It's the 113th birth anniversary of arguably the greatest cricketer of all time.
Sir Don Bradman is regarded by many cricket connoisseurs as the greatest cricketer of all time. There haven't been many cricketers who can compete with the legend for the honour. He is synonymous with cricket ever since he embraced the game.
He was undoubtedly the most dominant batsman of his time, and arguably of all time. He used to score runs for fun. In his illustrious career, he scored 6996 runs in 80 innings at an average of 99.94, which is simply outstanding when compared to any other cricketer.
Here are the 10 reasons what make him arguably the greatest cricketer of all time.
Highest career batting average.
The first thing that strikes to one's mind, when one hears about Don Bradman is his batting average. An average of 99.94 is simply out of world, and Bradman is miles ahead of any other cricketer in the world in this aspect.
The second best in the list starts around 62, which depicts the total domination the legend has had in the game over the years. It takes some sensational level of batsmanship if one has to surpass such a record.
Most runs in a day's play.
His performance in Ashes 1930 was one of the best in the history of cricket. In the same series, Bradman had scored 309 runs in a single day of the test, which is the most for a batsman in tests.
It's a great achievement for any batsman in the world. But for a 21-year old to do that against a quality side in their own backyard, showed what legends do.
(Don Bradman's 309 in a day at Leeds)
Image courtesy - Sportskeeda.
Fastest to multiple of 1000 runs.
Don Bradman was the fastest to reach 1000 runs in terms of the number of tests (7).
He was also the quickest to reach 2000, 3000, 4000, 5000 and 6000 runs in tests. It just shows how incredible his scoring ability was. He reached the milestones in 22 innings, 33 innings, 48 innings, 56 innings and 68 innings respectively.
Most runs in a series.
It was in 1930 when Australia toured England for the Ashes series. Don Bradman was simply at his absolute best and scored runs for fun. He scored 974 runs in 5 tests, which is the highest for a batsman in a test series.
The record is intact till date. It's been 92 years since then and very few came close to breaking it, but in vain. This too, is one of the most toughest record that could be broken in cricket.
(Bradman in Ashes 1930 scored 974 runs)
Image courtesy - Cricket Country.
Hundreds in consecutive matches.
He has the record of scoring most hundreds in consecutive matches. He did for 6 tests in a row. The streak started from 1st January 1937 from the famous Melbourne test and continued till 22nd July 1938 of Leeds test.
It shows the level of consistency he used to maintain in his playing days. In the period, he managed to score at least a hundred in every match he played. He also achieved a test rating of 961, which is the highest for a batsman till date.
Most runs in a series as captain.
It was the Ashes series in 1936/37 when Don Bradman took over the captaincy of Australia. The period was bad for Bradman due to many reasons. But he overcame them all in a dramatic way to score 810 runs in the series.
It's the most runs scored by a batsman as a captain in a test series till date. The fact that he did it in his very first series as captain is amazing. Though many came close to breaking it, none could eventually break it.
Highest individual score at no.7 in tests.
It was the third test at Melbourne in Ashes 1936/37. It was the first ever series for Bradman as a captain. Australia had lost the first two tests and had to win at Melbourne to stay alive in the series. On a tough wicket, Bradman shined both as a batsman and as a captain.
As the pitch was tough to bat on and both the teams had been dismissed for paltry scores in their first innings, Don Bradman reversed the batting order of Australia and came in to bat at 97/5.
He played a knock one for the ages and not just revived Australian innings, but also scored 270 runs, all around the park, and helped Australia post 564 on the board. Australia eventually won the match and the series. His 270 is rated the best test innings by Wisden. His 270 is the highest individual score for a batsman at no.7.
(Wagon wheel of his epic 270)
Image courtesy - Cricket Country.
Most hundreds against an opponent.
He had an outstanding knack of scoring runs. Most of them came against England. Australia and England were the two competitive sides back then and the Ashes series between them had great history.
Don Bradman scored a total of 19 hundreds against England, which is the highest for a batsman against a single opponent in tests.
Lead with example.
He was one of those batsmen whose batsmanship didn't get affected with the pressure of captaincy. He captained Australia in 24 tests between 1937 to 1948, of which Australia lost only two tests (his first two as a captain) and lost no series.
He won all the 4 series as a captain, which also shows that he was a great captain. In the 24 tests as a captain, he averaged 101.51, which is the highest for a captain in tests.
Impact in wins.
He was one of the most impactful batsman in team's wins.
Out of the 30 tests Australia won in Bradman's presence, he scored 4813 runs. 23 hundreds came in the cause, which is the third most for a batsman. It came at an average of whopping 130.08, which is the highest for a batsman.
(A legend in all facets of the game)
Image courtesy - Sky sports.
These are some of the incredible records of the great man. There are many more such records, which are hard to imagine, hard to be broken. The legacy of the man would be continued forever.
