The Bizarre Pitch That Bamboozled Bradman!
On this day in 1948, Colombo came to a halt as more than 20,000 spectators surrounded the P Sara Oval to watch Sir Don Bradman score the same number of runs as the pitch!
Today marks a significant day as it's been 78 years since Sir Don Bradman's last visit to Ceylon before touring England for the Ashes and returning back to Australia as 'The Invincibles.' The P. Sara Oval was flocked by more than 20,000 spectators, some on trees, to witness the greatest batsman in the world at the time play against the Mahadevan Sathasivam led Ceylon team.
Crowds flocked to watch the greatest batsman alive
In fact, Australia visited Ceylon as 'Whistle Stops' (stopping at Ceylon and India before making the long ferry ride to England for the Ashes) 4 times - in 1930, 1934, 1938 and 1948, but Bradman only played twice in 1930 and 1948. He was out on hit wicket in the very first ball in 1930 but what happened 18 years later is a hilarious encounter that made headlines for a number of reasons.
The Length of a Cricket Pitch
The length of a Cricket pitch being 22 yards is the only rule in Cricket that has never changed since its inception in 1744, but this wasn't the case at the match played between Ceylon and Australia on this day today. The number 20 holds a significant place for two reasons - that was how much Bradman scored and also the length of the pitch that day!
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