Courtesy: Google
Sir Don Bradman, who is widely regarded as the greatest batter of all-time, was dismissed for two straight ducks in his first Test series as captain in the year 1936. The Australian cricketing superstar was given the leadership role for the first time in the longest format of the game at the height of his career, but it didn’t start well for him. In the first Ashes Test match in the 1936-37 series at the Gabba in Brisbane, Sir Don Bradman was dismissed without troubling the scorers in the second innings chasing a target of 381 runs.
After England posted a first innings total of 354 runs on the board with the help of a century from Maurice Leyland as Bill O’Reilly took a five-wicket haul, the Australians started well with the bat in response as Jack Fingleton got a three-figure score of his own. Sir Don Bradman scored 38 runs off 57 balls with five fours, but after the dismissal of Stan McCabe, who had got a fifty, Australia fell away as they were bowled out for 234 runs with Bill Voce taking a six-wicket haul. In their second innings, England got a very good total of 256 runs despite Frank Ward’s six-wicket haul, to set up a massive score for the hosts to chase down.
Sir Don Bradman's stats from 1936-37 Ashes series
But, the Australian batting lineup capitulated under the pressure of the big target of 381 runs as three of their top batters were dismissed for zero, including Sir Don Bradman. After getting the better of the captain of Australia, Gubby Allen finished with a six-wicket haul in the innings, to bowl Australia for just 58 runs in 12.8, winning the first Ashes Test for England by 322 runs. Bill Voce finished the match with a 10-wicket haul after bagging four wickets in the second innings of Australia.
The second Test of the Ashes series at the Gabba in Brisbane saw Wally Hammond score an unbeaten 231, to help England declare their first innings on 426/6 in 131.2 overs. Bill Voce and Gubby Allen wreaked havoc once more on the Australian batting lineup as they bowled them out for just 80 runs after their combination did for Sir Don Bradman for his second straight duck in Test cricket. Upon following-on, Australia delivered a better performance with the bat as Stan McCabe and Sir Don Bradman got fifties, but still, they were bowled out for 324 runs, losing the second Test by an innings and 22 runs.
Ultimately, Sir Don Bradman returned back to form in style for Australia, powering them to three Test wins in a row, to seal the 1936-37 Ashes series at home with a 3-2 scoreline. The right-handed batter, who ended his Test career in 1948 with an average of 99.94, scored a whopping 810 runs at an average of 90 with three hundreds and one fifty in the series. Stan McCabe and Jack Fingleton were also quite exceptional with the bat for Australia apart from Sir Don Bradman, playing a great role themselves in the support cast during their series win nearly 90 years ago.
