Cricket tragics and Cootamundra residents alike have been left shocked and angered after a statue of the region’s greatest ever sporting export, Donald Bradman, was vandalised with pink spray paint over the weekend.
Many residents took to social media to convey their disappointment and anger at the vandalism that had occurred in their own town.
“How disrespectful,” wrote one resident.
“Would love to see a couple of local sporting organisations come together this morning and clean it up to show that defacing history like that is unacceptable and futile,” said another.
Cootamundra is one of two towns famously associated with the late cricketing legend (along with Bowral), with Bradman’s Birthplace and the Cricket Captains Walk being the top tourist attraction in the region.
The Cricket Captains Walk, where the statue of Bradman is located, features bronze sculptures of every player to captain Australia in test cricket, the country’s national sport.
Bradman, arguably the greatest cricketer in the history of the game, retired with a world record batting average of 99.94, well clear of second-placed Adam Voges’ 61.87 and current England batsman Harry Brook with 61.62.