K.S. Duleepsinhji’s views on Bradman. Excerpt from Indra Vikram Singh’s book ‘Don’s Century’

K.S. Duleepsinhji, Don Bradman and Lala Amarnath during India's tour of Australia in 19478-48

There were no Test matches in Australia during the next season of 1929-30, though Arthur Gilligan’s M.C.C. side stopped by to play a few first-class matches en-route to New Zealand for the inaugural Test series there.

Totally focused on the first-class game, Bradman broke Bill Ponsford’s world record score of 437 made two seasons earlier. He hit up 452 in just 415 minutes, having struck 49 boundaries, for New South Wales against Queensland at Sydney. 

In 78 years since then, this score has been passed only twice, by Hanif Mohammad, who was run out for 499 in 1958-59, and Brian Lara, who was undefeated with 501 in 1994. Bradman amassed 1586 runs during that 1929-30 season at an average of 113.28 with 5 centuries in just 11 matches.

K.S. Duleepsinhji was in Gilligan’s team and, along with his teammates was constantly accosted for his opinion on this new star, Don Bradman.

Nearly a quarter century later, Duleepsinhji wrote in the Indian Cricketer Annual: “We of the 1929-30 touring team, most of us not much older than Bradman himself, believed that Bradman was not likely to do well on the wet wickets of England owing to his tendency to play with a slightly crooked bat at the time of impact with the ball, besides his fondness for gliding a ball off the leg-stump to fine-leg and driving the ball pitched almost on the middle-stump past mid-on. We considered that these strokes would prove fatal. In judging Bradman’s prospects in England, we did not reckon with the immaturity of our youthful judgement, the genius of Bradman and the practice of covering wickets in county matches during Australian tours for financial reasons. We had no doubt that Bradman would make centuries in Test cricket, but I must confess that in 1929 I was not prepared for his incredible successes and triumphs over twenty years during which he was easily the most dominating personality in the game.”

(Author Indra Vikram Singh can be contacted on email singh_iv@hotmail.com).

Don’s Century

Published in India by Sporting Links

ISBN 978-81-901668-5-0

Fully illustrated

Paperback French Fold 11 x 8.5 x 0.4 inches

Weight 480 grams

188 pages

Available on Amazon at an attractive price: https://www.amazon.in/dp/8190166859  

Indra Vikram Singh's other books available on Amazon: 

https://www.amazon.in/s?k=Indra+Vikram+Singh&i=stripbooks&rh=p_6%3AA3HSV0N9AV7NOK&dc&qid=1602408830&rnid=1318474031&ref=sr_nr_p_6_1