Bradman's War

by Malcolm Knox

Hailed as one of the greatest cricket teams of all time, the 1948 'Invincibles' are the only Australians to complete a tour of England undefeated. Their crushing victories under the guidance of captain Don Bradman on his final tour brought cultural and statistical glories, notwithstanding Bradman's duck in the fifth Ashes match, famously stranding his Test batting average at 99.94.But often overlooked today are the mixed feelings about the manner in which these feats were achieved. Bradman's ruthlessness scotched hopes that after the terrible realities of the Second World War, the game might resume in a more friendly spirit, dispensing with the angry competitiveness epitomised by Bodyline. In his revelatory account of the legendary tour, Malcolm Knox lays bare the shock among the fans, commentators and players – from both teams – at Bradman's single-minded on- and off-field tactics, as he exacted revenge for pre-war slights he was unable to shake off in his pursuit of history. He exposes the rift between players who had experienced the horrors of active duty, epitomised by the fiery but sporting RAAF pilot Keith Miller, and those who had not, such as the invalided Bradman, who pursued the war-ravaged veterans of the county clubs with as much grim determination as the Ashes.The Invincibles is more than a record of an extraordinary cricket achievement. While the talents of the likes of Ray Lindwall, Sid Barnes, Lindsay Hassett, Bill Johnston, Arthur Morris and, of course, the Don himself, are celebrated, it is also prompts reflection on what place entertainment and inspiration have in competitive sport. When it's winner takes all, what's left for the supporters?

Genres: History, Nonfiction

450 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Malcolm Knox was born in 1966. He grew up in Sydney and studied in Sydney and Scotland, where his one-act play, POLEMARCHUS, was performed in St Andrews and Edinburgh. He has worked for the SYDNEY MORNING HERALD since 1994 and his journalism has been published in Australia, Britain, India and the West Indies.

His first novel Summerland was published to great acclaim in the UK, US, Australia and Europe in 2000. In 2001 Malcolm was named one of the Sydney Morning Herald's Best Young Australian novelists. He lives in Sydney with his wife Wenona, son Callum and daughter Lilian. His most recent novel, A Private Man, was critically acclaimed and was shortlisted for the Commomwealth Prize and the Tasmanian Premier’s Award.

Reviews

[Tim Armstrong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastically insightful book about what a self centred person Bradman was.
Yes, he was possibly the greatest cricketer of all time, but Knox exposes another side of Bradman and it is a real eye opener.
Those that went to war, came back different people where cricket wasn't the great battle!! They had just lived through the great battle and Bradman somehow didn't participate in the 2nd World War!!
There is great line in this book from Keith Miller, about pressure, that is just about worth the purchase price of this book!! I won't give it away here but if you want to get the complete picture of "our Don Bradman" read this book.

[Graham Senders · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some interesting insights into the events. Some sloppy writing and a few errors even I noted. Tasmania did not play in the Sheffield Shield in the 1940s for example. I do love that the team members apparently called the man "Braddles". But what did he think of that?

[Anindya Dutta · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best book ever written on the Invincibles.

[Dave Forsyth]

Wow, what a story! An in-depth look at the career of one of Australia's sporting icons. Loved it

[Mark Green · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very nuanced in its treatment all aspects. Read in a day as so good.

[Peter Langston · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this outstanding book, Knox has returned to source material to bring out the truth behind the 1948 Invincibles tour if England. Long hailed the best Australian side of all time, Knox peels back the gloss of the achievement of going through a long tour of the UK undefeated to reveal the captain's avarice for revenge and honours. Revealed in books such as Fingleton's "Brightly Fades The Don" and others, plus news articles of the time and other reputable references, the unhappiness of key members of the squad, including vice captain Lindsay Hassett, becomes obvious. This was, pure and simple, Bradman crushing the English and taking the opportunity, now armed with the lethal dual spearheads of Lindwall and Miller, of atoning for Body Line. It wasn't enough that the game was restructured after the 32-33 English thrashing of Australia to favour batsmen and hence the games best batsman ... no, he wanted them to grovel. Miller and Hassett were most unhappy about the tactics and ruthlessness approach of Bradman to the opposition, especially as the pair were servicemen based in England during the just finished war. Bradman's first and only care appears to have been in servicing his legacy. Know finds it interesting that of all of the players who would go on to be household names from that tour, none subsequently named it as the happiest or favourite overseas assignment in the Baggy Green. Based on true and original sources, its a book none but Fingleton or O'Reilly would have dared write before Bradman was dead. As it is, Knox has made sure he is long gone. A terrific read.

[Tristram Mckay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ahhh the lazy days of summer. So much has changed in cricket it is sometimes hard remembering tuning into the transistor radio and hearing the English grounds described to you in all their idiosyncrasies, without any vision yet one was able to live the scene vividly. Experiences described such as the old cricket trunk, batting on uncovered wickets, and boundaries being brought in from the pickets only when the crowd is literally overflowing onto the field of play is beautifully relived here.

The nuances of each player on each side were set up in a very precise manner. While the focus is on Sir Donald Bradman, this story also explains how Britain was scarred from the war and how cricket had a measure to bring back hope and happiness. Whilst the story definitely paints a dark hue over the aggressive win at all costs approach from Bradman when Britain merely needed spiritual rejuvenation through cricket, in my opinion the author takes great pains in offering both sides of the story. In that sense, the book is a blessing in that it isn't the almost ritualistic adoration of the Don, but an even sided critique of a man under immense pressure to create a need to win, with contrare motivations within both camps.

The story is I found a very easy, chronological, match by match, blow by blow, retelling of events and a rich sociocultural evaluation of the times. A truly outstanding cricket an history piece in my opinion.

[Daniel Rex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite a detailed and intense account of this era of Cricketing History, the immediate post-WW2 period, and the grim, win-at-all-costs attitude that the elder Bradman demanded of his team which toured in 1948. Interesting insights into the personality of Bradman!

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yes, it was pretty good. It opened my eyes to the life of a touring team in the 40's, but it seems the author was skewed against Bradman on just a handful of issues. Bradman wasn't everyone's favourite cricketer/person but no one is!

[Ben Hunter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thought it was great. The team was full of interesting characters who had to work hard for their money.