WHY do they say this?

[archie mac]

I have this huge craving for a Big Mac right now

Will pay that one!

Count me in as one more person subscribing to that very sentiment. Agree completely with it. It is the sort of thing I would have said myself. etc.

Newsgroup jargon, really; perhaps out of place in a cricket forum.

Nah mate, I often struggle with the jargon, but am too old to be embarrassed about asking for explanations

 

[GotSpin]

I understand the point, but struggle with it tbh. Bradman's record should have been even better in reality. Missing at least four series because of the war (prime years) and also having an un-Bradman like average in one series because of Bodyline.

The only real argument that I can understand was that Bradman was not so good on 'sticky wickets' but even that argument has no merit when it comes to STR as they do not exist now.

Every era has there hurdles for Bradman it was sticky wickets, no protective gear, WW2, weaker bats and larger grounds.

For STR we have lots more cricket burnout, more variety of conditions, more planning and a greater knowledge as passed down from earlier times.

What I think is it all evens out and you have to compare cricketers against their contemporaries (spelling) which means Bradman was at least 40% better than the rest, STR not so far ahead and therefore not the best batsman ever.

Your also forgetting his health problems, which I dare say, were far worse than tennis elbow.

He had a brush with death when he was admitted to hospital, missing the 34/35 Australian season. Furthermore, he had consistent bouts of fibrositis and also lost feeling in his thumb and index finger of his right hand.

It's scary to consider that we missed the best of Bradman

 

[archie mac]

Your also forgetting his health problems, which I dare say, were far worse than tennis elbow.

He had a brush with death when he was admitted to hospital, missing the 34/35 Australian season. Furthermore, he had consistent bouts of fibrositis and also lost feeling in his thumb and index finger of his right hand.

It's scary to consider that we missed the best of Bradman

Yes all true mate, he also had a son die just after birth.

Another thing on the pressure (can't be bothered looking it up) crowd numbers would swell when it was known Bradman would bat, and when dismissed lots of people would leave.

I hope I am not coming across as a hater of STR One of the true greats imho

 

[GotSpin]

Yes all true mate, he also had a son die just after birth.

Another thing on the pressure (can't be bothered looking it up) crowd numbers would swell when it was known Bradman would bat, and when dismissed lots of people would leave.

I hope I am not coming across as a hater of STR One of the true greats imho

Indeed. I'm pretty sure there were huge crowds for domestic matches ( as well as international) across England and Australia when he played them that haven't really been matched since. Not to mention, just like Tendulkar, he had no private life as such either.

 

[archie mac]

Indeed. I'm pretty sure there were huge crowds for domestic matches ( as well as international) across England and Australia when he played them that haven't really been matched since. Not to mention, just like Tendulkar, he had no private life as such either.

Without looking it up, I think he said he was receiving just as much mail at 80 as he was while playing. and would spend four hours a day responding to it. Not that pressure when he was 80 would have worried his average

I remember reading when he was in England in 1948 someone stuck a picture of his eyes on an envelope and it still found Bradman

Was a pity he never played in the sub con. The closest he came was when he felt ill and would not leave the ship to play a match in Ceylon as SL was then known

 

[vcs]

Without looking it up, I think he said he was receiving just as much mail at 80 as he was while playing. and would spend four hours a day responding to it. Not that pressure when he was 80 would have worried his average

I remember reading when he was in England in 1948 someone stuck a picture of his eyes on an envelope and it still found Bradman

Was a pity he never played in the sub con. The closest he came was when he felt ill and would not leave the ship to play a match in Ceylon as SL was then known

Yep, he has played at the P. Sara Oval.

 

[archie mac]

Yep, he has played at the P. Sara Oval.

Ah my memory must be faulty, should check some of these things up before posting

 

[fredfertang]

There are some interesting ideas in this book

 

[archie mac]

There are some interesting ideas in this book

I remember when that came out, there were so many books on Bradman and I had read so much I decided to give it a miss

 

[fredfertang]

It certainly has some interesting ideas in it, although I didn't find it convincing as evidenced by the fact that I didn't actually get to the end

 

[archie mac]

It certainly has some interesting ideas in it, although I didn't find it convincing as evidenced by the fact that I didn't actually get to the end

Ha ha, finish it and put up a review.

 

[fredfertang]

Ha ha, finish it and put up a review.

I rather lost faith in it when he begins his conclusion with the question "Will there be another Bradman?"

I would have thought, on the monkey typing the complete works of Shakespeare principle, that the answer to that must self evidently be yes and that the right question is "When will there be another Bradman?"

 

[archie mac]

I rather lost faith in it when he begins his conclusion with the question "Will there be another Bradman?"

I would have thought, on the monkey typing the complete works of Shakespeare principle, that the answer to that must self evidently be yes and that the right question is "When will there be another Bradman?"

I think your favourite writer Roland Perry calculated that because he dominated cricket by such a margin a player as good as Bradman would come around once every 100,000 years

Just kidding about the favourite writer part

 

[keeper]

There are some interesting ideas in this book

Based on that article I find the stuff about very highly intensive 'training' as a youth (allied to naturally sharp reflexes) more compelling than the argument about his technique providing a natural advantage.

Am I right in thinking that he was very consistent in hitting the ball on the ground rather than in the air? If so, that consistency and concentration may have played a role as well.

 

[fredfertang]

I think your favourite writer Roland Perry calculated that because he dominated cricket by such a margin a player as good as Bradman would come around once every 100,000 years

Just kidding about the favourite writer part

Thanks to you and Stu, with a bit of help from Gideon Haigh, I've never attempted to read one of Perry's books

 

[keeper]

I think your favourite writer Roland Perry calculated that because he dominated cricket by such a margin a player as good as Bradman would come around once every 100,000 years

Just kidding about the favourite writer part

Presumably he is statistically more likely to be English next time?

 

[fredfertang]

Something else in Shillinglaw's book I couldn't get my head round was the significance (ie basically none) to what happened when Bradman toured North America in the early 30s - it was a longish tour and he scored not far short of 4000 runs at 102 ie against club cricketers he averaged as near as makes no difference the same as he did against the best in the world - yet Shillinglaw concludes "it is clear that the circumstances had little effect on him" - which strikes me as the wrong conclusion

 

[fredfertang]

Presumably he is statistically more likely to be English next time?

Indian surely?

... which brings us round full circle

 

[keeper]

Haha, indeed!

Regarding the other statistical point, it is interesting to see the trend of his cumulative average. He reached his career peak after a handful of games and then pretty well maintained it until the end of his career except for a short and small slump around Bodyline.

Remarkably the trend doesn't waver one little bit after the small stoppage for World War 2, and there's no tail off at the end.

Almost as if he's programmed to average at that level irrespective of opposition, location, domestic or International and other circumstances.

Like you say though , easy to read too much into stats sometimes but there's something there I think beyond just the size of his average.

 

[GotSpin]

Something else in Shillinglaw's book I couldn't get my head round was the significance (ie basically none) to what happened when Bradman toured North America in the early 30s - it was a longish tour and he scored not far short of 4000 runs at 102 ie against club cricketers he averaged as near as makes no difference the same as he did against the best in the world - yet Shillinglaw concludes "it is clear that the circumstances had little effect on him" - which strikes me as the wrong conclusion

Weren't some of those North American teams rather strong then or were they already on the decline.