What was the contribution of Don Bradman to Australian history?

Answer 1

Donald George Bradman was born on 27 August 1908 in Cootamundra, New South Wales, Australia. He was, and is, one of Australia's most popular sporting heroes of all time, as he was a very skilled batsman.

Bradman grew up in the New South Wales town of Bowral, where he perfected his batting skills by practising hitting into a corrugated iron water tank on a brick stand behind the Bradman home: when hit into the curved brick stand, the ball would rebound at high speed and varying angles. Bradman's batting average of 99.94 from his 52 Tests was nearly double the average of any other player before or since.

Bradman was only 18 when he was drafted in grade cricket in Sydney. Within a year he was on the New South Wales state team, and within three he had made his Test debut. In the English summer of 1930 he scored 974 runs over the course of the five Ashes tests, the highest individual total in any test series. Even at almost forty years of age - most players today are retired by their mid-thirties - Bradman returned to play cricket after World War II. On 12 June 1948, he scored 138 in the First Test Cricket at Trent Bridge. In his farewell 1948 tour of England the team he led, dubbed "The Invincibles", went undefeated throughout the tour, a feat unmatched to date.

Bradman was awarded a knighthood in 1949 and a Companion of the Order of Australia, the country's highest civil honour, in 1979. In 1996, he was inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame as one of the ten inaugural members. After his retirement, he remained heavily involved in cricket administration, serving as a selector for the national team for nearly 30 years.

Answer 2

During the time of his debut, the period which Australia was linked into, was the time which they had struggled with the great depression. Bradman's desperation for the game of cricket, gave great entertainment and inspiration to the people of Australia, so the minds of Australia would not be distracted with the economic and financial catastrophes at there present state.