The style of play is influenced by the coaching and competition of the day. Even as recently as the 80s, fielders seldom threw themselves about in the manner that they do now. But even those who started their careers on a traditional 'softer' approach, later shaped up for the more aggressive fielding style as the need arose.

Bradman was certainly very fit for a cricketer of his era and with a bit of training would have given many modern fielders a good run for their money. Players like Darren Lehmann, Inzamam-ul-Haq ( ), Ashley Giles etc were not exactly epitomes of physical fitness and still got away with the being integral parts of the modern ODI game.

Moreover, I believe that Cricketers of Bradman's era (and he in particular) had one advantage over contemporary ones; they were much tougher mentally and this often transferred to the more physical aspects of the game. Many of them had served in the Armed Forces. In those days, players regularly shrugged off injuries - some of them not exactly trivial - to continue playing. In the 1932-3 Ashes series, Bill Ponsford batted for over an hour with a couple of cracked ribs to try and get Australia out of a tricky position. In another test, Lancashire player Eddie Paynter got out of a hospital bed with raging fever to see England through to safety with his batting.