Ruthless post-war Don

A new book by Malcolm Knox shows the ruthlessness of Bradman after the war when players from both England and Australia put cricket into perspective as just a game. Some of the reasons behind the antipathy between Miller and Bradman are explored.

The extract makes for interesting reading.

http://www.smh.com.au/sport/cricket/captain-invincible-the-war-bradman-was-determined-to-win-20120922-26dij.html

I hope he wasn't rootless as well.

Keith Miller certainly wasn't.

Very interesting article.

Also fuels Red's DB hate - second only to SA.

Brass Monkey wrote:Very interesting article.

Also fuels Red's DB hate - second only to SA.

Rubbish, I don't hate it. I think he's an astonishing individual as well as batsman.

That's not what I heard.

There must have been a delightful atmosphere in the Aus dressing room in those days. Kind of puts the KP saga in perspective.

I found the extract from the book to be rather ludicrous as well as inaccurate. The 2-day 'Test' which took place at Wellington in March 1946 where the Australian side was captained by Bill Brown was never intended to be a full international and was only given Test status 2 years later after pressure from the New Zealand board. It certainly was not intended to mark the resumption of Test cricket after the war in the Antipodes - that had been reserved for the England touring team which had been asked to tour for that reason (had England kept to their pre-war cycle of tours they would not have toured Australia and New Zealand until 1948-9)

Despite New Zealand being given Test status in 1930 Australia had never played a Test against New Zealand and regular Test series between the two did not begin until 1973-4. The fact that New Zealand were bowled out for 42 and 54 on a rain-affected wicket showed that New Zealand was a long way behind the standard of Test cricket played by england, Australia and South Africa.

Also the idea that England players such as Hammond, Hutton, Compton and Bill Edrich were citizens engaged in a socialist experiment is risible in the extreme. All of them were dyed-in-the-wool true blue Conservatives and remained so throughout their lives and regarded the advent of the first majority Labour Government (even with a cricket-loving Prime Minister) as a total disaster.

Hutton was Chairman of the Conservative Association in Pudsey, Yorkshire which returned a Conservative MP even in 1945 defeating the Labour candidate, Major Denis Healey. As far as "the spirit of the game" is concerned Bradman, on his last tour, was feted by the British public in 1948 like no other visiting sportsman has been before or since. The gates were shut at every game the "Invincibles" appeared before play started.

Bradman was even invited to spend a weekend with the Royal Family at Balmoral (where he attracted much criticism by being photographed talking to George VI with his hands in his pockets). Although the play was competitive there is no suggestion it was unfair. Sledging was unheard of and would have been dealt with harshly by Bradman had it existed. When Bradman appeared at The Oval to play his final Test innings, the England captain, Norman Yardley, called his team together to give his opposite number three cheers before he commenced his innings.

Miller and Compton had formed a close friendship from playing first-class cricket together in India where both were stationed during the war. The 1948 tour deepened not only the friendship but also the mutual admiration and respect both men had for each other which proved lifelong.