He adjusted his technique in a way that was not elegant but did make sense. He then went on to further triumphs. Larwood, by contrast, was sacrificed to the English Establishment's embarrassment at playing Australia with Aussie ruthlessness and was left a temporarily broken man. It is more than 50 years since Bradman played, so most of us never saw him. But the statistics of achievement almost boggle belief.
Many sportsmen leave pictures in the mind, pictures of grace and romance.
Sometimes statistics do not matter - watch Viv Richards at his best, or Ian Botham when the hand of God descended, and you would not need to look at Wisden for validation. You would not forget it. Therefore, he missed something of cricket. Jesse Owens, the black American athlete who won four gold medals in the 1936 Berlin Olympics was an inspiration. So was Muhammad All, whose charisma will never be equalled.