The game at the Bradman Oval in Bowral was the highpoint of the tour (as far as cricket went at least) and we came so close to pulling off a memorable win. But we were a bowler light, and in the end that proved to be our undoing.

On the two-hour trip to the ground it seemed we might not play as we went through steady drizzle, but the ground was in perfect condition (it had hosted a Bradman XI against England in front of 5000 spectators less than a week earlier) and the game started on time.

Eds Copleston and Freddie Hood got us off to a solid start without ever really getting on top of the bowlers, and both perished just as they appeared to be winning the battle – Hood to his second run-out is as many days. Even the usually aggressive Mike Chase struggled for some time to find his timing before finally opening up. It took a delightfully idiosyncratic cameo from Rick Johnson to kick-start the innings, and then Nick Read and Mike Chetwode to continue the good work. Chetwode, out of sorts with the bat for the last year, played one of his entertaining (to all but the bowler) six or out innings.

A fired-up Pete Hobbs’s opening burst left the Bradman Foundation XI on the ropes, and he added to his two wickets with a steepling catch at long leg off Read to reduce the home side to 7 for 3. When he had strong well caught low at fourth slip by Copleston towards the end of his spell, Bradman were 39 for 4 and in trouble. But as the unfit Hobbs wheezed out of the attack, our lack of depth was exposed. Tom Hufton, who had bowled so well the day before, lost his line and length, and Jensen cut loose with increasing savagery. By the time he played on to Hufton, nine short of a deserved hundred, the game was lost, but the weakness of the remaining Bradman batsmen indicated that had we got Jensen early then the result would probably have been very different.

The curator of the Bradman Museum kindly stayed on after the game to give us a private tour.

Bradman Foundation XI v Old Cranleighan CC The Bradman Oval, Bowral, New South Wales January 22, 2003 Bradman Foundation XI won by four wickets Old Cranleighans r b 4s 6s E Copleston c Ross D b Churchill 19 F Hood run out 23 M Chase c Ross N b Ross D 31 P Goulstone c Churchill b Pepper 2 R Johnson+ c Pepper b Tomlinson 35 N Read c Pepper b Ross N 23 M Chetwode not out 30 S Bailey* not out 4 Extras b 3 lb 2 w 7 12 Total 45 overs 179-6 P Hobbs, M Williamson and T Hufton did not bat Fall of wickets 43, 54, 63, 116, 126, 159

Bowling

	o	m	r	w
Poulos	9	0	28	0
McCarthy	9	2	26	0
Churchill	7	2	22	1
Ross D	9	3	25	1
Pepper	4	0	24	1
Tomlinson	2	0	14	1

Bradman Foundation XI
			r	b	4s	6s
Churchill	c Hood	b Hobbs	0
Dawson	c Hobbs	b Read	2
Ross N		b Hobbs	4
Strong	c Copleston	b Hobbs	6
Jensen		b Hufton	91
McCarthy	lbw	b Chetwode	52
Poulos	not out		10
Ross D	not out		4
Extras	b 8 lb 4 w 2		14
Total	38.1 overs	183-6
	Tomlinson, Pepper and Smith did not bat
Fall of wickets	0, 7, 7, 39, 155, 163