Bill Brown is the second Australian cricket legend to die this month following the passing of all-rounder Norm O’Neill on the 3rd.
During their otherwise splendid careers, both players had the misfortune to be compared to the great Don Bradman, Brown as his slow-scoring team-mate and O’Neill as his potential replacement.
The latter’s fate was to go from being described as the “new Don Bradman” to the less flattering “nervous Norman”. Brown had the opposite problem – he was anything but nervous, putting in epic stints at the bat with a collected poise, but his lack of adventure meant Aussie fans never fully appreciated him.
Indeed, a 1987 interview with Wisden Cricket Monthly, revealed that his “grandchildren are not too ready to believe that their grandfather played cricket”. He was always so reserved and unfazed on the pitch, you can guarantee he didn’t brag about his place on four Ashes-winning teams, including the legendary ‘Invincibles’ of 1948. He told the magazine he was on the lookout for back issues in which he was featured so he could prove it.
As an aside, another Invincible, bowler Bill Johnston died in May last year.