Bradman’s backyard bat expected to fetch $15,000-$20,000
November 5th, 2010 - 5:50 pm ICT by IANSSydney, Nov 5 (IANS) Sir Donald Bradman’s backyard bat will be auctioned Sunday and is expected to fetch anything between $15,000-$20,000.
The bat which Bradman used for playing backyard cricket at his Adelaide home is termed as “perhaps the ultimate backyard bat” by sports memorabilia experts.
The willow was not only tested by the great Bradman but also by the other contemporaries such as Keith Miller and Lindsay Hassett during their visits to Bradman’s Holden Street home in Adelaide.
Tom Thompson, who published Bradman’s memoir ‘Farewell to cricket’ recalls the time when he and many others flocked the legendary batsman’s home after a Test match and would start belting around with the backyard bat.
“When there was an Adelaide game, everybody would go back and play in Bradman’s backyard. It was a fun thing,” Thompson was quoted as saying by the Sydney Morning Herald.
“The only rule that I was ever told by Bradman was that over the fence was definitely out and you could not play. He called them ‘ill-considered shots’. It was all about control and precision. With Bradman there was always rules,” he said.
The three-quarter sized backyard bat was produced by the British firm Sykes for young cricketers in 1936 and was signed by Bradman in the ownership position of the upper-left, reverse.
- Bradman's iconic 'backyard cricket' bats up for grabs - Nov 05, 2010
- Oz selectors' axe poised over Cameron White, says Jones - Mar 22, 2011
- Oldest surviving Test cricketer dies in New Zealand - Aug 02, 2010
- Clarke close to signing $1 mn bat deal - Jan 09, 2012
- Simpson, Hadlee to be honoured - Oct 26, 2011
- Clarke, a prisoner of Australian public perception - Apr 09, 2011
- Gavaskar tops Bradman in 'fantasy' selectors' 'In a League of Their Own' stakes - Oct 04, 2010
- Chappell tells coaches to follow Bradman's advice of pitching the ball up - Nov 25, 2010
- P. Sara Oval oozes history and tradition - Mar 28, 2011
- Cricket Australia rules out Ashes comeback from Warne - Dec 14, 2010
- Ian Chappell says Lara better than Ponting and Tendulkar - Jan 31, 2012
- Playing in South Africa is as tough as it gets: Clarke - Oct 04, 2011
- Historic SCG to get $186 million facelift - Jan 03, 2012
- Bellerive Oval doesn't seem to miss Ponting - Feb 24, 2012
- 'Tendulkar's achievements surpass those of Bradman' - Mar 31, 2011
Tags: backyard bat, backyard cricket, batsman, contemporaries, cricketers, fun thing, holden street, keith miller, lindsay hassett, memoir, morning herald, nov 5, ownership position, sir donald bradman, sports memorabilia, sydney morning herald, sydney nov, sykes, test match, tom thompson