Don’s Oval duck and all that

Australia captain Don Bradman is bowled for a duck by England’s Eric Hollies in his final Test innings at the Oval in London on August 14, 1948. Pic/Getty images

Of the seven ducks Sir Donald Bradman endured in his 52-Test career across 80 innings, the most significant one was in his final Test innings. It was caused by a googly from England's Eric Hollies moments after he got a fitting, three cheer welcome to the crease by Norman Yardley's Englishmen at the Oval in 1948.

Last Monday marked 75 years since this occurrence, which threw up cricket's cruel side. The game's biggest name was not expected to depart from the international turf in such fashion - bowled, and that too for a duck. Also, the zero prevented Bradman from ending up with the 100-plus average he so richly deserved, and 99.94 became part of cricket history.

Bradman's duck is brought up in cricket discussions and could also be used as a tool to console someone who is duck-stricken.

Irving Rosenwater, who is credited for writing one of the finest books on Bradman, is quoted in Kersi Meher-Homji's 1993 book on ducks as saying, "If all the best players in cricket were good enough to avoid ever getting a duck, what a boring game cricket would be."

In his 1978 book, Rosenwater wrote, "The Hollies duck - dramatic and decisive - is one of history's most vivid noughts, only a little way behind Bradman's nought at Melbourne in December '32. But Hollies nearly was not on the field at the Oval at all."

The writer then referred to Leslie Duckworth's history of Warwickshire, whose then committee convinced Hollies to accept the invitation to travel for the Oval Test. While realising that the series was already decided in Australia's favour, Hollies didn't believe it was worth missing two county games. How Bradman would have wished for Hollies to stick to his decision!

Over the years, one of the reasons put forward for Bradman's duck was that he was teary-eyed following the reception given to him by the English team. The great Australian denied it.

"Great exaggeration," he exclaimed, even as England batting great Len Hutton, who was on the field at the Oval, quotes Bradman as saying, "It's not easy to bat with tears in your eyes."

Meanwhile, in Farewell to Cricket, Bradman dwelled on the dismissal substantially without being extraordinarily expansive. He also threw in a message for cricketers at the end: "I dearly wanted to do well. It was not to be. That reception had stirred my emotions very deeply and
made me anxious - a dangerous state of mind for any batsman to be in. I played the first ball from Hollies though not sure I really saw it.

The second was a perfect length googly which deceived me. I touched it with the inside edge of the bat and the off bail was dislodged. So in the midst of my great jubilation at our team's success, I had a rather sad heart about my own farewell as I wended my way pavilion-wards. In my final matches at Nottingham, Leeds, Manchester and Lord's, I scored centuries, so maybe the Oval was just one of those great reminders which are continually being sent to cricketers to keep their feet, metaphorically speaking, on the ground."

Neil Harvey, the baby in that Australian team at 19, gives us a peep into what happened in the dressing room when Bradman returned. Australia off-spinner-turned-author Ashley Mallett got him to reveal for the book Neil Harvey - The Last Invincible: "When he reached the dressing-room, Bradman sat near his locker and said, ‘Well, fancy doing that…' " The book also brings to light what Hollies said to teammate Jack Crapp when the crowd clapped for Bradman as he made his way to the pavilion: "Best f''k''g ball I've bowled all season and they're clapping for him."

On a more serious note, Jack Fingleton, a former teammate of Bradman's, wrote in Brightly Fades The Don: "The game that had given him so much had denied him at the very last appearance."

In Mumbai's Opera House area, Dilip Wagle, then a 13-year-old cricket fanatic, kept abreast of what was happening in London via radio commentary, as India was one day shy of celebrating the completion of one year of Independence. Wagle told me on Tuesday: "No, I didn't expect a big score from Bradman. I knew that the law of averages would catch up." Bradman's run of scores leading up the Oval Test was 138, 0, 38, 89, 7, 30', 33 and 173'.
Wagle's favourite player in the Australian team was charismatic all-rounder Keith Miller, whom Bradman reckoned was, "One of the most volatile cricketers
of any age."

Australia won their fourth Test of the series at the Oval. It was a great series for the men from Down Under who were unbeaten right through the tour and were hence known as the Invincibles.

Like several tours visiting teams undertook to England, the trip did not end with the final Test.

Bradman played six of the seven remaining side games for the Australians and scored four centuries.

Talking about centuries, the modern player who came closest to Bradman - Sachin Tendulkar - scored his first Test hundred on the same day (August 14) that Bradman bid goodbye to Test cricket (as pointed out by ex-India player and selector Jatin Paranjape on Twitter recently).

Duck and a hundred being on either side of the spectrum notwithstanding, this is a coincidence entrenched in greatness.

And may cricket's most famous duck continue to be talked about for another 75 years.

mid-day's group sports editor Clayton Murzello is a purist with an open stance. He tweets @ClaytonMurzello

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