On Don Bradman’s 110th birth anniversary, reminiscing how he clinched the 1936-37 Test series after being down 0-2, just as Virat Kohli’s men endeavour to emulate that unparalleled feat. Excerpt from Indra Vikram Singh’s book ‘Don’s Century’

They were met by unsettled weather at Melbourne, and managed only 181 for six on the first day. McCabe displayed his class again, returning unbeaten with 63 at close of play. Bradman was dismissed for 13. Voce sent back McCabe immediately on resumption, and Bradman declared at 200 for nine. England’s innings never got off the ground, and they were tottering at 76 for nine, Seivers bagging five for 21, when Allen too closed the innings. He met with immediate success, O’Reilly sent in to open in the treacherous conditions, was caught and bowled by Voce, amazingly another dismissal off the first ball of the innings. Australia were 3 for one wicket in a reversed batting order when play ended that evening.

Chuck Fleetwood-Smith was also removed for nought by Voce first thing in the morning. Wickets kept falling regularly. Opener Fingleton came in at no. 6, Bradman at no. 7. By then the score was 97 for five. McCabe had still not put in an appearance. Bradman had a providential escape when Walter Robins dropped him in the covers. It drew a sarcastic jibe from the captain Allen, “Well done Walter, you’ve cost us a Test series.” That only reflected the awe in which the English held Bradman. Allen knew that this was just the bit of fortune The Don needed to turn the series around. He was, of course, dead right. By stumps Bradman was unbeaten on 56, and Australia were 194 for five. By then he had crossed 4000 runs in Test cricket.

And then the Bradman juggernaut began to roll again. He batted through the fourth day, at the end of which he was 248 not out and his side at 500 for six. His sixth-wicket stand with Fingleton (136) was worth 346, a record that stood till 2009. Never more could Fingleton’s words, “To bat with him was an exercise in embarrassing futility,” have been more apt. Bradman went on to score 270, having faced 375 balls in a little over seven-and-a-half hours, and struck 22 fours. Years later the bat with which he played this magnificent innings was auctioned for $ 45,000. Australia finished on 564, and the visitors were set a ridiculous 689 to win. Leyland was again in exquisite form, scoring an unbeaten 111, and on the sixth day Australia won by 365 runs. The series was still alive but the pressure was still on Australia.

Batting first in Adelaide, all their top-order batsmen got starts, but lost their wickets when set. Bradman too got out for 26 after having sized up the bowling. McCabe, with a sparkling 88, and Arthur Chipperfield, with an unbeaten 57, took Australia to 288. Verity opening the batting for England in this Test was an unusual sight, and he did a fair job in seeing the shine off the new ball. He faced 119 deliveries for his 19, hitting one boundary in his 101-minute stay. His opening partnership with Charles Barnett was worth 53. Barnett went on to score a painstaking 129, which was chiefly responsible for England’s first innings lead of 42.

The Australians now had to bat really well in order to save the series. Fingleton was leg-before to Hammond at 21, which brought Bradman to the crease. Bill Brown helped him put on 67, and then on the fourth day, McCabe joined him in a defining partnership that shifted the balance in Australia’s favour. They added 109 in a little over an-hour-and-a-half before McCabe was dismissed for 55. Bradman kept the scoreboard ticking but did not take needless risks for the stakes were very high indeed. It was a crucial stage of the match and Ross Gregory assisted him in another vital stand. Bradman battled through the day, adding 148 runs to his overnight score of 26, while Australia advanced by 278 runs to 341 for four. They had all but ensured that the series would be levelled.

The task, though, was not over for Bradman. He raised his tenth score of 200 in Test cricket. Gregory was run out for 50 after a 135-run association. Finally, Bradman was caught by Hammond off his own bowling, when on 212. The Don had been at the crease for over seven-and-a-quarter hours, facing 395 balls and hitting 14 fours. It was not an innings of bravado, but one of great concentration and sense of responsibility. He put England out of the reckoning in this Test by unparalleled batsmanship. After Bradman’s exit the last four wickets crumbled for 11 runs. That was the extent of his influence on the course of events. Hammond took five for 57.

England were set 392 to win, and they lost their openers with 50 runs on the board. Joe Hardstaff junior combined with Hammond to put on 70. At close of play on the fifth day Hammond was unbeaten on 39, Leyland on 17, and England were 148 for three, not completely out of the game yet. Then, even before the spectators had settled in their seats, Fleetwood-Smith bowled Hammond. Whatever slim chance England had, seemed to have vanished quickly. That prompted England’s former wicketkeeper George Duckworth to pay Bradman the ultimate compliment: “We couldn’t have got Don out with the match at stake.” And that was the difference between Bradman and other greats. It was further emphasised in the final Test.

It was now only a matter of time before Australia wrapped up the Test. England finally folded up for 243. Fleetwood-Smith bagged six for 110. The victory margin was 148 runs, the series level at 2-2, thanks to two Bradman double centuries. The visitors had surrendered a big advantage, and the run of play was now against them. If they were to sail back with the Ashes, the scourge of Bradman had to be stamped out.

That was easier said than done. At Melbourne, Farnes sent back the Aussie openers Keith Rigg and Fingleton before they could provide too much of a platform for the Bradman genius. It made little difference. Bradman had an objective - to win the Ashes in his first series as Australian captain. McCabe matched his skipper stroke-for-stroke in a magnificent partnership that won the series. Bradman completed his century; McCabe followed suit later in the afternoon. By the time McCabe was dismissed by Verity, the two stalwarts had taken the total to 303 in a classy exhibition of strokeplay. The partnership was worth 249, McCabe scoring 112 off 155 balls with 16 boundaries in his 163-minute innings. By close Australia were 342 for three, with Bradman on 165.

Though Bradman was bowled by Farnes early on the second day, Australia had established their ascendancy. The Don had scored 169 in 191 deliveries with 15 fours, having been at the crease for 223 minutes. Charles Macartney observed, “What mystifies bowlers when Bradman is batting is the unerring certainty with which he sends the bad ball to the boundary.” This innings was proof.

The young pair of Badcock and Gregory then took charge, putting on 161 for the fifth wicket. Badcock (118) notched up his lone century, and Gregory (80) his highest score, in Test cricket, playing a significant part in the mission to wrest the series. Australia totalled 604, and paceman Farnes, in a lion-hearted performance took six wickets for 96 in 28.5 eight-ball overs. The pressure on the English batsmen was reflected in their losing wickets regularly at the top, and a collapse of the lower half. Their best partnerships were 63 for the second wicket, and 62 for the fifth, with Hardstaff (83) managing their sole half-century. This was hardly the challenge that was required to keep their Ashes aspirations on track. Their last five wickets fell while a mere three runs were scored. Australia’s resurgence in the last three Tests, led by Bradman’s marauding bat, had clearly demoralised England. O’Reilly added another five-wicket haul to his impressive tally, conceding 51 runs in his 23 overs. Bowled out for 239, England followed on.

Right from the outset it was apparent that the fight had gone out of them. They were soon 10 for two. Hammond made a last-ditch effort with help from Barnett and Leyland, but it was an impossible task. When he perished after a gallant 56 off 106 balls with 9 boundaries, significantly caught by Bradman off O’Reilly, the plight of his team was miserable at 121 for four. They lurched to 165 for eight at close of play. Not a run was added on the fifth morning as Fleetwood-Smith had Voce and Farnes snapped up. Australia won by an innings and 200 runs.

Bradman became the first captain to win a five-Test series after being down 0-2. It was a titanic struggle, a tribute to his amazing batting skills, concentration and determination, strength of mind and acumen. He led from the front, sweeping aside the English advance like a raging tornado, stamping his suzerainty with knocks of 270, 212 and 169 in the last three victorious Tests. All this, while leading a depleted side with many untested youngsters, himself returning to the Test arena after a near-death experience. What would you call that, if not one of the most inspiring stories of the sporting arena? Bradman was a fighter all the way. As he said in an interview at the end of his career, “I can never remember taking the field in any match without setting out to win.” He had now firmly entrenched himself as The Don of cricket, unquestionably and irrevocably.

To those who hold the view that statistics are misleading, one would only suggest that they take a look at the figures of this series, and Bradman’s batting record in particular. His aggregate of 810 is still the highest by a captain in a Test series. Nobody else on either side got to 500, and that included the likes of McCabe, Hammond and Leyland. After Bradman’s average of 90, these three luminaries registered between 58.50 and 54.55 per innings. That really sums up the mark Bradman left on the series, and the game as a whole. Spin was Australia’s forte, with O’Reilly, as usual, and the chinaman specialist Fleetwood-Smith, picking up 44 wickets between them. England followed the opposite course, Voce and Allen sharing 43 wickets. Yet everything pales in comparison with the great turnaround in the series wrought by Bradman’s magic wand, his run-hungry willow. No wonder Gubby Allen accepted in one of his letters home, “The Australian XI is simply Bradman and no-one else.”

(Author Indra Vikram Singh can be contacted on emails singh_iv@hotmail.com and teddy.rajpipla@gmail.com).

Don's Century is available at an attractive price on Amazon 

https://www.amazon.in/dp/8190166859

Other books by Indra Vikram Singh on Amazon:

A Maharaja's Turf  
https://www.amazon.in/dp/8190166832

The Big Book of World Cup Cricket  
https://www.amazon.in/dp/8190166840

Crowning Glory  
https://www.amazon.in/dp/8190166867

Follow Indra Vikram Singh on his blogs:
www.indravikramsingh.blogspot.com
www.singhiv.wordpress.com