When Fred Trueman, who died aged 75 from cancer on Saturday, had Neil Hawke of Australia caught by Colin Cowdrey at The Oval in 1964 to become the first man to take 300 Test wickets, his place in cricket’s record books was assured — but his place in the affections of the sporting public had already been secured.
In an era where professional players were expected to be seen and not heard, Trueman sometimes fell foul of stuffy officialdom, being denied a place on England’s 1954/55 tour of Australia when his form clearly merited it.
But he was by then already becoming famous in his native Yorkshire for the kind of pithy and amusing comment he turned into an art form.
For example, on a tour of Australia where the late David Sheppard, who had interrupted a clerical career to resume life as an England batsman, was dropping chance after chance, Trueman said: ”Kid yourself it’s Sunday, Rev, and keep your hands together.”
But if anyone earned the right to make the occasional sharp comment, it was Trueman. The son of a miner, Trueman always maintained he had a natural facility for fast-bowling.
Blessed with a classical, sideways-on action, and an ability to swing the ball away at pace, Trueman was soon making a name for himself at county level and in 1952, on his Test debut, helped reduce India to nought for four.
Almost as famous for his colourful character as his superb bowling, Trueman became the subject of numerous ribald stories even if, in fact, he’d never been involved at all.
He was especially beloved in his native Yorkshire where you only had to say ”Fred” for everyone to know who you were talking about.
When the cricket writer and broadcaster John Arlott was writing his autobiography, Trueman suggested the title should be The Finest Fast-Bowler Who Ever Drew Breath — and he was only half-joking.
What was as impressive as his form for England was the fact he’d routinely bowl more than a 1 000-overs season while leading the Yorkshire attack.
Indeed, while he was taking Test wickets at a cost of just 21,57 runs, he was also averaging 100 wickets a season for his county.
And in 1960 he took 25 wickets in a series against South Africa and took 150 wickets for Yorkshire at a cost of just 12,72.
His achievement in taking 300 Test wickets was one of the great landmark moments in sport, comparable with fellow Briton Roger Bannister’s mile in under four minutes of more than a decade earlier — in that many people thought it was a mark that would never be reached.
Asked at the time, if anyone else would get beyond his record, Trueman replied: ”I don’t know, but whoever does it will be bloody tired.”
But he was a better thinker than some gave him credit for and in 1968 captained Yorkshire to victory over the touring Australians.
In retirement he became well-known as a BBC radio commentator, having already established himself as a newspaper columnist.
He was drawn into the ongoing controversy over the career of fellow Yorkshire and England great Geoffrey Boycott, being voted off the county committee, which hurt him deeply.
And in later years, he could often sound like a parody of a Yorkshireman with his oft-repeated comment of ”I just don’t understand what’s going off out there,” suggesting, like many former professionals, that cricket had declined markedly since his retirement.
But there was no denying his brilliance as a cricketer and ”Fred” is likely to be remembered as long as the game is played. — AFP
