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Sir Donald Bradman |
The Don's centenary will be celebrated on Aug 27.
The chief guest was Arthur Morris, aged 86 but sharp-witted with amazing memory. A fellow-invincible, he had played with Bradman in the famous 1948 Oval Test which Australia won by an innings despite Bradman scoring a duck in his final Test innings.
Morris recalled, "I'm often asked whether I had played in Don's final Test. They feel shocked when I tell them that I had scored 196 not out in that Test!" Somehow Donald's duck has become a folklore, but Morris's century is forgotten.
When I asked Morris how Bradman would have performed in Twenty20 cricket, he replied that he would have been a sensation because he had every shot in the book and could hit the ball anywhere, being a genius.
However, he added, "Don would have had to attend a drama school to learn how to jump, yell and hug. We did not have good deodorants then for hugging each other after a day's play!"
Over 200 cricket-lovers thronged Tattersalls Club in the heart of Sydney for a sumptuous luncheon organised by Ron Holmes, an Indian settled in Australia since the 1970s.
Tendulkar's cap helps raise funds
The highlight of the function was auctioning of cricketing memorabilia.
Sachin Tendulkar's ODI cap, Adam Gilchrist's Tribute bat and an Australian ODI shirt autographed by Steve Waugh raised about $6,000 for LBW Trust to educate children affected by poverty and war. Tendulkar is considered a cricketing god in Australia and is often spoken in the same breath as Bradman, who passed away in 2001. Tendulkar along with Shane Warne visited the Don at his Adelaide home in 1998.
