New Delhi: Donald Bradman was eager to see who won the battle between Sachin Tendulkar and Shane Warne in Australia’s tour of India in 1998, in unearthed letters that gives a sneak peek into the batting czar’s mindset in his final years when he shunned public life to became a recluse who was glued to TV.
In letters written between 1984 and 1998 by Bradman to Peter Brough, an English entertainer whom he befriended during his tours of England, Bradman also lamented the demise of leg-spinners as ODIs became popular, reports the Sydney Morning Herald.
“The great tragedy of modern cricket is the demise of the slow leg-spinner. Primarily it seems to be due to the one-day games in which ‘economy’ is the only thing that matters,” he wrote in one of his letters in 1993.
“But thankfully we may at last have produced a good leg spinner in young Warne. He’s only 23 and really spins the ball. I am impressed by his accuracy. In the Test versus New Zealand now being played he is conceding less than two runs an over which is tremendous. He should do well in England.”
Warne and Tendulkar were at the peak of their powers when Australia toured India in 1998 and the showdown between the modern greats enamoured Bradman, who famously met them at his home in Adelaide once.
“Our boys go to India this week and they will be sorely (tested) under home conditions. Tendulkar is probably the best bat in the world and his battles with Warne should be fascinating,” he wrote ahead of the tour.
Uneasy relationship with fame
National Library of Australia had preserved the letters, which shows that the cricket legend had become a “recluse” in his final years to avoid the trappings of fame.
“(Wife) Jessie and I have just returned from 10 days in Sydney at the Test celebrations. It nearly killed us. The publicity, the functions. Being on display … is not my idea of enjoyment,” the former Australia skipper wrote after attending Australia’s bicentenary Test match in 1988.
“I prefer to be far away from crowds and publicity. My 80th birthday is coming up in August and I have already arranged to go away from Adelaide for a week to dodge all the fuss,” he added a month later.
His wife’s passing in 1997 also took a toll as he became lonely and struggled to handle fame.
“I am struggling to get on with life but wherever I turn there is sadness and memories. Even after a game of golf or bridge there is no one to talk to and as you rightly said the nights are so empty,” Bradman penned in a letter.
“I don’t go to cricket anymore — I can no longer tolerate the press, TV or autograph hunters who won’t leave me alone when I appear in public so really I am living the life of a recluse. Thank heavens there is TV otherwise I would have nothing to occupy my mind.”
Thoughts on rebel tour to apartheid South Africa
Bradman retired in 1948 after scoring a then record 6996 runs with 29 centuries in 52 Tests with a still standing average of 99.94. After his playing days, Bradman had stints as selector and administrator, playing an important role during the breakaway Kerry Packer series and some Aussie cricketers going to play in a rebel tour in apartheid South Africa.
“Since I last wrote, the cricket world has been in a ferment. What with players signing for England and South Africa and Packer separately signing players, goodness knows where it will end. I don’t blame the players,” Bradman said.
“One I know has been out of work for two years and to see a fair of $200,000 for two years was too good to turn down.
“Of course the whole thing hinges on dirty rotten politics. Our government freely trades with South Africa and it is total hypocrisy for them to prevent sporting contacts.
“The ‘black’ countries will never agree to re-admit South Africa and the final answer is a total split between the blacks and the whites.”
Bradman passed away aged 92 in 2001 but his legacy endures with a baggy green cap worn by him during India’s 1947-48 tour of Australia fetching $390,000 at an auction earlier this month.
To recognise Bradman’s sporting excellence, the Australian Sport Hall of Fame’s has named the annual award given to the country’s top athlete after him.
In letters written between 1984 and 1998, Don Bradman also lamented the demise of leg-spinners in cricket as ODIs became popular Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
