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Don Bradman's 'Continuous Rotary Batting Process'
The Crowd
Roar Guru
27th February, 2008
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The Crowd
Roar Guru
27th February, 2008
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3519 Reads

An article in the SMH some months ago described how Michael Clarke was imitating Bradman’s one-stump trick.

This almost single image of Bradman’s early development is, we feel, largely responsible for his batting style remaining misunderstood.

Don Bradman’s instinctive and dynamic play was anything but that of a one trick pony, and we believe the origins of his batting lie hidden on page 10 of his book Farewell to Cricket:

“To make my game interesting I would organize two sides consisting of well-known international names and would bat for Taylor, Gregory, Collins and so on, in turn. The door behind me was the wicket, and I devised a system of ways to get caught out and of boundaries. Many a time I incurred mother’s displeasure because I just had to finish some important ‘Test Match’ at the very moment she wanted me for a meal. The open side of my playing area corresponded to the on-side of a cricket field, and therefore I did not have to chase the ball for any shots on the off-side.

This rather extraordinary and primitive idea was purely a matter of amusement, but looking back over the years I can understand how it must have developed the co-ordination of brain, eye and muscle which was to serve me so well in important matches later on.”

To understand Bradman people must be prepared to imagine and consider the highly tuned co-ordination, dexterity and speed of mind, bat and body required to act out these ‘Test Matches’. The almost frenetic motion necessary to control the golf ball with his stump in order to play these games would be the time when Bradman fused brain, eye and muscle to function as ‘One’ in a flexible and versatile way.

Experimentation suggests such movement and control is only possible through a process which is activated through the ‘Forward Rotation of the Shoulders’. However, having assimilated this quick moving flow, to meet the needs of batsmanship at twentytwo yards and to accommodate the backlift and the playing of his strokes, Bradman would have simply reversed this forward motion to a ‘Backwards Shoulder Rotation’ in order to enact the “Continuous ‘Rotary’ Batting Process” he used so successfully.

That his high scoring was both immediate and sustained suggests the co-ordinated method by which he made all those runs was ingrained while at play as a boy. This supports our belief, that to all intents, ‘Bradman was Bradman’ even before picking up a bat in competition:

1. Adopting an ideally balanced, closed face between the feet grip and stance, Bradman stood still as the bowler approached.
2. With the bowler in delivery stride, his light bat would commence its ‘Rotation’, ready to react, while maintaining the balance and capacity to play off back or front foot with equal facility.
3. On sighting the ball from the bowler’s hand, the continuing motion of the bat causes the automatic lifting of the rear foot so allowing feet and body to flow freely in direct response to the ball. The only premeditated commitment being the uplift of the bat in 2.
4. At this point the chosen stroke would be fashioned. However, crucially, the co-ordinated rotation and continuous motion of the action would provide the flexibility to adjust all strokes right up to the very moment of either playing or leaving the ball. In this way each ball would be treated and played as an entity in itself. ( No Drilled Regulation Shots )
5. This same flexibility allows the wrists, hands and fingers to manipulate and fine-tune the stroke ‘as it is being played’.
6. Following the action of hitting, the bat automatically turns over so playing the ball safely to ground while continuing its natural path to completion of Bradman’s distinctive full follow through.

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Through observation and practical experience, and given the habitual timing and speed of the backlift necessary to activate the process, it appears Don Bradman fell into a repetitive batting formula which became purely an instinctive response and reaction to the ball alone. ( Bradman ‘The Art of Cricket’: “The sight of the ball seems to trigger off a corresponding reaction so that movement becomes almost a habit”. )

Should Michael Clarke, or any other player, allow themselves to fall into the different process and ‘Feel’ of Bradman’s alternative batting formula, we see no good reason why they should not reap the benefits of his proven technique.

Although different to Bradman in style, it is noticeable the co-ordination, fluency and timing of Sangakkara’s strokeplay is induced through the continuous motion of his bat.

Going out at the Top
If ever a sportsman went out at the top it was Don Bradman aged 40, 27th August 1948. Despite deteriorating eyesight, fibrositis and indifferent health he still managed to produce:

Matches Innings Not Out  Runs Average Centuries
1947-48
First Class  9 12 2 1296 129.6 8
Test Matches 5 6 2 715 178.75 4
1948
First Class 23 31 4 2428 89.92 11
Test Matches 5 9 2 508 72.57 2

Together with the evenness of his scoring throughout a long career, herein lies further evidence of the natural, repetitive and “Continuous ‘Rotary’ Batting Process” Bradman first evolved and then utilized ball by ball, innings by innings, match by match and season by season during the days of uncovered wickets.

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