Bradman goes on the attack over sledging

The natural reaction of anyone with knowledge of Sir Donald Bradman`s career at the news that he has subjected himself to a full-length exposure on television must be one of surprise. For, paradoxically, though he has received more publicity than any cricketer before or since he burst on the scene in England in 1930, he has always striven to guard his privacy and has resisted every inducement to be interviewed on television. I dare say he has not acceded to so expansive a media interview since the one which led the front page of The Daily Telegraph after the 1946-47 MCC tour of Australia.

The reason for his change of heart is the wish to refresh the funds of the Foundation Trust set up in the 1980s with handsome contributions from the New South Wales Government and the New Zealand philanthropist Sir Ron Brierley, and thus to preserve for posterity the Bradman museum at Bowral. Don`s intention was and is to leave a lasting legacy to cricket and its impact on Australian culture in the home of his boyhood, as well as to provide scholarships for young crick- eters.

This object may well have been secured by the deal with Kerry Packer`s Channel 9, said to be worth A$1 million (#530,000). The Don does not deal in small measures.

The strongest comment as reported from Sydney was his condemna- tion of "sledging", the utterly pernicious, repugnant habit of assailing batsmen and sometimes umpires with abusive, foul- mouthed talk. "If a fellow attempted it under me," he said, "I would have given him one warning and if he repeated it I would have made sure he was not selected again." It is a disease which has been endemic for years throughout Australian cricket, though only recently condemned by the Australian Board. It has spread to this country, alas, and is even practised by school- boys.

Bradman regards a duel between a great batsman and great wrist- spinner as the height of cricket artistry and describes the ad- vent of Shane Warne as "the best thing that has happened to the game for many years". Bill O`Reilly, whose most dangerous balls were the googly and top-spinner, was "the best bowler I have ever played against or seen".

Frank Tyson was the fastest bowler he had seen. The two best batsmen in world cricket today were Brian Lara and Sachin Ten- dulkar. The latter, due to embellish this summer`s Tests against England, "plays much the same as I played . just his compactness, his stroke-production and technique" - the ulti- mate accolade.

Sir Garfield Sobers is "undoubtedly the best all-round cricketer I have ever seen" - a verdict I have never known seriously ques- tioned. There are no surprises in the Don`s estimations, though one can query the comment that he saw "many cricketers who had more ability than I had".

I suppose he might have been thinking of his contemporary Archie Jackson, who came here as the golden boy rather than Don in 1930, but was struck down with TB and died on the day England won back the Ashes in 1933: possibly also of Stan McCabe to whom he said in the dressing room on his return from his epic 232 in less than four hours at Trent Bridge in 1938: "If I could play an innings like that, Stan, I`d be a proud man."

McCabe had a touch of genius as, later, among Australians had Norman O`Neill and Greg Chappell. But no one ranked near Don when it came to the combination of technical excellence and the self-discipline of complete concentration.

Sir Donald`s life has been clouded for a year and more by the serious illness of his devoted wife, Jessie. Resuming his golf when her health improved he related in a letter to his close friends, the Bedser twins, his descending scores. He has been known to score lower than his age, and I would not put it beyond him in his 88th year to do so again once he has shak- en off the effect of his two hours in front of the camera.

Source :: Electronic Telegraph (http.//www.telegraph.co.uk)