5 best Test innings of Sir Donald Bradman

Very rarely do you feel a chill down your spine as an anlayst. But when it’s time to pay tribute to Sir Donand Bradman on what would have been his 106th birthday, yours hands automatically begin to tremble. The truth is no one is even competent enough to judge the greatness of this man. Nonetheless, I try to present his 5 greatest knocks, in a career filled with not only legendary but also fairy tales.Brief IntroductionNot that he needs one, but Bradman was born on 27 August 1908 in Cootamundra, New South Wales, a day the English Team would surely want to wipe off from the calendar. And why wouldn’t they? He plundered, harassed, humiliated, mocked and destroyed them time and again with his peerless strokeplay. Making his debut in 1928 as a 20-year-old, he played for 20 years, ending arguably the most illustrious cricket career till date on 1948. He lost some of his prime years due to the second world war

#5 299* v South Africa, 1932

Not one of Bradman’s fluent best, but certainly his grittiest. South Africa won the toss and chose to bat first. They ended the first day at 265/7 and eventually went on to score 308. Australia ended the day at 302/4, thanks largely to Woodfull and Bradman.

The next day, as wickets tumbled around him like nine pins, he held on his own and played out of his skin. There were times when he was very uneasy; in one particular hour he scored just 25 runs, just about survived a few LBW appeals and close catches, but he was adamant on not throwing it away, again summoning vast powers of concentration. It eventually bore fruit as the conditions got better and he reached 299. But unfortunately, the last man Thurlow was run out in Bradman’s quest for the 300th run, thus ending one of the greatest innings one shy of another triple hundred.

How difficult to bat it was on this wicket can be understood by the fact that no other batsman managed to cross even 100.

Mitchell and Christy showed some resistance for South Africa, but it was just a question of completing formalities for Australia, which they did, Claire Grimmett accounting for 7 of those wickets. Australia needed 70 for victory in the second essay, and they strolled their way towards it.

#4 334 v England, 1930, Leeds

This is the Don’s highest score and is bound to make it to the list. Opting to bat first, Australia scored 334, single-handedly due to Bradman who scored 59% of the runs in the innings. The second highest score in the innings was a mere 77 by Kippax. Add to it the fact that he was only 22 at the time meant here was a lad that was going to stay. It was also the highest score in the history of cricket back then, eclipsing the 287 by R. E. Foster.

The innings can be put in perspective by the fact that he reached three digit figures before lunch time. Eventually he scored 309* in the day, which is something even modern day batsmen barring Sehwag will find difficut to fathom. It was also his second consecutive innings of over 200 in Test matches, and he matched Hammond’s performance during the previous tour in Australia. He also joined Macartney in scoring three separate hundreds in successive Test matches. It was Bradman's Match in every sense of the word, characterised by splendid stroke play.

Rain meant that a full game wasn’t possible, and England escaped with a draw. Somewhere, the seeds of greatness had been sown.

#3 254 v England, 1930 Lord\'s

Australia had been beaten in the first Test of the 1930 Ashes by 93 runs in Nottingham and in the second Test at Lord's, as well; the tourists were in deep water with England having scored 425 in their first innings. Then Donald Bradman happened, scoring 254 in his first innings at the ‘Mecca of Cricket’. When Bradman was eventually dismissed, Australia were 160 runs ahead of England and on course for a famous victory. Commenting on the innings, Bradman said: "Practically without exception every ball went where it was intended to go. Any artist must surely aim at perfection, and that is why I think Lord's 1930 is my first choice (as the best I played)."

After Nelson Mandela’s release spending 27 years in prison, the first question he asked to an Australian was: “Is Sir Donald Bradman still alive?” Such was the power the great batsman commanded. This, as stated earlier, was Bradman’s best series.

#2 103 v England, 1933, MCG

Surprised to see a 103 as the second-best innings that Bradman ever played? Well, for those who know, there is only one reason as to why so: bodyline. For those who don’t, bodyline was a tactic employed by the English captain Douglas Jardine especially to counter the free flowing Bradman. When England last toured Australia, Bradman amassed 974 runs at an average of 139.14, still the record for the most runs in a series.

Jardine felt something should be done, and he came up with his tactic of bodyline, a tactic that shamed the game forever. In a nutshell, the England bowlers attacked the batsmen’s body and head keeping all fielders on the leg side, which meant that, in an attempt to protect themselves, Australian players had to play the ball and get caught.

The first Test was a resounding success as the English team won the match by a huge margin. The Don had not played that match due to being ill, though Jardine claimed it was because he was afraid.

Australia, who chose to bat, scored 228 taking several blows; to make matters worse, Bradman got out on a first ball duck, to a non-bodyline ball. England could only manage 169, thanks mainly to the wrecker-in-chief Billy O’ Reilly.

In the second essay, Bradman proved his worth in adverse circumstances, scoring 103 in an innings in which no one else could manage more than 32 (only 3 others managed double figures). He cut, pulled, took some on the body, but played the innings of a lifetime, propelling his team to 191.

O’Reilly again took 5, and Australia went on to complete a famous victory, the only one in the series they lost 4-1. An interesting thing worth a mention is that the Australian captain Woodfull refused to employ the same tactic, thereby proving he held the game in higher regard than just a series.

A host of changes took place after that match, and, as we know today, only 2 fielders are allowed behind the umpire in any form of the game.

#1 270 v England, 1937, MCG

This is ranked as the #1 Innings of all time by the Wisden Cricket Almanack, so it has to be his best in my compilation, as well. Australia ended the first day on a lifeless pitch at 130 for the loss of 6 wickets, a commendable effort by England after Bradman won the toss and chose to bat.

Rain completely spoiled the pitch (they were not covered then), and this lead to 13 wickets falling in three hours. A testament to the bad pitch was that Australia declared at 200/9, which is rare considering that it was a ‘timeless Test’.

An even bigger testament to the nature of the pitch was when England declared their innings at a score less than a 100. Yes, England declared at 76/9, leaving Australia with the task of playing on the mud ball.

The genius of Bradman as a captain is exuded here. Seeing that it had rained on the third day, as well, he sent in his night-watchmen ahead of the batsmen, and they provided whatever help they could. In any case, the score read a tottering 97/5 when he came in to bat. What followed was one of the most scintillating innings of all time. On a pitch where other batsmen could not lay bat or ball, he scored a fine 270, defying ever law of physics, averages, whatever you name it. Australia eventually went on to win that match, solely on the back of that knock. The best part? He was extremely ill, suffering from high fever and influenza. The scorecard can be viewed here