Bradman turns 92

There was a chilling realisation among his legion of followers that his days may be numbered when he said: quot;As my days on earth rapidly draw to a close, I am proud to have set an example of all that is best in our noble game.quot;. Bradman continued in his address: quot;Little did my parents dream on 27th August, 1908 that their new-born son would have an oration named after him and delivered by the Prime Minister.quot;

The frail old man is acknowledged in every cricketing nation as the greatest cricketer who ever lived. Bradman became a national icon during the depression years of the 1930s. Known as quot;The Donquot;, his achievements are unlikely to be equalled. He scored 6,996 runs in 52 Tests from 1928 to 1948, hitting 29 hundreds and 13 half-centuries.

In this month8217;s oration in Bradman8217;s honour, Australian Prime Minister John Howard, a self-described cricket tragic, said it was not Bradman8217;s record alone, nor the times in which he played, but the quality of the man himself which had elevated him to the status of quot;greatest living Australian.quot;

quot;Even now, in another century, in a world scarcely recognisable to that in which he played, the name Bradman resonates with meaning 8212; talent, determination, commitment, fair play, honour.quot;

Australia8217;s captain Steve Waugh, a staunch traditionalist, said of Bradman: quot;He is the symbol of Australian cricket, the heartbeat, the inspiration, the image of all that is good in sport and life in general.quot;

At the Bradman Museum, in Bowral, where Bradman spent his boyhood years in southern New South Wales, the Governor-General Sir William Deane opened Sunday a special exhibition, titled A Perfect Ten, honouring the top performers in ten world Sports of whom Bradman is one. A birthday lunch followed with a highlight being the cutting of a cake shaped like a cricket bat and topped with a ball and Australia8217;s baggy green cap.