by Arunabha Sengupta

In the mid-1980s, an off-beat, whimsical cricket dictionary was created by a publication …with rather peculiar definitions of every cricketing term.
For example: Bat (noun)—a device used to pat down imaginary bumps on a 22 yard surface, often used to lean on when at the non-striker’s end, occasionally used to score runs.

For one particular entry, the definition simply read: “See God.”

There was also an associated parable. A lady in Australia listening to live commentary of Him scoring a century in England marvelled at the miracle of His managing to see the ball in the darkness of night.

During one tour, a letter was sent by a fan with a photograph of his two eyes in place of the name of the recipient. In place of address was written—“Playing somewhere in England.”
Yes, it did reach him.

During his final tour of England, King George VI came across the legendary scorer William ‘Fergie’ Ferguson and asked him, “Tell me Mr. Ferguson, do you use an adding-machine when the Don is in?”

In 1986, after 22 years in captivity, Nelson Mandela was visited in the prison by former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser.
Mandela’s first question was, ‘Tell me Mr Fraser, is Don Bradman still alive?’

In 1959, BJ Wakeley produced a book simply titled Bradman The Great. A great work if you ask me, although people who find statistics tiresome, or Jack Fingleton, may disagree.
In it he analysed every innings played by Bradman in first-class cricket—the strokes essayed; the speed of scoring, the time of arrival at the wicket; the chances offered, if any.

From Wakeley’s fascinating analysis we know that if every chance ever offered by Bradman had been accepted, he would have scored 23,667 runs in first-class cricket at 77.92 with 94 hundreds and a highest of 452*.
In Tests the numbers would be 5,438 runs at 74.79 with 21 hundreds and a highest of 273.
No wonder the entry against Bradman (noun) read See God.

Don Bradman was born on 27 Aug 1908.