Sporting Links' Forthcoming Book on Don Bradman to Commemorate His Birth Centenary

Gurgaon, India, August 24, 2008 --(PR.com)-- Sporting Links' forthcoming book Don’s Century pays tribute to Sir Donald Bradman, the greatest batsman there has ever been, and commemorates his birth centenary that will be observed with great joy around the cricketing world on 27th August 2008. The book by Indra Vikram Singh, the only Indian biographer of Bradman, is not only a celebration of the life and magic of the willow of The Don, but also of the art of batting and indeed the game of cricket.

The 11-chapter book, interspersed with stories and comments from pressmen and cricketers alike, and painstakingly researched from scores of old publications has three sections.

The main segment brings forth Bradman's days at the crease from Bowral to Sydney, on to Lord's and Leeds, back to Adelaide, and finishing at The Oval sixty years ago. The legend begins with young Don’s rise to the top, his first fifty and hundred in the backwaters of Bowral, the maiden double century against Wingello and triple ton versus Moss Vale, hundred on first-class debut and on to Test cricket. Bradman’s legendary feats in the Test arena are recalled in all their magnificence, the hundreds in his first Test series, the unprecedented and still-unparalleled triumphs of the Ashes tour of 1930 and annihilation of the West Indies and South African teams. The saga undergoes a dramatic twist with the vicious Bodyline attack that was devised solely to decimate the genius of Bradman. The aftermath of Bodyline, Bradman’s stirring fightbacks on and off the field and his resilience as captain of Australia are presented lucidly, leading to the sabbatical brought about by the Second World War. The final lap of The Don’s career after the war, the firm hold on the Ashes, his exploits against the first Indian team after the South Asian nation’s independence, and finally the 1948 tour of England by his ‘Invincibles’ are described vividly and objectively. The text is supplemented by twenty scorecards detailing Bradman’s finest achievements in the first-class and Test arenas.

A large chapter in the middle is a panorama of batting encompassing thirty-four of the best players, for no story of Sir Donald Bradman can be complete without a review of other giants of the crease. Commencing with the colossus of the Victorian era Dr. W.G. Grace, the captivating genius Prince Ranjitsinhji of Jamnagar, India, the endearing and enthralling Victor Trumper from Australia, the complete master Sir Jack Hobbs, continuing with the likes of Frank Woolley, Charles 'Governor General' Macartney, Bill Ponsford, Walter Hammond, Stan McCabe, the forbear to West Indies giants George Headley, the brilliant South Africans Bruce Mitchell and Dudley Nourse, Vijay Merchant, Sir Leonard Hutton, Dennis Compton, Neil Harvey, Arthur Morris, the inimitable Ws Sir Frank Worrell, Sir Everton Weekes and Sir Clyde Walcott, the original little master Pakistan’s Hanif Mohammad, the incomparable Sir Garfield Sobers, Graeme Pollock, Barry Richards, Greg Chappell, Sunil Gavaskar, Sir Vivian Richards, arguably New Zealand’s finest Martin Crowe, Steve Waugh, the exhilarating Sri Lankan Aravinda de Silva, and concluding with the champions of the modern era Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara, Ricky Ponting and Matthew Hayden, and many more referred to down history, how good they were, and how they compared with each other and Bradman. They include some of Bradman's favourite players. This is not just a factual or statistical piece, but importantly talks about the epochs and conditions they played in, and also has interesting little tales.

The third and concluding part explores Don Bradman’s personal life and family, his persona and way of life, post-retirement days and role as cricket administrator and writer, trials and tribulations, and the final stretch of one of the most amazing stories ever, of a sporting hero and icon beyond compare. The book carries a handwritten letter from The Don received by the author Indra Vikram Singh in 1999, along with an article based on it that he wrote at the time of Bradman's demise in 2001.

There are more than 90 classic photographs of Bradman and other greats, mostly from the world’s leading agencies. A comprehensive statistical section detailing Bradman’s accomplishments and records sums up the inspirational tale.

Don’s Century is a 184-page hardback, collector’s edition, 22 cm x 28 cm in size. It is being presented by one of India's newest publishers of sports books, Sporting Links, that produced freelance writer Indra Vikram Singh's third book, the 656-page The Little Big Book of World Cup Cricket in 2007. Bradman fans, cricket enthusiasts and other ardent readers in India could look forward to obtaining Don’s Century at a price of Rs. 950 during the auspicious festival season in October 2008.

Sporting Links invites expressions of interest from publishers around the world who would like to acquire rights for Don’s Century in Australia and New Zealand; United Kingdom and Europe; South Africa; the Caribbean, United States and Canada; South Asian nations, other than India, including Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh; and the Middle East. All queries may be addressed to singh_iv@hotmail.com.

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