by Mayukh Ghosh

761 runs in 117.1 overs.
In 1930. At the Sydney Cricket Ground.
New South Wales against Queensland.

A young man named Donald Bradman scored 452 of them.
He later identified it as the only occasion in which he had deliberately set out to break a record.

Only two bowlers had somewhat decent looking figures.
Pud Thurlow who didn’t take any wickets.

And Alec Hurwood who took six wickets.
Hurwod bowled the only maiden over in that innings.

Hurwood bowled medium pace with the new ball but later he often switched to bowling off-breaks.
That day he managed to hit the length consistently and Bradman was relatively cautious against his bowling.

It was such a commendable effort that it took him to England. Many believed that it was this spell which helped him find his name in the squad chosen for the Ashes in 1930.

Even Bradman himself thought so.
“ I always thought he got to England because he bowled very well when I got 452 against Queensland. He was a useful spinner but wasn’t fast enough when bowling medium pace with the new ball.”

Hurwood didn’t play in any of the Tests in that summer of 1930 but chronicled his experience in a charming little diary.
Later that year he made his Test debut against the West Indies.

Bradman was such an invincible force that a bowler who could even stop him from scoring freely was considered good enough to play Test cricket.