How good would Sir Donald Bradman have been if he had played one day cricket?

[pie_chucker]

Originally Posted by Rachael

but I doubt he'd have been slogging over the top in the powerplays and at the death!

I also seriously doubt that! Bradman was a timer of the ball who was renowned for working it around. I'm sure had he had a long career he would have scored at almost a run a ball anyway!

As i said i doubt he would have been hitting sixes anyway as I'm sure he only hit half a dozen sixes or so in his test career ( i havent checked so could be wrong!).

[acker]

Don loved a hook, and did'nt mind lofting when he felt like it.

[Ernest]

Originally Posted by acker

Don loved a hook, and did'nt mind lofting when he felt like it.

I am glad Bradman never played one day cricket - in his day players were not as fit as the present day players for diving for the crease, it was not his style.

No one knows if he would have adjusted - I doubt he would have played one day cricket - Jardine for sure would not have.

[acker]

Don Bradman was a bit different to cricketers of his day. He had a professional approach to his physical fitness
(bradman trail)
Don Bradman breaking the tape while an instructor with the Army's School of Physical & Recreational Training at Frankston, Victoria in 1940.

[Nostromo]

Originally Posted by Ernest

I am glad Bradman never played one day cricket - in his day players were not as fit as the present day players for diving for the crease, it was not his style.

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.

[acker]

Just also a footnote of Don Bradmans other sporting talents

He was a gifted junior tennis player, fought a few pro wrestling bouts in the late twenties.
And the year he swapped to South Australia from New South Wales won the South Australian state squash title.

[Nostromo]

There is also the changing attitude towards pain and other forms of physical discomfort. There is a large psychological input to how much something like a pulled hamstring would affect sportsmen. In the olden days, they knew less about long term aspects of sports injuries and on-field physiotherapists were not as common as they are now. More often than not, the players had to make-do with what they could get - which was usually not much. So, to some extent at least, they were able to put the pain out of their minds and get on with the job as it were, helped by the fact that there was not much that a physio or doctor could do in the short term anyway. I am not saying that modern players are softer, but they do have the subconcious knowledge that even a relatively minor ailment need not be endured 'unnecessarily' since immediate help was only a wave-to-the-dressing-room away. Human nature being what it is, the contemporary players are very unlikely to turn down assistance and play on wth the risk of aggravation of the injury.

The sign of the times will also have something to do with the player's attitude towards themselves and the team. In the Bradman era, the various wars and general world situation impacted on everyone including cricketers. They tended to put the 'all-concerned' - in this case the cricket team - before themselves and so would have been more willing to suffer personal discomfort if it was in the good of the whole team. While it would be unfair to say that modern players are selfish by comparison, it is natural for them to think of 'number-one' first under more circumstances than before.

Therefore I think not only would Bradman have successfully adapted to the ODI form of the game if the need arose, but so would several other players from various cricket-playing countries.