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Don Bradman

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Athlete

The Resume

    (August 27, 1908-February 25, 2001)
    Played cricket for New South Wales, South Australia and Australia
    Test Debut vs England (1928/29 season)
    Played 52 tests for Australia (retired 5th Ashes test, 1948)
    Wisden Cricketer of the Year 1931
    Added to the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame in 1996
    Knighted for services to cricket in 1949, Appointed Commander of the Order of Australia (AC) 1979 (Australia's highest civil honour)
    Selected as one of five Wisden Cricketers of the Century in 2000

Why he might be annoying:

    As a child he practiced batting obsessively, using a cricket stump to hit a golf ball against a water tank for hours on end.
    He had a brief and unsuccessful attempt at a tennis career.
    In his first series representing Australia, he was heavily criticized for the flaws he had in his batting style.
    In his final innings, he required a score of only four runs to achieve a batting average of 100 but was dismissed for zero, thus leaving him with a career batting average of 99.94.
    He was accused of showing anti-Catholicism in his actions as captain and later as an Australian selector.

Why he might not be annoying:

    Within three years of playing international cricket, he had perfected his batting style; his play was technically flawless and he was without peer as a batsman.
    He raised the spirits of the Australian nation during its economic depression of the 30s.
    His statistical achievements were unparalleled, including his international highest score of 334 standing for decades as the highest ever test score by an Australian, and being the only player ever to have scored two triple centuries.
    In his final international tour, he captained the Australian team dubbed 'the invincibles' through an undefeated tour of England, a feat that has not been matched since.
    His career batting average of 99.94 from 52 tests is near perfect, and nearly double the average of any other player before or since.
    He dominated the game so much that his opponents were forced to devise new and dangerous bowling techniques to combat him, techniques that revolutionized cricket and it's rules.
    Statistical analyses give some credence to the claim that Bradman dominated his sport more than Pelé, Ty Cobb, Tiger Woods or Michael Jordan in their respective sports.
    He is universally regarded as the greatest cricketer in history.
    He has an entire museum devoted to him (The Don Bradman Museum), displaying memorabilia from his cricketing days.
    An anonymous Australian buyer purchased Bradman's 'baggy green' worn in his first test for £175 000, so that it could be brought back to Australia for display at the Bradman Museum.
    He wrote several books on cricket technique and tactics, which are regarded as classics.

Credit: The Gent


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2021, Out of 8 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 4 Votes: 75.00% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 6 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 14 Votes: 85.71% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 26 Votes: 61.54% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 24 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 14 Votes: 71.43% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 20 Votes: 35.00% Annoying
    In 2010, Out of 24 Votes: 54.17% Annoying
    In 2009, Out of 34 Votes: 64.71% Annoying
    In 2008, Out of 54 Votes: 51.85% Annoying
    In 2007, Out of 278 Votes: 43.53% Annoying
    In 2006, Out of 102 Votes: 56.86% Annoying
    In 2005, Out of 244 Votes: 57.79% Annoying
    In 2004, Out of 385 Votes: 41.82% Annoying