Sir Don’s home a museum now

MUMBAI: When Sunil Gavaskar said: “Thank you, I can now die peacefully,” he uttered those moving words after he visited a place special for cricket lovers.

The place in question is none other than the house in Bowral, Australia, where Sir Don Bradman grew up into the greatest batsman the history of the game has ever seen.

The house has been restored now to its full glory by Andrew Leeming, a cricket and a heritage enthusiast, and converted into a sort of Bradman museum.

Leeming, who was at the Mumbai Press Club talking ing Bradman’s rich legacy, is confident if you visit the Bradman House at Shepard Street in Bowral, you will understand exactly how Bradman picked up his cricket skills without the coaching of current age.

The key part in the Bradman average of 99.94 in Tests, is the water tank in the house against which he hit the golf ball and batted with a stump on a rough cement patch.

Equally impressive was Bradman’s stamina in playing the long innings and his fine fielding skills.

According to Leeming’s research the physical fitness could have been built due to the regular bicycling that Bradman did in the hilly Bowral hamlet.

The bicycle which Bradman used to pedal away is not there but a similar bicycle has been placed at the museum.

Among other things, there’s a typewriter similar to the one Bradman used to write in reply

THE KEY PART IN THE BRADMAN STORY IS THE WATERTANKINTHE HOUSE AGAINST WHICH HE HIT THE GOLF BALL AND BATTED WITH A STUMP ON A ROUGH CEMENT PATCH