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September 26, 2005
Bradman's secrets: hit the bloody ball
Our Don Bradman: defective eyesight, slow reflexes, but arguably the most devastating batsman in history, because of a "disequilibrating perturbation". Lacking the benefits of coaching and video replays and biomechanical analysis - he developed the perfect technique, according to Sports Medicine Australia's Sport Health magazine, picked up by The Age, but explained in greater depth in an earlier article by the authors here. His grip and his stance - bat between his feet, face closed - and using his top hand as a lever for his backswing, seem to be a major key.
"Compact and balanced, [he] moved his bat back and forth through continuous arcs, minimising lags in the way that his perceptual-motor system dealt with rapid environmental changes, and ensuring that the ball could be played as late as possible". That would help a good deal if one were trying to counter reverse swing, wouldn't it? Could we recommend the helpful diagrams to Messrs Hayden, Ponting, Gilchrist, Martyn, Clarke and Katich?
Posted by cw at September 26, 2005 03:35 PM
Comments
Mate, let it go already. By winning the Ashes, England gets back to the place where it shouldn't have lost them in the first place (ie losing to those shocking unwashed colonials, in the minds of the MCC wives of the 1800s). In effect, the best England can do in any Ashes series is "draw". They never get bragging rights, because they can still lose them.
And did Australia have victory parades last time they won a series? Come on - you're all acting like someone sneaked up behind you with two half-bricks while you had your legs apart.
You're now getting to the stage that the Brits were at when they went and lost the Ashes in the first place. Maybe that's the plan - incinerate a bail from the Oval and start a whole new "Ashes". Would that help?
Posted by: charles at September 26, 2005 07:41 PM
Cheeky bugger! Let's see how your bowlers go on OUR pitches. [By then, perhaps, even Ponting will have learned what to do when you win the toss.] Then we'll talk about England getting "back to the place where it shouldn't have lost them in the first place". Sheesh!
Posted by: cw at September 26, 2005 09:52 PM