Bradman and Bowral — an enduring legacy Premium

Discover the historic journey to Bowral, home of Sir Don Bradman, through stunning landscapes and a cricket lover's paradise.

The journey to Bowral is a leap back in time. The train swerves past rolling hills, scythes through jungle, slithers into tunnels, weaves across undulating plans with cattle grazing and horses stomping, tiny stations blur on the window, and the odd country home pops into view.

Two hours away from Sydney, the Australian hinterland is even more pretty. Ancient churches, gnarled trees and the old post office are part of the mix. And Bowral, the land of Sir Don Bradman, is high on aesthetics and staggering history, all centred on one man with a Test average of 99.94, an Everest that has never be scaled.

Past Cashmere Essentials and a bakery where the town’s people gather for coffee, pies and gossip, the road turns left. Every step retraces a past when a lad hit a cricket ball and then became a colossus in the cricketing universe. “He used to smack the ball all over the park, didn’t he?,” an elderly gentleman pipes up.

Hearing a ‘who?’, he says: “Bradman, who else?” Every individual seems to have a Bradman connection; in a sense they all own him, nurse his memory passed by awe-struck grandparents, and they are mighty proud of him. All roads lead towards the Bradman Oval, the turf where the great man worked on his craft and became so good that his name had to be embossed on the venue.

Inside, a lady walks her dog, two youngsters sprint, a few mimic the cover drive and pose for pictures, some make video calls back home. The ground is tree-fringed and in the distance, a green hill looms. The pavilion is woody and stately while Bradman’s statue in the back garden, is charming. And just around the corner is the Bradman Museum.

This is not a place focussed on one man even if the name suggests that. It is a spot that celebrates cricket, that old game accidentally shaped by bored shepherds striking a ball with a clump of wood in the English countryside. Yes, the hat-tips to Bradman are there, his life and career are chronicled. There are old photographs, scorecards, a video on the Bodyline series and references to the squads he played in.

Yet, there is no hint of narcissism. The history of the game, the Kerry Packer years, Ashes, the evolution of cricket gear, the laws of the sport and the mighty players all find space. On the walls, Sunil Gavaskar, Viv Richards and many others stare back. A section is earmarked for women cricketers. And in crisp videos, Ian Chappell, Dennis Lillee, Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid speak about the game, its past, the present and the road ahead.