'Every Day is a Rainbow Day for Me’ - Sir Donald Bradman

Witnessing the Sri Lanka-Australia at the Adelaide Cricket Grounds the writer had the fortune to visit the world famous 'Don Bradman Museum' located at the ground floor of the beautiful Adelaide Oval which was at the Northern end of the city.

As the city of Adelaide has grown and evolved, so too has the Adelaide Oval. An indispensable part of the Adelaide's sporting and social fabric since 1870s, the oval had taken on even more importance as a centerpiece  of the state's identity - a world class stadium that will be an existing home for national and international events for decades to come.

The name of Donald Bradman occupies a special place in the hearts of every Australian, young and old is respected as the greatest batsman in the history of world cricket. Born in 1908 at New South Wales he began playing cricket at the age of two years. Moving on to Sydney when 18 years old, was selected to play for New South Wales state side at 19 years and made Australian debut at the age of 20 years.

Representing Australia from 1928 to 1948 he ended his career with a second ball duck to give him an amazing average of 99.94 runs per an  inning. If he had made four runs more the Don would have averaged 100.

In 1980 after correspondence with the then Australian Prime Minister, Sir Don donated a substantial number of personal items to the state with the Library as the custodian which now known as the 'Bradman Collection'. For many years the collection was displayed at the Mortlock Library and the State Library's Institute building on North Terrace. It was transferred to the Adelaide Oval in 2008.

At the entrance to the museum a big portrait of Sir Donald Bradman is displayed with a saying of his - 'I was never coached, I was never told by anyone how to hold a bat' was engraved at the right hand side of it. The personal lounge  of this great cricketer with his wedding photograph, the radio set which he listened to cricket commentaries and the record player with the sofa chair is placed in the first cubicle followed by the bath tub used by Sir Donald, pictures of his young days, as cricketer meeting state heads, international cricketers and personalities hung on the walls.

Every item of his cricket kit, materials used, the green baggy Australian cap, the national blazer was preserved for public viewing. On a large screen incidents related to the world famous bodyline series was shown along with a century scored by Bradman which was attracted by visitors.

Don Bradman was not only a great cricketer. He was an author of several books including his autobiography and several books related to his cricketing life. Some of these books were exhibited at the museum. He had composed the then famous song "Every Day is a Rainbow Day for Me".

The writer had the privilege of visiting every nook and corner of the Adelaide Oval including the press box, players enclosures, 3rd umpire's and match referees enclosure, the scoreboard, team conference halls, the Bradman Stand, practice wicket areas, the main playing area and all five floors of the stands accompanied by a guide.

A marvelous experience for any cricket enthusiast!

(Lakshman Ranasinghe in Australia)