THE MAGIC OF BRADMAN

Northern Advocate, 19 May 1934, Page 2

THE MAGIC OF BRADMAN

A GENIUS OF THE BAT.

ENGLISH WRITER’S TRIBUTE

The whiff of noriPonse that now ami then came across the air from Loudon to ihe effect Hint Don Bradman looked aged and was carrying thr* w'eighr of tlie world on his shapely shoulders, has annoyed a reader of the “Referee” who signs himself “ Micawber, ” though "why ho does po one knows not. He adds, “Why can’t they give us cricket news instead of bunk like this. They are always criticising Bradman — ho uses a crooked bat; lie lias no style; he done not drive; he runs awav from fast bowling, etc. Can you tell

me of any reputable English writer who has not criticised the biggest scoring batsman England, has ever seen?’’ Why get annoyed over sm-h a thing? England is lull of cricket critics who have hulled out; the highest praise and appreciation of Bradman’s batting. His genius is acknowledged there quite

as unstintedly as it is in Australia. When Australia had her hours of triumph at Lord's in 1930 Hie English writer, Robert Lynd, in “it's a Pine World,’’ wrote; “When Bradman came out of the pavilion with his bat you could have guessed that he wap a man of genius, oven if yon had never hoard of him. Or, at least you could have guessed that he had an individuality out of the common. There avms character GA'on in the sot of Ins cap, and in the Avay his collar was turned up. I .see that one authority declares that Bradman is a craftsman rather than an artist, but, though as a rule I lioav to authority in such matters, no one Avill ever convince me that anyone but a great artist could afford such delight to the inexpert with his strokes. “In the occasional cricket that I have peon I have never seen a batsman whoso play seemed to mo to be more astonishingly delightful than his except Macartney. Bradman lias not the all but 'ballot dancer’s grace of action that Macartney had, but Avhat an artist this little light-haired man is in the force and vasiety of his strokes. He lias all the daring of a slogger Avith a deadly skill that makes it safe for him to treat, a great player’s bowling as if it wore a schoolboy's. Even the best collection, of ticklers when lie its batting arc no longer a scarcely passable barrier, but he sees a hundred lanes through them, along one of

Avhich he can flash a ball to the boun darv.

“ . . . Batting like this is something outside partisanship. It is a spectacle such as one cannot expect to see often in a life time. Bowler after lioavler was tried against him; he made most of them look ordinary, and Woolley looked comic. He exhausted the

bowlers; lie exhausted the fielders, whom he kept on a perpetual nm; rm exhausted hinivmlf, so tliat when AVoodJ'ull was stumped, lie sank over his bat like an oarsman who has collapsed aft or a ram'. “tbit lie did not exhaust the spectn.tors. 'l'lioy asked for nothing belter than (hat this should go on for ever. . ... “They had seen a master in ihe hour of inspiration They had been the privileged, spectator.' of an innings they knew in their hearts would live in the history of the game.’’ “Alicawber,” on reading the above, may soothe his perturbed feelings. Why worry about stmli trices! Kiigdish lovers of cricket are quite as prone, as we are, to admire greatness in a, ] 1 1 a ver. ttave not linglishmen given K. If. Spofforth an even higher bowling; place in the history of (he game than some Australians would give him.’ Have not Knglishmen placed d. .M. Hlarkham as wicket-keeper on the highest pedestal possible in that special department of the game.’ Have not Jfngli hinen sung the ■praises o) Vidor Trnmper as joyously a.s these have been enng in his own country.’ Air b’oberl kynd, we may believe, never had I im felicity of seeing I rum per in his matchless moods, other-

wise he would have iiK'iitioiiccl him in tin’ reference to Bradman and Macartney. Cricketers of the standing of these men and W. G. Grace, Rnnjitsinhji, J. R. llolihi-', belong to Cricket. This means lhat their nonius is universally admired. There is no boundary to the (Irace-Trumper-Rradman influence.