Bradman Opens His Account

Southland Times, Issue 23497, 2 May 1938, Page 6

Bradman Opens His Account

Twelve days ago Don Bradman was bowled middle stump by a 16-year-old boy, a member of the ground staff at Lord’s. The excitement which this mischance of the nets generated in England, communicating itself even to leader-writers, may be taken as a fair measure of the hold which Bradman has on the public imagination. The News Chronicle went so far as to speak in terms of David and Goliath; and although the leader-writer was probably given due credit for his note of raillery, he may also have, raised secret hopes that there might be some truth in the comparison, or at least enough to suggest that Bradman might be at the beginning of an off-season. But Goliath is on his feet again. In the first match of the tour, at Worcester, he has knocked up 258 runs, play-

ing a “faultless innings”, and bagging 32 fours. Such sudden brilliance will deepen the gloom of those English critics who persist in thinking of the Australians as “Bradman and the rest.” They will ask themselves what incredible things may be expected from. Bradman later in the season, if he begins without preliminary hesitations and gropings after form. Others may claim, more hopefully, that it is too good to last, and that if Bradman runs through a series of double-century innings in the early stages of the tour he is bound to be stale before the first Test is played. Only Bradman will remain beyond these cricket speculations. As likely as not he will have a poor innings next time he goes out to bat. He is too old a campaigner to wear himself out in search of record figures for the tour, and he will know just how much significance to give to this initial performance. But lie is still the wonder of the cricketing world, and every innings will be scanned for signs of what is to come. And the rest of the world, thinking in terms of figures rather than of cricket, will wait for more news, expecting marvels.