Donald Bradman With The Australian Cricket Team in England in 1948 - Role

Role

Along with Chappie Dwyer and Jack Ryder, Bradman was one of the three selectors who chose the squad to tour England. This gave Bradman more power than other Australian captains, who did not have an explicit vote in team selection. This was further magnified by Bradman being a member of the Board of Control while an active player, a threefold combination that he alone has occupied in Australian cricket history. According to Gideon Haigh, he "was the dominant figure in Australian cricket", who went on to become an "unimpeachable figure".

Turning 40 in August during the tour, Bradman was the by far the most senior and oldest player on the team. Bill Brown was the next oldest, making his third tour of England at 36. His vice-captain Lindsay Hassett was the third-oldest player, at the age of 35. Ernie Toshack was born in December 1914, and the remaining 13 players were born in 1916 or later. Five players, including Ray Lindwall, Bill Johnston and Morris, his two most prolific Test bowlers and batsman respectively, were more than 12 years younger than he was. Neil Harvey, the youngest player at the age of 19, was only two months old when Bradman made his Test debut. Bradman was viewed as a father figure by players such as Harvey and Sam Loxton. Before the tour, Bradman had played 47 Tests; Brown, the only other member who had played regularly before the Second World War, had appeared in 20 Tests. For Bradman, it was the most personally fulfilling period of his playing days, as the divisiveness within the team of the 1930s had passed. He wrote:

Knowing the personnel, I was confident that here at last was the great opportunity which I had longed for. A team of cricketers whose respect and loyalty were unquestioned, who would regard me in a fatherly sense and listen to my advice, follow my guidance and not question my handling of affairs ... there are no longer any fears that they will query the wisdom of what you do. The result is a sense of freedom to give full reign to your own creative ability and personal judgment.

However, some players expressed displeasure at Bradman's ruthless obsession towards annihilating the opposition. The all rounder Keith Miller, who was one the two bowling spearheads, deliberated allowed himself to be bowled first ball for duck during the match against Essex, while Bradman was his batting partner, in a protest against Australia's world record of scoring 721 runs in one day. Miller also deplored Bradman's hard-nosed attitude in the match against Leveson-Gower's XI, which was traditionally regarded as a "festival match". Feeling that Bradman was needlessly batting Australia far beyond impregnability, Miller played with reckless aggression, rather than a measured style in line with Bradman's aim of remaining undefeated. Bradman's later letter revealed his hostility towards Miller. Sid Barnes later criticised Bradman for his reluctance to allow Ron Hamence—one of the reserve batsmen—to partake in meaningful matchplay; due to Bradman's reluctance to risk Australia's unbeaten run, Hamence usually batted low in the order and had limited opportunities because the senior batsmen were rarely dismissed cheaply. Along with fringe bowlers Doug Ring and Colin McCool, Hamence called himself "Ground Staff" due to the trio's lack of on-field duties, and they often sang ironic songs about their status.

Bradman's relentless use of his pace attack and fieldsmen also raised eyebrows. At the time, Lindwall and Miller were groundbreaking fast bowlers, with high pace and the ability to deliver menacing short-pitched bowling at the upper body of the English batsmen. Prior to the Second World War, pace bowlers were generally much slower and did not often bowl at the body. England had yet to develop bowlers such as Lindwall and Miller, and as a result, Australia were able to pepper the upper body of the opposition without fear of retaliation. At times, the public found Lindwall and Miller's short-pitched bowling to be excessive and booed the Australians. On the fielding front, Barnes was deployed as close to the bat as possible at either forward short-leg or point, with one foot on the pitch. This had an intimidatory effect on the batsmen and led many to question whether it was in the spirit of the game.

Bradman's dominant cricketing stature was also a key platform of his team's popularity with the public. The leading English writer R. C. Robertson-Glasgow said "we want him to do well. We feel we have a share in him. He is more than Australian. He is a world batsman." Haigh opined that "perhaps no touring cricketer ... has been as feted as Bradman in that northern summer". The Australians were invariably greeted by record crowds and gate receipts across the country. The attendance at the Fourth Test remains a record for a Test on English soil. The Australian journalist Andy Flanagan said that "cities, towns and hotels are beflagged, carpets set down, and dignitaries wait to extend an official welcome. He is the Prince of Cricketers." Haigh said that "cricket approached the 50s at the peak of its popularity, albeit, after Bradman's final Test ... without the player chiefly responsible for it". Bradman received hundreds of personal letters every day, and one of his dinner speeches was broadcast live, causing the British Broadcasting Corporation to postpone the news bulletin. Of Bradman's retirement, Robertson-Glasgow said "... a miracle has been removed from among us... So must ancient Italy have felt when she heard of the death of Hannibal."

Bradman ended the first-class matches atop the batting aggregates and averages, with 2428 runs at 89.92, and eleven centuries, the most by any player. The next most prolific scorer was Morris with 1922 runs, and Hassett had the next best average with 74.42. His highest score of the tour was 187 against Essex, and he reached 150 on four occasions. Despite his success, he also gained attention for his troubles against Alec Bedser's leg trap; Bradman was dismissed three consecutive times in the Tests in this manner, and twice outside the Tests to other bowlers using the same ploy. Robertson-Glasgow said "at last his batting showed human fallibility. Often, especially at the start of the innings, he played where the ball wasn't, and spectators rubbed their eyes". In the Tests, Bradman finished with 508 runs at 72.57 and two centuries. Only Morris and Barnes averaged higher and only Morris and Denis Compton of England aggregated more. Apart from the match against Leicestershire, when he batted at No. 4, and the two non-first-class matches against Scotland, Bradman always batted at No. 3.N- He bowled only one over during the tour, against the Leveson-Gower's XI when the result of the match was beyond doubt.