ICC hails Bradman as a ` byword for brilliance’

The International Cricket Council (ICC) hailed Don Bradman as "a byword for brilliance" Wednesday, the centenary of the cricketer's birth.

"No name in cricket conjures up such widespread awe and respect as that of Sir Donald Bradman," ICC president David Morgan said in a statement from the organization's headquarters in Dubai.

"Even people with just a passing knowledge of the game or in countries where he never played will invariably recognize the name Bradman as a byword for brilliance.

"That name says all that is best about the game and it is synonymous with cricket," he said. "Soccer has Pele and cricket has Bradman."

Bradman also left his stamp as captain, selector and administrator and his death in 2001 prompted an outpouring of grief in Australia with the rest of the cricket world joining in to pay their tributes.

He played 52 Tests, scoring 6,996 runs at an astonishing average of 99.94, his 29 hundreds further testimony to his class and tenacity. (Reuter)