Bradman's 304 Leeds Bat

Don Bradman's 304 Leeds Bat

Manufactured by William Sykes & Son, this 'Don Bradman' bat was used by the great Don Bradman himself, to score a mighty triple century 304 runs against England on July 24, 1934, at Headingly Leeds.

In the next Test, at The Oval, Kennington, he scored 244.

The reverse of the bat's blade has been annotated by Don Bradman using an ink pen.

"This is the bat with which I scored 304 at Leeds and 244 at The Oval against England, 1934."

It's signed 'Don Bradman Private' on the upper right reverse blade. Bradman used the word 'Private' to identify his personal bats.

Also, on the upper left, "To Peter Webb with best wishes from Don Bradman".

The 304

Bradman’s previous five innings in the 1934 series added up to only 133 runs. He had played 11 successive innings in Tests against England without a century, the longest interval in his career. Yet, as Bradman’s confidence built he had reached 169 at tea time.

When he reached 189 he passed Clem Hill’s total aggregate of Test runs which was the previous record for any Australian batsmen.

The 304 at Headingley was Bradman's 2nd highest Test innings while the 244 was made in a record breaking 2nd wicket partnership of 451 with Australian legend Bill Ponsford (266).

This incomparable partnership record was only broken in 1997/98 by Sri-Lankans Sanath Jayasuriya and Rosham Mahanama against India, who shared a mighty 576 runs.

The blade face is heavily worn from repeated deliveries.

The handle still retains its grip, now hardened with age.

But the reverse of the blade remains annotated by Sir Donald Bradman using an ink pen.