Don bradman died

Don Bradman

Australian cricketer (1908–2001)

"Bradman" redirects here. For other uses, see Bradman (disambiguation) and Don Bradman (disambiguation).

The Don: The Definitive Biography of Sir Donald Bradman - Softcover

Review

Anyone who knows anything about Don Bradman will repeat by rote the most famous statistic in cricket: that his batting average stood at 99.94 when he chose to end his Test career. But that is all they are likely to know. "The most gentlemanly, polite, ruthless and efficient sporting dominator who ever lived" (in the words of one opponent), is also one of the most enigmatic characters. Viciously protective of his privacy, few have been granted an audience with The Don. Accounts of his life have perforce read like little more than statistical overload.

But at last there is credence in an author's claims to have produced the "Definitive Biography" of The Don. Authoritative and comprehensive, yes. But insightful too. From the Bowral boy whose ambition was to represent New South Wales, to Test match record breaker, to nonagenarian recluse, Bradman is painted above all as a human being. Most important of all, the tone is of the writer, not the statistician.

With exclusive and rare access to the Don in researc

Bradman's Biography

The Bowral wonder

Donald George Bradman was born in Cootamundra on 27 August 1908, the youngest of the five children of George and Emily Bradman of Yeo Yeo, a small farming community near Cootamundra in New South Wales.

Early in 1911, the family moved into a small weatherboard house in Shepherd Street, Bowral, 132 kilometres south of Sydney. George Bradman worked as a carpenter in the local joinery and young Donald's brother Victor and sisters Islet, Lilian and Elizabeth May attended local schools. By the time World War One had erupted, Donald was more occupied with school, choir practice and learning the piano than with international events.

But there was no organised sport for a six-year-old and he had to content himself with watching schoolyard cricket through a gate in a fence that divided the Bowral primary and high schools. At home, he invented his own one-man cricket game using a stump and a golf ball. A water tank stood on a brick stand behind the Bradman home on a covered and paved area. The ball rebounded from the curved brick stand at high

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Sir

Don Bradman

AC

Don Bradman, c. 1930

Born(1908-08-27)27 August 1908
Cootamundra, New South Wales, Australia
Died25 February 2001(2001-02-25) (aged 92)
Kensington Park, South Australia
AllegianceAustralia
Branch/serviceRoyal Australian Air Force
Australian Army
Years of service1940–1941
RankLieutenant
UnitArmy School of Physical Training
Battles/warsSecond World War
Full name

Donald George Bradman

Nickname
Height1.70[1][2] m (5 ft 7 in)
BattingRight-handed
BowlingRight-arm leg break
RoleBatsman
Relations
  • 2 children, including John
  • 3 grandchildren, including Greta
National side
Test debut (cap 124)30 November 1928 v England
Last Test18 August 1948 v England
YearsTeam
1927/28–1933/34New South Wales
1935/36–1948/49South Australia