One more ton for the Don

The eyes of the Australian sporting public will turn momentarily away from the football codes to cricket this Wednesday to celebrate one of the most important days of this country's sporting calendar.

This Wednesday will mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of Sir Donald George Bradman, the man who will forever be known as the greatest cricketer of all time and perhaps Australia's greatest ever sportsman.

As such he will always be an iconic figure in this country. If one could replant all the trees which have been cut down for the newspaper stories and books written about him, global warming may not be as big a talking point as it is.

So great was Bradman that the term 'Bradmanesque' has been coined to describe any batsman in the midst of a hot streak.

But to put Bradman's batting feats into perspective, his hot streak lasted his entire career.

And while killjoys will argue Bradman played predominantly against one nation, let's not forget he played in an era when pitches were not covered and vulnerable to an overnight soaking.

That Bradman averaged nearly 40 runs more than Graeme Pollock, the South African widely regarded as the second greatest batsman of all time, puts his achievement into perspective.

But Bradman, as singer-songwriter Paul Kelly's tribute to him goes, was 'more than just a batsman, he was something like a tide'.

And in the days of Bradman, Australians needed a constant source of inspiration to get them through the Great Depression. Phar Lap did briefly but he couldn't talk. Walter Lindrum could, but billiards did not capture the hearts and minds of Australians like cricket.

Poignantly, Lindrum became to be known as the 'Bradman of Billiards', a further tribute to how Bradman's name became a byword for greatness.

The same applied for baseball great Babe Ruth. There is a little-known picture of the two men together. But cricket is not widely played in the States.

This writer was once told a story about how the American owner of the picture was lamenting how the presence of 'that man next to Babe' lowered the value of the picture.

Just like Babe Ruth in the US, Bradman has been revered in this country for generations.

Cricket Australia will host a $495-a-head function in Sydney on Wednesday commemorating what would have been Bradman's 100th birthday.

There, current captain Ricky Ponting will become the first serving player/captain to deliver the sixth Sir Donald Bradman Oration, which CA considers to be a 'serious discussion on the meaning of cricket on the Australian way of life and on the Australian psyche'.

After last summer's bitter series against India, it will be interesting to hear what Ponting has to say about Bradman. Bradman had an insatiable appetite to win but his brilliance also inspired the tactics which saw the 1932-33 Ashes tour forever be known as the Bodyline series.

Just as Bill Woodful was to utter the words 'there's two teams out there and only one of them's playing cricket', Anil Kumble made similar reference last summer.

But the official function will be one of countless luncheons and dinners held around the country.

Bradman's birthtown of Cootamundra will host a function on Friday night in conjunction with CA, Cricket New South Wales, the Bradman Foundation and the Cootamundra Shire Council.

Other events around the country include a Melbourne Cricket Club lunch on Friday and one hosted by