Gordon Versus Sir Donald Bradman
Gordon District Cricket Club | November 09, 2025
Don Bradman seemed to have a liking for playing against Gordon. Here is a short profile of his games both at Chatswood and Hurstville.
Gordon’s first encounter with Don Bradman was against St George at Hurstville Oval in 1926-27. After Gordon had posted a moderate total of 211, Bert Watson top-scoring with 73, St George recovered from 7 wickets down for not much over 100 to score 219 and win by 8 runs. Bradman who was 18 years-old in his first season in Sydney, was bowled for 11 by another 18 year-old, Gordon leg-spinner Norval Campbell. Norval who took 6-94, was selected in the NSW team for two games later in the season.
This match however, was just a temporary respite from the might of ‘The Don’ because he scored two centuries and a double century in three further matches against Gordon!
His first appearance at Chatswood Oval was two seasons later, aged 20, in the first round of the 1928-29 season. Not yet a Test player, Bradman was keen to enhance his claims for selection in the Australian team for the series against the touring English team. He scored 107, bowled by Norman Fox, in the St George total of 338. After slumping to 5 for about 80, Charles Kelleway (42) and Bert Oldfield (91) with his highest score for the Club, led an unsuccessful fightback to take the total to 241.
It was not until three and a half years later, in the last round of the 1931-32 season at Chatswood Oval (played on 16 and 23 April), that Gordon met Bradman again. By then he had established himself as a great batsman, particularly by his deeds on the Australian team’s tour of England in 1930 when he had scored 974 runs at 139.14 in the Test series and a record 2,960 runs at 98.66 in all matches on the tour.
The larger than usual crowd at Chatswood Oval to see him, was not disappointed. Bradman scored 201 in a total of 356. He was dismissed, stumped Oldfield bowled Campbell, who took 6-145. The conjecture during the following week on whether Gordon’s ageing stars could produce another special performance chasing this big score came to nothing when the second day’s play was washed out.
The last meeting with Bradman was only five months later at Hurstville Oval in the first round of the 1932-33 season. Gordon batted first and collapsed disastrously when the first eight batsmen scored only 41 between them. The total became a more respectable 216 after C Brown (92) and Keith Frazer (71*) combined in a breezy partnership of 136 in 80 minutes which was a ninth wicket record for the Club.
St George won very easily however, scoring 2-295 with Bradman contributing 108*. This brought Bradman’s total in 4 innings against Gordon to 427 runs at an average of 142.33. It was later in this season that the English captain, Douglas Jardine, introduced the infamous ‘bodyline’ attack to curb Bradman.
After seven seasons with St George, Bradman played two seasons with North Sydney before transferring to South Australia in 1934-35. He scored a total of 3,221 runs at 89.47 for the two clubs. His average was and still is, a record career average for the Sydney First Grade competition.
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