English cricketer Douglas Jardine (Hugo Weaving) is at a garden party, discussing Australian batsman Don Bradman with English cricket selectors and Percy Fender, captain of the English team.

Pelham Warner Percy’s just been telling me about young Bradman.

Douglas Jardine Oh, yes, he’s quite remarkable.

Pelham Really? That’s not what Percy was saying.

Percy Fender I think I’m about to be misquoted. Excuse me.

Jardine I’ve spent weeks trying to persuade him, but he still can’t see the truth.

Lord Harris And what truth is that, Douglas?

Jardine Well, like most batsman, I can play one or perhaps two shots to any given ball, whereas Bradman can choose between four or five.

Fender He doesn’t choose. He just plays the first shot that comes into his head. But he has no technique. Now, he can get away with this on those true hard Australian pitches. But put him on one of our green strips, with Morris seaming the ball late – oh no, he’s too unorthodox. Take the third Test in Melbourne.

Jardine Oh no, not that again.

Percy It’s a very good example, Douglas. Now on at least three occasions, the ball was short pitched, screaming out to be hooked, he played a cover drive.

Pelham Oh, it’s absurd.

Jardine No, it’s not absurd. At least two of those balls went for four. That’s the power of Bradman. He’s learned that a batsman’s sole objective is to score runs. And he’ll play whatever shot, unorthodox or not, which best fulfils that purpose. It makes it almost impossible to set a field to him.

Pelham Well, sorry old chap, but I think you’re on your own. Well, the skipper agrees with Percy and says Bradman is just a flash in the pan. And Tait says that he’ll have to play a straighter bat if he comes here and plays on one of our wet wickets.

Jardine They’re older men, steeped in the conventional methods of play.

Fender Oh, thank you very much!

Jardine Bradman is something totally new. He’s not interested in playing classic shots. He’s never had any formal training, so he’s developed his own style. A unique approach. I believe if he continues to develop, we could see scores none of us have ever dreamed of. He could rewrite the record books. He could change the very nature of the game.

Lord Harris Oh, come come, Douglas. That’s being unnecessarily alarmist. No batsman in the world has ever done that.

Fender I must say, in fairness, there are hundreds and thousands of Australians who’d agree with Douglas. Out there, he’s become quite a celebrity.

Jardine It’s not a very pleasant sight, Bradman standing in the middle of the pitch, bat raised, the crowd chanting his name. As a society, they seem to crave heroes.

Pelham Well, I like Australians. It’s just that they prize individualism.

Jardine Indeed. They continually want to elevate one man at the expense of the team. I find it quite abhorrent.

Lord Harris Well, that’s certainly not the nature of the game. The heart is the team.

Jardine I’m afraid the Australians wouldn’t agree with you there, my Lord. Their whole approach to cricket is different. At times, I wondered if we were playing the same game I’d grown up with. To listen to the crowd, you’d think it was a hunt with the English as the fox.

Pelham Oh, get used to that. It’s just good-natured barracking.

Jardine Questioning a man’s parentage is hardly good-natured.

Pelham My dear fellow, in Australia, ‘bastard’ is almost a term of endearment.

Jardine Well, I come from a different world, thank God. The Australians are not a people I’ll ever warm to.

Lord Harris Nothing wrong with that. Always easier to give a hiding to a man you dislike.