HOME AGAIN.

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 20085, 14 November 1930, Page 23

HOME AGAIN.

AUSTRALIAN CRICKETERS. bradman>>s breakaway. (r&oii oiss, owar coRSBSPOKBEir*.) SYDNEY, November 6. The great team spirit which, every on" aarons, wmi fnr tlx* Australian cricketers the Ashes, has not been quite so marked since the team's triumphant return to But there has been onlv one breakaway, that of the hero of the side, Don Bradman, holder of more cricket records than it is possible to count qn the fingers of both'hands. It seims to be universally regretted that the Board of Control, at the request of private firms that were interested in publicity should have permitted Bradman to leave the team immediately it reached Fremantle, and from then on to be treated as a man apart from the rest Ytft such has'been the case, for since he reached those shores, Bradman has been in the control of a private motor firm, wh' /r. -V Sydney this week presented hin: vith a new model car. This company nas arranged everything for him, and it is even suggested in a cruelly sarcastic way that a representative of the company has seen him safely to bed each night, tucked him lip. as it were. The cricket authorities have played no pari in his receptions, which have lacked nothing in enthusiasm as far as the public is concerned. Bradman himself _ provided a commentary on his separation from' other members of the Australian. XI. when he broadcasted a talk from a 'Melbourne wireless station soon after he had reached that city by aeroplane, the rest of the team being then on the water. It had been stated that officially cricket heads would not take part in the reception at the aerodrome. Evidently this proved to be the for at the end of his address Bradman appealed to the secretary of the Victorian Cricket Association to get into touch with him by telephone. Bradman said that irom the time of his arrival ,in Melbourne he had been endeavouring to find the secretary, but he had failed. If he was listening in, would he pleaso ring the station? As the broadcast had been arranged bv the motor company, it was doubtful whether the secretary was listening. Tor the Unemployed. Bradman evidently sensed the public feeling, for during the broadcast he was at great pains to explain he had acted as he had done for the benefit of the unemployed. He said that the motor company had imported only five models of the car that was presented to him. Hour of these had been presented to tho Lord Mayors of the capitals of Australia, and were to be raffled for the benefit of the unemployed. His anxiety was to help that cause, and he appealed to everybody to purchase tickets in the art unions that had been planned. Bradman's main reception in Sydney last night was privately arranged by the motor company, and a charge was made for admission to the Town Hall, the total funds to eo for the unemployed. The firm by which Bradman is employed in Sydney—dealers in sporting goods "—said that it was in full accord with what was being done. This has led to th« Biiee«Ktinn' thnt th« whnln thing flavours of commercialisation of sport —and the . commercialisation of success in sport. Officially Bradman's teammates have nothing to . say about tho breakaway, and while not begrudging Bradman any of the honours he has received they have made it plain that in their opinion "this sort of thing" is not in the interest of cricket. The manager of the team has said that Bradman "was taken out of his hands by the Board■ o£ Control," and he has- hinted that' he is going to protest. A Cordial Welcome. All this notwithstanding Bradman and the rest of the team have had a wonderful' r&ception, and they were sorry when the time came for breaking up tho* Party at Melbourne on Monday. They - have been an- exceedingly happy • crowd, and the tributes they have, paid _ to the' captain have been remarkable.' Woodfull is regarded as the greatest captain sin Australian team in England has ever' had, and that saying a great deal. However, he is given" credit for nioulding the side into a team that was capable,of doing the thing that was least expected of it when it sailed—winning the Ashes. "The chic# reason for our success was the fine team spirit," said Woodfull. "The players never mentioned one State against the other.' It y was an Australian team only. It was noticeable when a played had a particularly lean time, immediately' he gained success he was congratulated much more heartily than perhaps those who had had a phenomenal rah.'' " It should be said in fairness to Bradman that he, too, has emphasised that it was the team spirit that won the Ashes. Ho has not addressed the people .in any boastful spirit. In fact,-in all his speeches he has praised < the other members of the, team, and. he has said very . little about himself. t His praise of Woodfull has been unstinted,, and he has nothing but praise for the;team mates. It is quite clear that he; has re_ turned unspoiled by his phenomenal .success, and maybe what'has happened was in a way forced upon him. . Perhaps it was' undertaken unthinkingly. Anyway he is still a popular herp, as he deserves to be, for after all he hss really done nothing to detract from his wonderful record. And when -he. reappears on the Sydney Cricket Ground _ tomorrow, in the second Sheffield Shield matcii of the season, he is bound ■to receive a sincere ovation. ■ A week later all the Test team will gather again for j the Byder benefit match in Melbourne against The' Best. ! j