Trueman injected the 'devil-may-care' element into English cricket

Sharm de Alwis

If Alec Bedser maintained his poise and dignity through the ages, Fred Trueman injected the 'devil-may-care' element into English cricket.His pithy and terse comments resulted in his omission from the Australian tour of 1954/55 although he richly deserved to be in the vanguard.

When the Rev. David Sheppard apologised to him after letting a ball through his legs, saying, "Sorry Fred, I should have kept my legs together," he countered with, "Not you, padre, your mother." The litany of his stuff and nonsense makes impressive reading but then it would take the glitter out of the cricketer he was were I to mention the others.

'Fiery Fred' Trueman was the fastest English bowler until 'Typhoon' Frank Tyson came along with an extended run-up that prompted Yabba to yell, "Take a taxi!" Trueman may not be in Hutton's list of the best six English bowlers but in harness with Brian Statham he formed a devastating combination. They didn't whisper death, they screamed it. Trueman was the first to snare 300 wickets.

But statistics are boring except to Accountants and so we shall skip the scene after a mere mention that at Lords, the Mecca of cricket, Trueman, with 63 wickets in 12 matches [5 hauls of 5 wickets] is statistically superior to the holder of the record, Ian Botham who had to go through 15 matches for his 69 wickets [8 x 5 wickets].

Trueman burst on to the English cricket firmament to complete an embarrassment of riches in which the country luxuriated - Alec Bedser, Brian Statham, Trevor Bailey, Peter Loader, Johnny Wardle, Jim Laker and Tony Lock. As bowlers often hunt in pairs like Gregory and McDonald, Larwood and Voce, Miller and Lindwall, Heine and Adcock, the Statham-Trueman opening pair of fast bowlers strode the twenty two yards of turf with awesome splendour. The wealth of fast bowlers at the beck and call of English captains was such that 17 pairs would wreak havoc in 51 Tests in a matter of ten years from 1946 to '55.

David Gower says that he could well imagine the great Don in his heyday, "Sitting quietly in a corner, plotting a triple century." There were no such grand designs in the psyche of any batsman when Trueman hurled his thunderbolts. Never a guy to wield the willow, Trueman would never know with what intent a batsman walked to the crease. He was an object to be removed and so he approached the crease from a measured run-up, not fully knowing what lethal delivery he would unleash to skittle the carpentry.

Like Miller, Trueman was destined to make cricket a dramatic spectacle even though his efforts were modest in comparison.Trueman was the first to scalp 300 wickets and he did it in 67 Tests and that memorable achievement was against the 'old enemy', Australia. Asked, "How do you feel?" he replied in characteristic Yorkshire under-statement, "Bloody tired."

The 'enfante terrible' must now be romping all over the Elysian plains, whacking up teams that will, perhaps, include our own fiery D.S.Jayasundera.