page_title: Don Bradman
section_title: Playing style
hierarchical_section_title: Don Bradman / Playing style
caption_attribution_description: Image of Bradman batting against England during the 1936-37 season. From the National Library of Australia, accessed at http://nla.gov.au/nla.pic-an23460661. Public domain. This image is of Australian origin and is now in the public domain because its term of copyright has expired. According to the Australian Copyright Council (ACC), ACC Information Sheet G023v17 (Duration of copyright) (August 2014).3 Type of materialCopyright has expired if …&#160;A&#160;Photographs or other works published anonymously, under a pseudonym or the creator is unknown: taken or published prior to 1 January 1955BPhotographs (except A): taken prior to 1 January 1955CArtistic works (except A &amp; B): the creator died before 1 January 1955DPublished editions1 (except A &amp; B): first published more than 25 years agoECommonwealth, State or Territory owned2 photographs and engravings: taken or published more than 50 years ago 1 means the typographical arrangement and layout of a published work. eg. newsprint. 2 owned means where a government is the copyright owner as well as would have owned copyright but reached some other agreement with the creator. 3 Copyright Amendment (Disability Access and Other Measures) Bill 2017 (Australian Government) When using this template, please provide information of where the image was first published and who created it. català&#160;| Deutsch&#160;| English&#160;| español&#160;| français&#160;| македонски&#160;| മലയാളം&#160;| Nederlands&#160;| русский&#160;| slovenščina&#160;| Türkçe&#160;| українська&#160;| +/−
context_page_description: Sir Donald George Bradman, AC, nicknamed "The Don", was an Australian international cricketer, widely acknowledged as the greatest batsman of all time. Bradman's career Test batting average of 99.94 has been cited as the greatest achievement by any sportsman in any major sport.
  The story that the young Bradman practised alone with a cricket stump and a golf ball is part of Australian folklore. Bradman's meteoric rise from bush cricket to the Australian Test team took just over two years. Before his 22nd birthday, he had set many records for top scoring, some of which still stand, and became Australia's sporting idol at the height of the Great Depression.
  During a 20-year playing career, Bradman consistently scored at a level that made him, in the words of former Australia captain Bill Woodfull, "worth three batsmen to Australia". A controversial set of tactics, known as Bodyline, was specially devised by the England team to curb his scoring. As a captain and administrator, Bradman was committed to attacking, entertaining cricket; he drew spectators in record numbers. He hated the constant adulation, however, and it affected how he dealt with others.
context_section_description: Bradman's early development was shaped by the high bounce of the ball on matting-over-concrete pitches. He favoured "horizontal-bat" shots (such as the hook, pull and cut) to deal with the bounce and devised a unique grip on the bat handle that would accommodate these strokes without compromising his ability to defend. Employing a side-on stance at the wicket, Bradman kept perfectly still as the bowler ran in. His backswing had a "crooked" look that troubled his early critics, but he resisted entreaties to change. His backswing kept his hands in close to the body, leaving him perfectly balanced and able to change his stroke mid-swing, if need be. Another telling factor was the decisiveness of Bradman's footwork. He "used the crease" by either coming metres down the pitch to drive, or playing so far back that his feet ended up level with the stumps when playing the cut, hook or pull.
  Bradman's game evolved with experience. He temporarily adapted his technique during the Bodyline series, deliberately moving around the crease in an attempt to score from the short-pitched deliveries. At his peak, in the mid-1930s, he had the ability to switch between a defensive and attacking approach as the occasion demanded. After the Second World War, he adjusted to bat within the limitations set by his age, becoming a steady "accumulator" of runs. However, Bradman never truly mastered batting on sticky wickets. Wisden commented, "[i]f there really is a blemish on his amazing record it is ... the absence of a significant innings on one of those 'sticky dogs' of old".
caption: Bradman hooks English left-arm fast bowler Bill Voce during the 1936–37 series. The position of Bradman's left foot in relation to the stumps is an example of how he used the crease when batting.
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