplating on scraping Bradman of leadership, on Australia’s probable defeat in the Ashes, had to dump the idea for good, after such a turnaround.

Maybe, if not for this century, Bradman, one of the greatest Test captains Australia have ever had, could have well been known to be a legend of the game, who succumbed to the pressure of leadership on the field.