Dravid is the first Indian invited to deliver the Oration at the event which honours the career, contribution and memory of the world's greatest-ever cricketer, Sir Donald Bradman.
During his Oration, Dravid will speak on a wide range of issues, including:
- The strong link between India and Australia during the first World War
- What Don Bradman meant to India in the 1930s
- Cricket's place in India and India's place in world cricket
- The challenges for cricket, including scheduling and balancing the three formats of the game
At the request of then Prime Minister John Curtin, a group of Aussie soldiers and airmen were pulled together to play a series of " Victory Tests" in England in May-August 1945. They took on Wally Hammond and Len Hutton's Englishmen in front of packed houses - 375,000 attended the five games - and held them to a 2-2 series draw.
Reg Ellis, the sole remaining survivor from the Combined Services team, will be a special guest of Cricket Australia tonight. Trained by Clarrie Grimmett before WWII, Ellis was a slow left arm bowler and was Australia's top wicket-taker in the Victory Tests.
Since 2000, the Sir Donald Bradman Oration has provided a platform for a prominent national or international figure to reflect on Sir Donald's career, and on cricket's place in their own lives and the life of their nation. Past orators have been former Prime Minister John Howard, General Peter Cosgrove, Sir Michael Parkinson, Richie Benaud, Alan Jones, Ricky Ponting, Greg Chappell and Sir Tim Rice.
