Young Bradman

66 New South Wales out to Grimmett, slipped and missed, ‘but the ball broke past the wicket- keeper for three byes’. Bradman was caught (and stumped) off Grimmett, for 73 in roughly as many minutes, out of 127. ‘Clarrie had taught me yet another lesson,’ Bradman wrote in his 1930 serial. As another sign of his keen fielding, in South Australia’s second innings he tried to cut off a legside stroke by Vic Richardson on the fence with his foot, slithered yards along the turf, ‘and bounced to his feet as if he was on springs’. When Kippax asked him to bowl instead of Mailey, Bradman showed his right forearm, and left the field to have it bandaged. Though South Australia resisted for five hours – the longest innings of the match – New South Wales won by 118 runs, their first outright Sheffield Shield win in five matches. An intriguing part of the match for Bradman only had its upshot five years later. Jack Scott, presumably angry after Bradman’s throw had embarrassed him, ‘whizzed short ones over Bradman’s head and once cracked the youngster, who has the habit of moving away when making his strokes on the leg’. Jardine would see the same thing in 1930, and planned bodyline to exploit it. Bradman had evidently forgotten that ‘crack’ when he gave Steve Waugh the impression he was too good to be hit. Bradman like some others had played Sheffield Shield cricket nearly solid for three weeks. While Percy Westbrook made none of those 275 runs of Bradman’s in eight innings, without an understanding employer, Bradman would have made fewer, or none. By contrast the state sent Bill O’Reilly to teach in Griffiths, 360 miles away; ‘his opportunities will now be limited’, The Referee reported. He would not play first-class cricket again for almost four years. Before the final Shield match of the season, at home to the title winners Victoria, Oldfield covered Bradman at some length in a review of the season in the Herald . He too noted the way Bradman did things, as much as what he did; his coolness and self-confidence when batting, and anticipation in the field. Charles Kelleway, meanwhile, praised Bradman’s hard work in the field as an example for others to follow. Oldfield even used two magic words: ‘If he continues to improve as during this year I would not be at all surprised to see him playing Test cricket very soon.’ Even so, Oldfield rated Bradman behind the ‘certainties’ of Ponsford and Woodfull as openers, and Kippax and Jackson. If you added the more experienced Jack Ryder, Charles Kelleway and ‘Stork’ Hendry, who all started in Australia’s next Test ten months later, it was hard to see where Bradman could fit. By averaging 34 for his state he was showing promise; still less than Jackson (305 runs in seven innings, average 44). Bradman missed the two Saturdays of grade cricket because of his grazed arm. When Kippax won the toss against Victoria and batted, Bradman again had to wait hours as the next man to bat, as Kippax and Morgan added 245. Bradman was on seven ‘when he ran out to Blackie and missed. The Bowral boy seemed to have made up his mind before the ball left the bowler’s hand.’ If so, had Bradman really learned first time?