When Bradman reversed the batting order

India was all out for 46, their lowest score at home in tests, against New Zealand after choosing to bat first in the first test at Bangalore. The strange decision to bat on such a damp wicket remains questionable, though W G Grace is believed to have said once- If you win the toss, bat first. If you are in doubt, think about it and then bat. If you have a big doubt, consult a colleague and then bat first. Though there are many exceptions to this considering the advent of the modern-game tactics, it is still a recommended and widely followed practice to bat first in test cricket.

The role of the night watchman in test cricket is to primarily protect the batsmen in his side - though openers are exceptions to this and are expected to negotiate even if there is only a single over left in the day. Don Bradman once reversed the entire batting order of Australia in 1937 against England ( Scorecard). Trailing 0-2 in the Ashes series, Australia won the toss and batted first at Melbourne. Because of the intermittent rains, the pitch became a minefield to bat on. Australia declared their first innings at 200-9. Their right arm fast bowler Morris Sievers then triggered a spectacular collapse of England from 68-3 to 76-9 when they also declared. Wally Hammond top scored with 32- some consider this on such a sticky wicket as his finest test innings regardless of the fact that he has 167 first class centuries to his credit.

The Australians till then had not fared well with the bat in the series. In the previous two tests, they had paltry scores of 58 and 80, and managed to cross 300 only once. While England sensed an opportunity to have a go at the Australian top order again, Bradman thought of a masterstroke. He sent his tail enders - Bill O'Reilly and Chuck Fleetwood-Smith to open. Not only the Englishmen, even the new Australian openers were surprised. In between, he tried his best to delay the commencement of his innings and even tried to be defensive against England when they started crumbling. At least it is believed so. Both the teams were least interested in batting at that juncture in the game.

Bradman's decision to change the batting order was based on logical reasoning though. There was no play scheduled on the following day since it was a rest day. The weather and the pitch would improve in due course and it would become increasingly easier to bat. He was spot on and he himself batted at No 7, scored 270 and added 346 for the sixth wicket with Jack Fingleton, who scored 136 batting at Number 6 (and not at his usual opener's slot). Bradman batted throughout the fourth day and Australia were all out for a mammoth 564. They set an even more imposing target of 689 for England. Considering that tests were timeless, a draw was out of the question then. England finally folded up for 323, Fleetwood-Smith being the wrecker-in-chief with 5 wickets.

This has to go down as one of the greatest ploys in cricket history considering the thought process and the sheer audacity of the decision. The inspired Australians won the next two tests convincingly and retained the Ashes. Though the former England captain and master tactician Mike Brearley in his book ' The Art of Captaincy' has mentioned about many such decisions - declarations and change of batting orders at this scale and under similar circumstances are probably unheard of.

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