BS: He's out !

Subject: He's out !
From: GUEST,John Gray/Australia
Date: 26 Feb 01 - 03:35 AM

The Don is dead. Our eyes are moist and our hearts they ache.Vale Sir Donald, an era has ended.

JG / F.M.E.

Subject: RE: BS: He's out !
From: sledge
Date: 26 Feb 01 - 05:55 AM

A rare innings indeed

Subject: RE: BS: He's out !
From: GMT
Date: 26 Feb 01 - 06:20 AM

A great gent finaly pulls stumps.
Rest in peace Sir Donald.
Gary (still smarting at Englands defeat).

Subject: RE: BS: He's out !
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 26 Feb 01 - 06:40 AM

I really thought he'd make a last century.

Subject: RE: BS: He's out !
From: GUEST,Roger the skiffler
Date: 26 Feb 01 - 06:49 AM

And somewhere Eric Hollies is waiting!
RtS ( a Warwickshire CC supporter naturally)

Subject: RE: BS: He's out !
From: GUEST,cretinous yahoo
Date: 26 Feb 01 - 08:29 AM

What are you on about?

Subject: RE: BS: He's out !
From: GUEST,Matt_R
Date: 26 Feb 01 - 08:30 AM

I was thinking the same thing!

Subject: RE: BS: He's out !
From: SINSULL
Date: 26 Feb 01 - 08:36 AM

Sorry guys, I guess. We here in the colonies haven't a clue. Explain?

Subject: RE: BS: He's out !
From: GUEST,Matt_R
Date: 26 Feb 01 - 08:39 AM

Well, with the references to "innings" and "pulling stumps" I can only assume this has something to do with cricket...possibly a player's retirement?

Subject: RE: BS: He's out !
From: GUEST,Roger the skiffler
Date: 26 Feb 01 - 09:08 AM

Matt & Co., Sir Don Bradman has died at 92, the greatest Australian, some say the world, batsman (cricketer). Equivalent to baseball's Babe Ruth, I suppose. His lifetime average for international matches (tests) looks unlikely to be ever beaten. At a time when most batsmen aspire to score 100 in an innings his AVERAGE for tests was 94.
I'll leave the Ozcats to amplify.
RtS

Subject: RE: BS: He's out !
From: GUEST,Roger the skiffler
Date: 26 Feb 01 - 10:02 AM

More detail here from BBC Online:
'The Don' became a national sporting hero during the 1930s and 1940s when he rewrote cricket's record books.

Bradman scored 6,996 runs in 52 tests at an average of 99.94, a figure which would have been over 100 had he scored four runs in his last Test at the Oval in 1948.

The Australian was bowled, second ball, by Eric Hollies for a duck at the London venue, and walked off in tears to a tremendous ovation.
RtS (Eric Hollies played for Warwickshire and England, a great spin bowler)

Subject: RE: BS: He's out !
From: GUEST,Matt_R
Date: 26 Feb 01 - 10:05 AM

What would Spofforth say?

Subject: RE: BS: He's out !
From: Tony in Sweden
Date: 26 Feb 01 - 10:08 AM

Here are the stats for Sir Don Bradman.
TEST CAREER:

Debut: 1928-29 v England, Brisbane (Exhibition Ground)
Matches: 52
Innings: 80
Not outs: 10
Runs: 6,996
Highest score: 334 v England, Leeds, 1934
Ducks: 7
Half-centuries: 13
Centuries: 29
Batting average: 99.94
Catches: 32
Wickets: 2
Bowling average: 36
Best bowling: 1-8.

FIRST-CLASS CAREER:
Debut: 1927-28 New South Wales v South Australia, Adelaide
Matches: 234
Innings: 338
Not out: 43
Runs: 28,067
Highest score: 452 n.o., NSW v Queensland,Sydney, 1929-30
Ducks: 16.
Half-centuries: 69
Centuries: 117
Batting average: 95.14.
Catches: 128
Wickets: 36
Bowling average: 37.97
Best bowling: 3-25

mvh Tony

Subject: RE: BS: He's out !
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 26 Feb 01 - 10:09 AM

I too thought and hoped he would make a final century. I am also one of those who believe him to be the finest batsman and possibly cricketer that has ever been.

Jon

Subject: RE: BS: He's out !
From: A Wandering Minstrel
Date: 26 Feb 01 - 11:55 AM

A great loss, That average is even finer when you remember that he made a part of it in the "Bodyline" series.

Subject: RE: BS: He's out !
From: Bagpuss
Date: 26 Feb 01 - 12:26 PM

My grandad tells me he played against Sir Don many many years ago.

Bagpuss

Subject: RE: BS: He's out !
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 26 Feb 01 - 04:45 PM

"We here in the colonies haven't a clue."

Only in those North American ones.

Subject: RE: BS: He's out !
From: GUEST,John Gray / Australia
Date: 27 Feb 01 - 04:12 AM

The Don was our greatest living Australian and national icon. When he retired from playing cricket he became a superb administrator of the game. I'll try and put him in context for our American friends. The best cricket batsmen in the world, both past and present, have a batting average of 50 to 53. The Don's average was 99.94. Nearly 100% better than the next best! Take your best baseball batsman's figures, or the bloke with the most touchdowns, and then add 100%. How about someone twice as good as Jack Nicholas or Tiger Woods, it's unimagineable. But that was The Don. He never got involved with the media and he avoided the sponsorship / marketing frenzy, only gave a couple of interviews since he retired in 1948. He could have got millions to endorse a product but the trait he held as paramount, his integrity, was intact to his death. Australians who lived through the depression talk of The Don as a focal point of optimism that helped them through those miserable times. I don't know of any world figure, past or present, that was/is universally admired by the entire population of the nation. Now that's a legend.

JG / F.M.E.

Subject: RE: BS: He's out !
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 27 Feb 01 - 04:38 AM

John, other batsmen have got into the 60s click here for one table but Don Bradman is still clearly miles ahead of the rest.

Do any other sports have people who can stastically be shown to be so far ahead of the rest?

Jon

Subject: RE: BS: He's out !
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 27 Feb 01 - 04:45 AM

Thinking of The Don, can anyone verify this story (or something along these lines) that I seem to remeber reading about presumably during an England vs Australia series?

Reporter: Don, what would you have averaged against this attack?

Don: About 50.

Reporter: But your average was nearly 100 and this attack is poor

Don: True but I'm in my 80s now.

Jon

Subject: RE: BS: He's out !
From: GUEST,John Gray / Australia
Date: 27 Feb 01 - 05:23 AM

Yes Jon, you're right. I should have been talking 60's, not 50's. So he was about 70% better than the next. The only other person I can think of that dominated a sport (?) was the Australian Walter Lindrum in billiards. As he was totally unbeatable the controllers of the game were forced to change the rules of play. I think this is the only instance where a players extraordinary talent forced rule changes so that other participants had a chance to win.

JG / F.M.E.

Subject: RE: BS: He's out !
From: The Walrus at work
Date: 27 Feb 01 - 08:45 AM

I think it significant that, a year or so ago, Wisden's (the bible of Cricket stats for all you non-cricketing nationals) asked a selection of cricketing notables to name their top 10 players of the last century. Sir Don was not only in everybody's list, but at the top! Does Lord's have a Bradman memorial of some sort? If not WHY NOT?

Good Luck.

Walrus

Subject: RE: BS: He's out !
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 27 Feb 01 - 09:29 AM

Here's a page about the Don with all kinds of good stuff.

Subject: RE: BS: He's out !
From: Rick Fielding
Date: 27 Feb 01 - 10:09 AM

Well I'm a huge baseball fan (also a Colonial of course) but I was sad to learn of Sir Don's passing in the paper. In Baseball, there are many arguements put forth as to who the greatest hitter (batter) was/is, but it seems Sir Don was at the top of everyone's list.

Sort of like he was Honus Wagner, Ty Cobb, Rogers Hornsby, Babe Ruth, rolled into one.

Considering the time he spent in the service, I think Ted Williams was the North American counterpart of Sir Don.

Rick