During his career, there were many controversies involving Australian cricketer Sir Donald Bradman (1908–2001).
During his playing career Bradman made a rapid rise from playing cricket for his hometown of Bowral in the southern highlands of New South Wales. Aged 19, he made a first-class debut for the NSW team in 1927–28 and first earned selection for the Australian Test side during the Ashes series of 1928–29. A score of 112 in the second innings of the third Test at Melbourne made him the youngest player to score a Test century.Record later broken. However, it was his performances during the 1930 Ashes series that first set him apart from his contemporaries. He broke myriad records (many of which still stand) in scoring 974 runs at an average of 139.
Aloofness from teammates Bradman had a quiet, solitary off-field demeanour that first drew comment during his performances on the 1930 tour of England. Melbourne journalist Geoffrey Tebbutt, described Bradman's aloofness from his teammatesEason (2004), p 314. in his subsequent book about the tour.With the 1930 Australians, published by Hodder and Stoughton in 1930. He described Bradman's usual routine after play – Bradman would retire to his hotel room, write and listen to a phonograph. After scoring a world record of 334 runs in the Test match at Leeds, Bradman was given a cheque for £1000 – £75,000 today – by an admiring expatriate Australian businessman. Tebbutt wrote that Bradman had not even offered to buy his teammates a round of drinks, let alone share the money.
His exploits in England made him a national hero in Australia, and he received an overwhelming reception when he returned home. Bradman left his teammates on board their ship at Fremantle to attend welcoming functions in Adelaide, Melbourne, Goulburn, his hometown Bowral and Sydney, all organised by his employers. In Sydney, he received a brand new custom-built Chevrolet. The receptions and the level of adulation from the media and the public "embarrassed" him.Williams (1996), p 67.
Naturally, this type of focus on an individual in a team game had ramifications. Adding to the criticism offered by Tebbutt, the Australian vice-captain Vic Richardson commented that, "we could have played any team without Bradman, but we could not have played the blind school without [leg spin bowler] Clarrie Grimmett".Harte (1993), p 327.
Disputes with administrators Bradman spent much of his solitary time on the tour writing as he had sold the rights to a book. Serialised in London's The Star during August, Don Bradman's Book was published in November 1930. It was a modest work of 50,000 words with a few pages of tips as an appendix.Page (1983), p 110. The Board of Control ruled that the serialised extracts of his book were a technical breach of his tour contract, which banned players from writing about the game.Harte (1993), p 328. The dispute was widely covered by the press, most of which was supportive of Bradman. However, he was fined £50 for the misdemeanour on 29 December 1930.Page (1993), p 119.
Proposal to play professional cricket In the spring of 1931, Bradman seriously contemplated playing professional cricket in England with the Lancashire League club Accrington.Bradman (1950), pp 44–46. The media in England and Australia hotly debated the consequences of a move that would end Bradman's Test career.Page (1983), pp 129–141. Bradman was advised by the Board of Control that if he played cricket in England in 1932, it would be another breach of his 1930 tour contract and therefore he would not be considered for Test selection if he went ahead with the deal. Public opinion divided: Australian cricket could not afford to lose him and some thought he was selling his birthright, but at the height of the Depression, working-class people empathised with Bradman. The opportunity to earn over £1000 per annum was very tempting to a young man without a profession.Williams (1996), p 77.
Eventually, a consortium of three Sydney businesses offered an alternative. They devised a two-year contract whereby Bradman would write for Associated Newspapers, broadcast regularly on Radio 2UE and promote the menswear retailing chain FJ Palmer and Son.Page (1983), p 140–141. The contract was substantially less than the money on offer from Accrington, and it would increase Bradman's dependence on his public profile,Williams (1996), p 78. thus making it more difficult to lead the private life that he desired. In addition, writing for the newspapers would again bring him into conflict with the administrators.
The Australian Board of Control refused permission for him to write about the 1932–33 series for the press, claiming that only "professional" journalists (such as Jack Fingleton) were entitled to do so under the Board's rules. This led to open confrontation: Bradman was adamant that he would honour his writing contract. If necessary, he would write and not play. The impasse resolved when the editorial chief of Associated Newspapers, RC Packer (grandfather of Kerry Packer) agreed to release him from the obligation.
Bodyline
Bradman's prolific run-making tested the minds of his opposition. The conundrum bedevilled English minds during preparations for their next tour of Australia. London's News Chronicle summed up the prevailing sentiment:As long as Australia has Bradman she will be invincible...To keep alive the competitive spirit, the authorities might take a hint from billiards. It is almost time to request a legal limit on the number of runs Bradman should be allowed to make.Harte (1993), p 327. The rules of English billiards were changed due to the prodigious breaks of Australian Walter Lindrum whose biography can be accessed hereEx-England player Percy Fender wrote, "something new will have to be introduced to curb Bradman ... [something] along the lines of theory".Frith (2002), p 40. Fender's successor as captain of Surrey was the amateur batsman Douglas Jardine, who had shared Fender's tribulations in finding a way to subdue Bradman. "Plum" Warner was an influential voice within the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), the club that administered English cricket at the time.Frith (2002), pp 40–41. Warner opined that, "England must evolve a new type of bowler and develop fresh ideas and strange tactics to curb his almost uncanny skill".Frith (2002), p 41. Warner orchestrated the appointment of Jardine as England captain in 1931, with a view to him leading the tour to Australia. Warner accompanied the team as manager.
Encouraged by the perception that Bradman struggled against bouncers on a lively pitch during his 232 at The Oval, Jardine began gathering information from players such as Frank Foster who employed "leg theory" in English cricket. Jardine's innovation was to combine traditional leg theory with short-pitched bowling that bounced more alarmingly on harder Australian pitches. He settled on the Notts fast bowlers Harold Larwood and Bill Voce as the spearheads for his tactics during a meeting with the duo's county captain, Arthur Carr. In support, the England selectors chose another three pacemen for the squad. The unusually high number of fast bowlers caused a lot of comment in both countries and Bradman himself suspected a virulent intent.
Bradman had several problems to deal with at this time, he was suffering random bouts of illness from an undiagnosed malaise,Bradman (1950), p 60. while the dispute over his newspaper contract was being resolved. He faced the English in three first-class games before the Tests, and in six innings averaged just 17.16. Jardine decided to trial their new tactics in only one game, a fixture against an Australian XI at Melbourne. In this match, Bradman faced the leg theory and looked uncomfortable in losing his wicket twice to Larwood. Later, Bradman sought out some local administrators and warned of trouble brewing if the leg theory continued.
Ill-health forced Bradman to withdraw from the first Test at Sydney, and a rumour circulated that he had suffered a nervous breakdown. In his absence, England persisted with bowling Bodyline (as it was now dubbed) and won an ill-tempered match despite a heroic century from Stan McCabe.
Included as a replacement for Alan Kippax, Bradman walked to the crease on the first day of the second Test at the MCG with the score at 2/67. A world record crowd of 63,993 provided a standing ovation that delayed play for several minutes.Williams (1996), pp 97–98. Anticipating the bouncer first ball, Bradman moved across to play the hook shot, but the ball failed to rise and he dragged it onto his stumps, making his initial first-ball duck in a Test. The crowd fell into stunned silence as he walked off.
Australia took a first-innings lead in the match, and another record crowd on turned out on 2 January 1933 to watch Bradman hit a counter-attacking second innings century. His unbeaten 103 (from 146 balls) in a team total of 191 helped set England a target of 251 to win. Bill O'Reilly and Bert Ironmonger bowled Australia to a series-levelling victory amid hopes that Bodyline was beaten.
The third Test at Adelaide Oval proved pivotal. Angry crowd scenes occurred after the Australian skipper Bill Woodfull and wicketkeeper Bert Oldfield were hit by bouncers. An apologetic Plum Warner entered the Australian dressing room and was rebuked by Woodfull. The Board of Control, in a cable to the MCC, repeated the allegation of poor sportsmanship directed at Warner by Woodfull. Furious that a private conversation in the dressing room made the newspapers, Warner blamed Jack Fingleton for what he considered to be a breach of ethics. In turn, Fingleton believed Bradman responsible, a claim Bradman always denied. This incident led to a major falling-out between the two. Fingleton was dropped after scoring a pair in the match and subsequently omitted from the 1934 tour of England. He blamed Bradman for these setbacks.
England continued with Bodyline despite Australian protests, and with the support of the MCC. The tourists won the last three Tests convincingly and regained the Ashes. Bradman caused controversy with his own tactics. Always seeking to score, he often backed away and hit the ball into the vacant half of the outfield with unorthodox shots reminiscent of tennis or golf.Williams (1996), p 99. This brought him 396 runs (at 56.57) for the series and plaudits for seeking an answer to playing Bodyline. However, others thought it proved the theory that he did not handle the short ball very well. Jack Fingleton was in no doubt that Bradman's game altered irrevocably as a consequence, writing:Bodyline was specially prepared, nurtured for and expended on him and, in consequence, his technique underwent a change quicker than might have been the case with the passage of time. Bodyline plucked something vibrant from his art.Fingleton (1949), p 198.
Captaincy problems There was off-field intrigue in Australian cricket during 1935. Australia, scheduled to make its first full tour of South Africa the following summer,Australia had toured South Africa and played three Tests in 1902 and 1921. On both occasions the visits were made on the way home from a tour of England. The 1935–36 series constituted five Tests. needed to replace the retired Bill Woodfull as captain. The Board of Control wanted Bradman to lead the team.Bradman (1950), p 94. However, on 8 August 1935, the Board announced that Bradman was unfit and that he was withdrawing from the squad;Harte (1993), p 360. yet he led the South Australia team in a full programme of matches in the absence of the Australian players.Bradman (1950), pp 94–97. Vic Richardson, who Bradman replaced as SA captain, was made Test captain, even though his form did not warrant a place in the Australian team.Richardson had not played for Australia since the 1932–33 Ashes series, at which point his record in 14 Tests was 622 runs at 24.88. Against South Africa, he made 84 runs in five innings. .