Alec Bedser's unique ability to dismiss Don Bradman — cricket's greatest batsman — using a specifically designed leg-trap inswinger made Bedser the only bowler to develop and sustain a consistent plan for dismissing Bradman in the post-war period.
Don Bradman averaged 99.94 in Test cricket — a figure so far above any competitor that it remains the most extraordinary statistical achievement in any sport. He was virtually impossible to dismiss cheaply by any conventional means.
Alec Bedser was technically meticulous — he studied every batsman's movements and designed specific deliveries. For Bradman, he observed a tendency to use the front pad as a second line of defence against the inswinger — then designed the leg-trap specifically to exploit where the pad-deflection went.
Bedser had dismissed Bradman in the 1946-47 series and understood the mechanism. For the 1948 series, he prepared the leg-trap with England's selectors — setting the exact field for Bradman that he knew would be in position for the pad-deflection from the specific delivery.
Alec Bedser was England's best bowler of the immediate post-war era — an accurate fast-medium bowler with exceptional ability to seam and swing. Against most batsmen his methods were straightforwardly effective. Against Bradman, Bedser developed a specific leg-trap: he would bowl a fast inswinger aimed at the leg stump from over the wicket, with a fielder positioned exactly where Bradman's pad-deflection would go. Bedser dismissed Bradman twice in the 1946-47 Ashes and twice more in the 1948 series. For a batsman who averaged 99.94, being dismissed by the same plan four times by the same bowler was historically extraordinary. Bradman acknowledged Bedser as the one bowler who genuinely troubled him systematically.
Trent Bridge 1948: Bedser pitches the inswinger on leg stump — Bradman's pad deflects to leg-trap — caught for 138
Lord's 1948: Same delivery, same field, same result — Bradman for 89 (still a large score but the plan worked)
Bradman acknowledges post-match that Bedser has 'found him out'
Australia win 4-0 — Bradman's last Ashes series — but Bedser's record of 4 Bradman dismissals unique in post-war cricket
Bradman's famous duck in his final Test innings — bowled by Hollies — means he finishes with 99.94 instead of 100
1946-01-01
1946-47 Ashes: Bedser dismisses Bradman with leg-trap twice for first time
1948-06-10
Trent Bridge: Bedser's leg-trap dismisses Bradman for 138
1948-07-01
Lord's: Bedser dismisses Bradman again with same plan
“Don was the greatest I ever bowled to. The leg-trap delivery was designed specifically for him. When it worked it was intensely satisfying — dismissing him was the hardest thing I did in cricket.”
“Alec Bedser was the best English bowler I faced. He troubled me with the inswinger aimed at leg stump more than any other bowler. A great cricketer.”
Bedser continued as England's best bowler until the mid-1950s, taking 236 Test wickets. The Bradman chapter was the most celebrated part of his career — the one bowler who had systematically, if not repeatedly or consistently enough to change the overall record, troubled cricket's greatest batsman.
Bradman retired after the 1948 series. He and Bedser became lifelong friends — their on-field competition giving way to deep mutual respect.
Bedser won the individual contest statistically — dismissing cricket's greatest batsman four times with the same plan. That Bradman still averaged 72.57 in the 1948 series and Australia won 4-0 contextualises the achievement but does not diminish it. Bedser had found the one consistent strategy for dismissing the undiminishable Bradman.
Bedser-Bradman illustrated the deepest truth about cricket: that even genius can be studied and — partially, temporarily, imperfectly — cracked. Bedser's four dismissals of Bradman through the same plan are cited by cricket coaches as the ultimate case study in analytical bowling preparation.
Australia vs Pakistan
22 November 1981
Dennis Lillee kicked Javed Miandad on the field, prompting Miandad to raise his bat as if to strike Lillee. Umpire Tony Crafter intervened to separate them.
New Zealand vs West Indies
12 February 1980
Michael Holding kicked the stumps out of the ground in frustration after an LBW appeal was turned down against John Parker.
West Indies vs Australia
28 April 1995
Curtly Ambrose got in Steve Waugh's face after being told to go back to his mark. Richie Richardson had to pull Ambrose away. Ambrose then bowled a devastating spell.