Rare video footage of Don Bradman batting in England found

The video, which shows the former Australia cricketer playing against Northamptonshire in a county match, was shot by Brown’s grandfather Dr Basil Laver.

A rare video footage of Australia legend Don Bradman was unearthed in the attic of a house in Blisworth, Northamptonshire, owned by Belinda Brown, a news report in the BCC said. The video, which shows the former Australia cricketer playing against Northamptonshire in a county match, was shot by Brown’s grandfather Dr Basil Laver.

File image of Don Bradman. (Getty Images)

The curator of collections at the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) Museum described the video clip as a ‘rare find’: “It is a very rare find indeed,” he said. The video film is reportedly two minutes and four seconds long and showcases Bradman batting on the final day’s play in 1934 a tour match against the county, after the Australians had won the first Ashes Test.

Brown, after finding the video, did not initially realise that it was a video clip of legendary Aussie batsman Bradman. “Others saw it, got excited and said ‘That’s Don Bradman!’” she was quoted as saying by BBC.

“One of the things that’s so lovely about it is that actually my grandfather turns out to be a good film-maker,” she further added. Bradman, during the match only scored 25 runs before he lost his wicket to Northants seamer Austin Matthews.

Sir Don Bradman played 52 Tests in his career in which he scored 6,996 runs at an average of 99.94. He scored 29 tons and 12 double hundreds in his legendary career.