Four years after his 334 on the same ground, Don Bradman returned to Headingley in July 1934 and made another triple — 304 in 430 minutes, sharing a then world-record fourth-wicket stand of 388 with Bill Ponsford. The Test was drawn, but the partnership was the high mark of the 1934 Ashes and proof that Yorkshire's Test wicket could be Bradman's personal property.
Bradman had been seriously ill in early 1934 — appendicitis followed by complications — and his place on the tour had been doubted into the final month. He arrived in England under-bowled and with a hesitant first month. By Lord's he was scoring; by Headingley he was Bradman.
Australia 1-1 after Trent Bridge (Aus won) and Lord's (Eng won). Old Trafford had been drawn. Bradman won the toss at Leeds and chose to bat in fine sunshine.
Australia were 1-1 in the series, with Hedley Verity's 15 wickets at Lord's having given England their wet-pitch win. Headingley, baked dry, was perfect for batting. Bradman won the toss and chose to bat. Australia were 3 for 39 when Ponsford, the underrated Victorian opener, joined Bradman.
The stand that followed lasted nearly seven hours and added 388 — a world record fourth-wicket Test stand at the time. Ponsford made 181, Bradman 304: his second triple century in Tests, both at Headingley. Bradman batted 430 minutes, hit 43 fours and two sixes, and was eventually caught Ames bowled Bowes in the half-hour before stumps on day two.
Australia made 584. England, with Maurice Leyland 153 and Hedley Verity 60*, eked out 200 for 6 declared at the close after rain wiped out most of day three; the match was drawn. The series moved to The Oval, where Bradman and Ponsford did it again — 451 for the second wicket, world record — and Australia took the Ashes 2-1.
Australia 3/39; Bradman and Ponsford at the wicket.
100-stand in 110 minutes.
388 fourth-wicket stand — world record at time.
Ponsford 181; Bradman 304.
Australia 584 all out.
Bradman second Headingley Test triple.
Match drawn after rain; Verity 60* saves England.
21 Jul 1934
Bradman wins toss; Australia bat at Leeds.
22 Jul
Bradman 304, Ponsford 181; 388 stand.
23 Jul
Australia 584; rain on day three.
24 Jul
Match drawn; series 1-1.
Aug 1934
Bradman and Ponsford put on 451 at Oval; Ashes won.
“He played as Bradman, and there is no other cricket adjective.”
“We seemed never to bowl a bad ball; he just never let us bowl a good one.”
At The Oval, Bradman 244 and Ponsford 266 added 451 for the second wicket — another world record. Australia regained the Ashes 2-1. Bradman's series tally was 758 runs at 94.75; Ponsford 569 at 94.83. The two batters retired together after the Oval Test in Bradman's case temporarily — he came back — and Ponsford's case permanently.
Bradman's second Headingley triple, anchored to a world-record stand with Ponsford, and the dominant batting performance of the 1934 series.
The Bradman-Ponsford partnership at Headingley was the centrepiece of a series often forgotten between Bodyline and 1936-37. Their 388 stood as the world fourth-wicket Test record for 35 years, until Phil Edmonds and David Steele in 1976 — actually, until far longer in some sources. Bradman became the only batter ever to score two Test triple centuries on the same ground.
Yorkshire v Essex
1932-06-16
On 15-16 June 1932 Herbert Sutcliffe (313) and Percy Holmes (224*) put on 555 for the first wicket against Essex at Leyton, breaking the world first-class record for any wicket and adding a layer of folklore — including a scoreboard that read 554 for several minutes and a hastily reversed declaration — that has clung to the partnership ever since.
Australia v England
1933-02-14
With the fate of the Bodyline series in the balance and England 216 for 6 chasing 340, Eddie Paynter checked himself out of a Brisbane hospital where he was being treated for acute tonsillitis, taxied to the Gabba in pyjamas and a dressing gown, and batted for nearly four hours to score 83. England drew level on first innings, won the Test by six wickets and the series 4-1.
Australia
1934-09-25
Days after the 1934 Oval Test, Bradman fell seriously ill with appendicitis that progressed to peritonitis. With antibiotics not yet available, he was given little chance of survival; his wife Jessie left Adelaide on a sea voyage to England prepared for the worst. He recovered after weeks of intensive nursing in a London nursing home and returned to first-class cricket the following Australian summer.