Sir Donald Bradman, popularly known as the White Headley, was an Australian cricketer. He debuted in 1928 and played his last international match in 1948. Even today, his name is highly reputed in the cricket world and he remains one of the biggest run scorers in Cricket history. As his name implies, he indeed ruled the Cricket world like the “Don.” He possessed impressive batting skills and created some extraordinary records, which still remain unbreakable. The bowlers would get no respite when he would come to bat since he would score runs on every single ball. So, let’s look at some of the records made by Sir Don Bradman in his career.
1. Highest Batting Average
In Cricket, it is essential for the batsman to maintain a high strike rate and batting average. It showcases his skills and experience and helps maintain pressure on the bowler. So, Don Bradman’s batting average, especially in Test matches, was extraordinary and beyond one’s imagination. He had an average of 99.94, which has remained unmatchable even after so many decades.
2. Most Runs In A Single Ashes Series
The Ashes, is one of the most crucial tournaments in cricket. This tournament is played between England and Australia, and winning the series is considered a massive moment of celebration in both countries. Thus, Don Bradman retains the record for scoring the most runs in a single Ashes series. It came in the 1930 Ashes series, where he scored 974 runs in seven innings with an unusual average of 1369.14.
3. Only Player To Score More Than 5,000 Runs Against An Opponent
In contemporary times, we see many players achieving this feat of completing 1,000, 2,000, and 5,000 international runs. However, scoring these many runs against a single team is a daunting task, and not everyone can achieve it. But the legendary Aussie batter, Sir Don Bradman, is one of the few batsmen to achieve this feat. He achieved this feat after scoring 5,028 runs against England. It demonstrates how he loved to play against the English team. Besides, it is an exceptional record since it is the most number of runs scored by a batter against a single team.
4. Fastest To Reach 2,000, 3,000, 4,000 Runs
To one’s surprise, Bradman completed his 1,000 international runs in merely 13 innings in the Test. Additionally, he soon became the fastest man in the cricket world to complete 2,000, 3,000, 4,000, 5,000, and 6,000 test runs. If he played a few more matches, he would have completed more than 6,000 runs.
5. Most Test Double Hundreds
Test cricket has often witnessed some of the most dramatic results, celebrations, and centuries. It might appear easy to score runs in a test match since it is for five days, but it is tough to constantly score runs as most of the fielders are within the 30-yard circle. But Sir Bradman holds the spectacular record of achieving 12 double hundreds in his Test career. Besides, he also has two triple hundreds.
6. Most Runs In A Single Day In A Test Match
Since Test cricket is an example of unlimited-format of cricket, batters tend to play at a sluggish rate. Many times, we have often seen players score a century or even a double century in a test format; however, scoring so many runs in a single day is not easy. To date, Sir Donald Bradman is the only player in cricket to achieve the most runs in a single day’s play in a Test match. It occurred when he scored 309 runs against the English team at Leeds on July 11, 1930. He was just 21 years old when he created this history.
7. Scored Centuries In Six Consecutive Tests
Nowadays, we get so overwhelmed when a player hits a century in a test match. Even hitting back-to-back centuries in the Test format of cricket is not simple. However, Sir Bradman left everyone startled when he scored a century in six consecutive test matches. It is undoubtedly a remarkable feat, since not everyone can achieve it. Interestingly, all these six hundred came against the English team.
8. Most Hundreds In A Single Session
This record is one of the most unusual records created by this highly reputed Aussie cricketer since he is the only batsman in the world to score the most hundreds in a single session of a test match. He attained this on six occasions: one-century pre-lunch, three centuries between tea and stumps.
9. Featured On Australian Postage Stamp
A lot of times, we see a stadium named after a veteran cricketer to commemorate his death. But Bradman became the first living Aussie person to feature on an Australian Postage Stamp. It happened three years before his death. Apart from this, a 20-cent Australian coin was introduced by the Australian government to commemorate the death of Sir Bradman.
10. Received The British Honour
In cricket, there are a few rivalries that are considered iconic; for instance, matches between India and Pakistan and England and Australia. These nations have always been each other’s main rivals in cricket. But to one’s surprise, Sir Bradman was made a Knight Bachelor in 1949 for his profound services to cricket. Hence, he is the only Australian cricketer to receive the British Honour.
