Hall of Fame to be built in Don Bradman's hometown

Sydney:

Donald Bradman's hometown will soon become the site of an International Cricket Hall of Fame.

The Bradman Foundation on Thursday said the Hall of Fame, honouring cricketing greats from Australia, England, South Africa, Pakistan, India, the West Indies and New Zealand, will open next year as an extension of the Bradman Museum at Bowral, south of Sydney in New South Wales state.

Bradman, widely recognised as the world's greatest ever batsman, is among 11 Australians on the Hall of Fame list. He died in 2001 aged 92.

Bradman Foundation chairman Michael Ball said it was fitting Hall of Fame exhibition had a direct connection to Bradman.

"Bradman Oval has always been viewed as the spiritual home of (Australian) cricket as it is the scene of Don Bradman's early triumphs," Ball said.

The project, financed by an Australian government grant to recognise the centenary of Bradman's birth in 2008, is not the official ICC Hall of Fame but has received support from international cricketing bodies, Ball said. The Bradman Foundation will own and operate the facility.

Bradman scored 6,996 in 52 Test matches between 1928-48 at an average of 99.94. No batsman has come close to matching his average over a prolonged career.

He was out without scoring in his final innings at The Oval against England when he needed only four runs to lift his career average to 100 runs per innings.