Bradman would dominate any era

Bill Brown and Steve Waugh chat at the gathering of Australian Test cricketers in Sydney

At the gathering of over 150 Australian cricketers in Sydney much of the talk was about former players in general, and Don Bradman in particular.

"He'd be averaging 99 these days, believe me," said Arthur Morris, who played under Bradman after the war and was a member of the 1948 Invincibles. "He might even get himself up over the 100 because he was a unique batsman. He had tremendous determination and concentration and he had all the shots. He was amazing. We really can't compare anyone with him. Nobody comes close.

"There have been very good fast bowlers over the years but there were very good fast bowlers in his day, too," Morris continued. "Bodyline was impossible to bat against. If you had all the fast bowlers of today, bowling straight at the head with six fellas on the leg side, how would they go? Bradman had to play against that, and he didn't have a helmet."

Steve Waugh agreed that Bradman would have stood out in the modern game. "If he dominated his era, I think it's fair to say he'd dominate any era, including ours, to a similar degree. A genius is a genius. That's probably the most simple way you can put it."

Bill Brown, at 90 the oldest surviving Australian player and a colleague of Bradman's on the 1934, 1938 and 1948 tours of England, had no doubts that Bradman was in a different class. "He would have been successful whenever he played, one-day cricket, anything," said Brown. "He was just the complete player who seemed to be able to bat as long as he wanted to. He would just go on - 100, 200, 300 and on one occasion 400. That's just unbelievable to the average bloke."