How we’re coping without live cricket. This week, we’re watching Bradman

Hemant Brar23-Mar-2020What We’re Watching, our writers are living off YouTube while there’s no live cricket on. First up, it’s all about the greatest of them all, Don Bradman.The Bradman drive, the Bradman pull
Last month, the only known colour footage of Bradman batting came to light, but there’s no shortage of black-and-white clips. To start with, here’s a masterclass in which he demonstrates how to play various shots, bookended by extended footage of the great man batting in the middle.Seeing it like a golf ball
Here he re-enacts the famous water tank, golf ball and stump routine that helped him sharpen his reflexes and hand-eye coordination. You could try it too, perhaps, to pass your time while social-distancing. Bonus: how Steve Waugh and Steven Smith fared when they tried it.309 in a day
Would Bradman’s technique work today? Would he be able to score as quickly as some modern greats? Well, he once scored 309 on the opening day of a Test match, against England at Headingley in 1930. Over rates were much higher back then, and according to cricket statistician Charles Davis, England sent down 134 of them that day, but 334 off 448 balls at a strike rate of almost 75 is incredible even by today’s standards. Bodyline
Bradman scored a record 974 runs at an average of 139.14 in that 1930 series. In the next Ashes series, in Australia in 1932-33, England captain Douglas Jardine devised Bodyline to stop Bradman. The Don ended the series with an average of 56.57 across eight innings. Years later, Bradman recounted how he tried to deal with the short stuff, what extra protective equipment he used, and how many times he was hit.Kelly’s Bradman
As we all know, Bradman finished with a Test average of 99.94, and fans kept singing his praises long after he retired. Literally. One such song, released in 1987, is Paul Kelly’s “Bradman”, a heartfelt tribute to a man who was “more than just a batsman, he was something like a tide”.For more such curated YouTube playlists, click here.