Rare insights expose the life of Australia’s greatest cricketer Don Bradman

A rare photo capturing a young Don Bradman as a bare-chested wrestler could be hanging on your wall for just a few hundred dollars.

Bradman with Richie Benaud, Bill Lawry signing a cricket bat and the Nawab of Pataudi during a reception for the Indian cricket team during the fourth Test in Sydney in January 1968.

A rare photo capturing a young Don Bradman as a bare-chested wrestler could be hanging on your wall for just a few hundred dollars.

The undated image of Australia’s greatest cricketer is one of 65 original and largely unseen black and white photos of Sir Don up for auction next Monday.

Don Bradman wrestling with an unknown opponent as a young man

The wrestling image shows the batting legend, probably aged in his late teens or early 20s, on the right with his unknown opponent in a vice-like headlock.

Artvisory Galleries principal Amanda Swanson described the February 15 auction as a rare opportunity to acquire the photos of Sir Don at a modest price, with some images expected to fetch between $200 and $400 and others between $500 and a $1000.

“This unique collection of photographs has recently been repatriated to Australia and gives all Australians a unique opportunity to see rare, and in certain cases unrecorded images of the legendary player in many periods of his life, from his early boyhood days through to his playing years and right up to his later years as a reluctant hero and elder statesman for the game he loved, and indeed for his country,” Ms Swanson said.

Sir Donald Bradman Pads up in 1940.

Bradman takes guard at the SCG in the 1970s.

“This auction provides an exceptional opportunity for the wider public to acquire unique and one-off images that recall an era when one man led a team, and some might say a country, with incredible feats on the cricket field that are unmatched to this day.”

The auction, Sir Donald Bradman — The Legend, includes many more typical photos of Australia’s greatest cricketer in various cricketing poses and across his life.

Sir Don collectors can view the images online at www.art­visory.com.au.

They can also be viewed at the auction house in Malvern Road, South Yarra, from Thursday.