As any cricket fan, Sir Don Bradman was the greatest batsman of all time. Full stop. Of course, players have accumulated far superior run totals given the huge increase in international cricket played these days. After all, in the time it took the Australian squad to sail (yes, sail) to England, modern day India and Sri Lanka would probably have squeezed in two three-Test series, seven ODIs and five T20s.
It was therefore interesting to see Steve Smith's aggregate of 769 in the recent series at home to India celebrated as beating the Don's previous record for a rubber against the Indians - and even that was over five matches (but only six innings) back in his twilight years following the Second World War. Bradman's overall series aggregate record of 974 in seven innings (in England in 1930) will take a lot of beating, with five-Test series a rarity these days. Nevertheless, Smith's total was the third highest for four-Test series in cricket's long and illustrious history. He struck four hundreds (all in the first innings) and two fifties, but what about the players above him?
Well, Smith was just five run adrift of Sunil Gavaskar, after whom half the current India-Australia trophy is named, who accumulated 774 in early 1971. The superb opener's feat was notable particularly because it came in the West Indies and also marked his international debut! The Windies had yet to develop their classic fast bowler battery, although Gavaskar would later prove one of the best players of pace and bounce since Bradman himself. Nevertheless, his debut featured two knocks of 60+ and two weeks later came the first century and a resilient 67 not out. He made an uncharacteristic failure in the first innings at Bridgetown but delivered another match-saving performance (117) a few days afterwards. Trinidad then witnessed Gavaskar at his best.
With India needing just a draw to secure the series, the decider as scheduled for six days. Gavaskar started with 124 but the Sobers-led opposition put together a strong first innings lead. He proceeded to grind out a memorable double-century spread over three days which not only saved the match but also set up what was nearly a shock victory.
However, even the great Sunil Gavaskar was overshadowed by one West Indian, King Viv himself five years in the long hot English summer of 1976. In the series which cemented Viv Richards as my favourite sportsman of all time, he batted only seven times yet topped and tailed the series with double-hundreds of power and strength not witnessed for decades.
At Trent Bridge he struck 31 fours and four sixes in 232 off the likes of John Snow, Derek Underwood and Mike Hendrick before top-scoring in a swift declaration-setting second innings. He missed the Lord's Test but on the second day at Old Trafford (rain almost wiped out day 1) nineteen wickets fell, including Viv's for 4. Gordon Greenidge's 134 was sensational in this context. Viv and Greenidge (again) reached three figures next time out, leaving Roberts, Holding and Daniel to destroy Tony Greig's supposedly stubborn veterans and take the game. At Headingley, Viv produced scores of 'only' 66 and 38 in another triumph but it was the Oval climax which raised this series to the heights of one of the most devastating England defeats of modern times.
I recall paying tennis as a 15 year-old in the summer holidays while spectators and families had radios tuned to Test Match Special while England were put to the sword on a pitch browned by weeks of relentless sun and negligible rainfall. Bob Willis had Greenidge LBW early on for a duck but in came Richards to plunder a fabulous 291. We all thought the Sobers record of 365 was absolutely there for the taking. Tony Greig was probably the only man there celebrating when he bowled the great man. Indeed, the crowd was full of can-tapping Caribbean fans anyway. To his credit Dennis Amiss responded with a double of his own but England were still dismissed 250-odd short. Instead of enforcing the follow-on, Clive Lloyd sent in Fredericks and Greenidge to smash 182 in 32 overs before on the final day Michael Holding was unplayable and the series was theirs. Everybody remembers Holding breaking wickets and English hearts that day but it was Viv's 291 and series aggregate of 829 which provided the anchor - nay the shield and sword - for that success. It was Greig who grovelled and the Windies never looked back.
Steve Smith produced a wonderful sequence of scores in the past few weeks but for excitement he has a long way to go to beat those performances of Gavaskar and Richards.
