The sport of cricket has seen several artists, who have painted the canvas with the best of shapes and brightest of colours. Several greats have come and gone but one name has stayed above all, not just by the sheer weight of statistics but due to an enduring legacy of greatness.
Sir Donald Bradman, born 27th August 1908, is widely considered the greatest batsman or rather cricketer to have ever stepped on to the field. A colossal figure in Australian cricket, Bradman played a huge part in the Australia’s rise as a super power in the sport, first as a player & captain and then as an administrator. His career batting average of 99.94 in Test cricket will surely be never broken and stories of his dexterity with a bat in hand have been treasured for posterity.
Of all the great batsmen who played the game, the one man who got the greatest complimented of being compared to the Don, by the way he dominated the sport is Indian genius Sachin Tendulkar. The former India captain and batting talisman was invited by Bradman to his house along with Aussie spin legend Shane Warne during India’s tour of Australia in 1998-99.
Tendulkar, who retired from the sport in 2013 with almost all records to his name except Bradman’s highest Test batting average, took to Twitter on Tuesday on the occasion of Bradman’s 111th birth anniversary. Tendulkar wrote, “A lot of people remember Sir Don Bradman for his extraordinary batting; I remember him more for his graciousness and sense of humour that I experienced when I had the privilege of spending some time with him in 1998.”
A lot of people remember Sir Don Bradman for his extraordinary batting; I remember him more for his graciousness and sense of humour that I experienced when I had the privilege of spending some time with him in 1998.
“I saw him playing on television and was struck by his technique, so I asked my wife to come look at him. Now I never saw myself play, but I feel that this player is playing much the same as I used to play, and she looked at him on Television and said yes, there is a similarity between the two… his compactness, technique, stroke production… it all seemed to gel,” Bradman told about Tendulkar’s similarity with himself.
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