Editing Don Bradman (section)

==Playing style==
{{Main|Don Bradman's batting technique}}
[[File:BradmanHooksVoce.jpg|right|thumb|Bradman hooks English left-arm fast bowler [[Bill Voce]] during the 1936–37 series. The position of Bradman's left foot in relation to the stumps is an example of how he [[Crease (cricket)#Using the crease|used the crease]] when batting.]]

Bradman's early development was shaped by the high bounce of the ball on [[Cricket pitch|matting-over-concrete pitches]]. He favoured "horizontal-bat" shots (such as the hook, pull and cut) to deal with the bounce and devised a unique grip on the bat handle that would accommodate these strokes without compromising his ability to defend. Employing a side-on stance at the wicket, Bradman kept perfectly still as the bowler ran in.<ref name=Time>{{Cite magazine| url = http://time.com/time/pacific/magazine/20010305/bradman2.html | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071012161132/http://time.com/time/pacific/magazine/20010305/bradman2.html | archive-date = 12 October 2007 |magazine = Time |title = Farewell to the Don|access-date = 23 August 2008 | url-status = dead | date=5 March 2001}}</ref> His backswing had a "crooked" look that troubled his early critics, but he resisted entreaties to change.<ref>Bradman (1950), p. 20.</ref> His backswing kept his hands in close to the body, leaving him perfectly balanced and able to change his stroke mid-swing, if need be.<ref>Eason (2004), p. 88.</ref> Another telling factor was the decisiveness of Bradman's footwork. He "used the crease" by either coming metres down the pitch to drive, or playing so far back that his feet ended up level with the stumps when playing the cut, hook or pull.<ref>Robinson (1981), p. 139.</ref>

Bradman's game evolved with experience. He temporarily adapted his technique during the Bodyline series, deliberately moving around the crease in an attempt to score from the short-pitched deliveries.<ref>Bradman (1950), p. 74.</ref> At his peak, in the mid-1930s, he had the ability to switch between a defensive and attacking approach as the occasion demanded. After the Second World War, he adjusted to bat within the limitations set by his age, becoming a steady "accumulator" of runs.<ref>Fingleton (1949), pp. 209–211.</ref> However, Bradman never truly mastered batting on [[sticky wicket]]s. ''Wisden'' commented, "[i]f there really is a blemish on his amazing record it is&nbsp;... the absence of a significant innings on one of those 'sticky dogs' of old".<ref name=Cricinfo1/>