'The Iconic Story Of 99.94': Sir Donald Bradman Played His Final Test Innings For Australia ON THIS DAY In 1948
'The Iconic Story Of 99.94': Sir Donald Bradman missed out on an average of 100 by getting out on a duck ON THIS DAY in 1948. Here are the details. Read below.
'The Iconic Story Of 99.94': Argubaly the closest thing to perfection in cricket, Sir Donald Bradman, in the very last innings of his career, managed to find one shortcoming or a flaw in what is indeed, the most flawless career in the history of the sport. The incident referred over here is the iconic two-ball duck of the Australian legend, which prevented him from retiring with a Test average of 100. Sir Donald Bradman, after 52 matches and 80 innings, managed to score 6996 runs at an average of 99.94, which includes as astonishing conversion rate of 29 tons and 13 fifties.
#OnThisDay in 1948, Don Bradman played his final test innings. He had to score 4 runs to finish with an average of 💯
— Cricbuzz (@cricbuzz) August 14, 2024
Guess what was his score in his final test innings.#Cricket #test #donbradman #Australia #Legend #History
It was the first Day of the fifth Test match of the Ashes series of 1948, where hosts England were playing for pride, as they had already lost the series 3-0. Electing to bat first, England made a disastrous start, as the crowd at The Oval saw the home side collapse for merely 52 runs (a total which still stands as one of the lowest scores in the Test cricket history of England).
In reply, Australia came to bat on the first day itself, and all the cricketing fans back then awaited the historical feat, as Sir Donald Bradman needed merely 4 runs to reach the 7000 runs mark in Test cricket, and a unique career average of 100.
However, the cricketing gods had a different script, as one of their greatest creations ended up getting dismissed for a duck, as the Australia legend chose the worst day to get out on a duck, with England's Eric Hollies becoming the last bowler ever to dismiss Sir Donald Bradman in international cricket.
Australia managed 389 in their first innings, and in-order for Donald Bradman to break the record, England needed to score at least 341 runs to force a 4-run target for Australia.
Alas! that was not the case, as a brilliant bowling attack from Australia dismissed the hosts in 188, and Australia won the match by an innings and 149, and with that, won the Ashes 4-0.
Sir Donald Bradman's Unique Record Of 100+ Average In Test Calendar Years
In modern times, where players find it extremely tough to go above 70 in terms of Test average in a calendar year, Sir Donald Bradman managed to go beyond 100 not once, not twice..., not even thrice....... BUT ON 7 DIFFERENT OCCASIONS:
- 1930: 122.25
- 1931: 105.56
- 1932: 402.00
- 1937: 138.00
- 1938: 108.50
- 1946: 201.50
- 1948: 138.29
Is This Assessment Of Sir Donald Bradman With Modern Day Players Fair?
To be honest, cricket has completely changed from the times, when only red-ball cricket existed, fitness and number of matches were not a big thing, to now, when everything in cricket is co-related with one or the other thing. With the introduction of World Test Championship, Test cricket has become extremely competitive, and we see a series of wins and losses more often that draws.
As observed from past 5-6 years, most of the draws occur due to sessions or even a Day's play getting washed out due to rain. Such competitiveness forces the sides to stay on top in every session, which leads to quicker dismissals and shorter totals.
This one fact is enough to clear the case, as since the introduction of WTC, only David Warner (November 2019) is the triple-centurion in Test cricket.
Therefore, when stats and trophies were not in fierce competition or play back then, there were longer innings, bigger totals, and better individual scores, and with that, comparison of both the era's is extremely unfair, and has no strong basis to even lead a conversation.
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