5 interesting facts about Don Bradman

2) Rift with team mates

In spite of being the greatest cricketer of his times, Bradman wasn’t exactly the most popular guy around.  He had several well publicised rifts with team mates and opponents.

In the 1930s, when Australian cricket was riding the crest of the Don Bradman tidal wave, the issue of sectarianism had created a chasm within the great side. The team was divided into protestants, including Bradman, and Catholics, chief among them, Jack Fingleton and Bill O’ Reilly.

Also contributing to this were the facts that Bradman was a teetotaller and his parsimony. As a result, when Bradman received monetary gifts from wealthy business people, he did not offer to buy his teammates a drink.

Bradman also had a rivalry with English batsman Sir Walter Hammond. But for Bradman, Hammond would have been known as the greatest cricketer of his time. Hammond made his debut a year before Bradman, and therefore found himself being overshadowed by the Don throughout his career. This caused the Englishman a great deal of resentment.