Don Bradman and Bill O’Reilly (Australia)
Bill O’Reilly (L), Don Bradman (R)
Great teams often thrive despite rather than because of their team spirit. That was certainly the case with the brilliant Australian side of the 1930s, in which Bradman and O’Reilly, Protestant and Catholic, headed two distinct factions. Though they had total respect for each other’s ability, their differences were irreconcilable from the start. Bradman eventually purged O’Reilly from the side and later attributed the success of the 1948 Invincibles partly to the loyalty he was shown in the absence of O’Reilly and Jack Fingleton – both of whom became journalists, with Fingleton, in particular, not at all reluctant to exercise his right of reply. When Bradman was dismissed for a duck in his final Test innings, the press box reverberated to the sound of both men collapsing in hysterical laughter.