cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

Yorkshire County Cricket Club Yorkshire County Cricket Club is a professional Cricket club based in Yorkshire, England. The team competes in the County Championship, the top tier of English First-class cricket. Nicknamed "Vikings". Yorkshire also competes in T20 Blast, O ...

England cricket team The England men's cricket team represents cricket in England, England and cricket in Wales, Wales in international cricket. Since 1997, it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), having been previously governed by Maryleb ...

Brian Statham John Brian Statham, (17 June 1930 – 10 June 2000) was an English professional cricketer from Gorton, in Manchester, who played for Lancashire County Cricket Club from 1950 to 1968 and for England from 1951 to 1965.leg slip, and a useful late order batsman who made three first-class

centuries A century is a period of 100 years or 10 decades. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages. The word ''century'' comes from the Latin ''centum'', meaning ''one hundred''. ''Century'' is sometimes abbreviated as c. A ...

. He was awarded his Yorkshire county cap in 1951 and in 1952 was elected " Young Cricketer of the Year" by the Cricket Writers' Club. For his performances in the 1952 season, he was named one of the

Wisden Cricketers of the Year The ''Wisden'' Cricketers of the Year are cricketers selected for the honour by the annual publication ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', based "primarily for their influence on the previous English season". The award began in 1889 with the naming ...

in the 1953 edition of ''

Wisden Cricketers' Almanack ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', or simply ''Wisden'', colloquially the Bible of Cricket, is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom. The description "Bible of cricket" (or variations thereof) has been applied to ''Wi ...

''. His talent, skill and public profile were such that British Prime Minister

Harold Wilson James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx (11 March 1916 – 23 May 1995) was a British statesman and Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, from 1964 to 1970 and again from 197 ...

, himself from Yorkshire, jokingly described him as the "greatest living Yorkshireman". Even so, Trueman was omitted from numerous England teams because he was frequently in conflict with the cricket establishment, which he often criticised for its perceived "snobbishness" and hypocrisy. After he retired from playing, he became a media personality through his work in television and as an outspoken radio commentator for the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

, mainly working on ''

Test Match Special ''Test Match Special'' (also known as ''TMS'') is a British sports radio programme, originally, as its name implies, dealing exclusively with Test cricket matches, but currently covering any professional cricket. The programme is available on BB ...

''. He was awarded the

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

in the

1989 Birthday Honours Queen's Birthday Honours are announced on or around the date of the Queen's Official Birthday in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The dates vary, both from year to year and from country to country. All are published in suppl ...

for services to cricket. In 2009, Trueman was inducted into the

ICC Cricket Hall of Fame The ICC Cricket Hall of Fame recognises "the achievements of the legends of the game from cricket's long and illustrious history". It was launched by the International Cricket Council (ICC) in Dubai on 2 January 2009, in association with the Fe ...

. On the occasion of England's 1000th Test in August 2018, he was named in the country's greatest Test XI by the ECB.

Early life and career

Childhood

Fred Trueman was born at no. 5, Scotch Spring Lane, Stainton near Maltby,

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire was one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the riding was an administrative county named County of York, West Riding. The Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding of Yorkshire, lieu ...

.Arlott, p. 16. He said himself that he weighed at birth and was delivered by his maternal grandmother Mrs Stimpson. Her maiden name was Sewards and Trueman's parents decided to honour her by naming him Frederick Sewards Trueman. Not long before his death in 2006, Trueman appeared to discover that Mrs Stimpson was Jewish. He said that he was happy to be considered Jewish but joked that he would be very reluctant to give up on bacon sandwiches. Chris Waters' 2011 biography states this claim to be untrue and that Elizabeth Stimpson's natural parents were a couple from Lincolnshire with no Jewish connections. His parents were Alan and Ethel Trueman and he was the middle one of seven children. They were a country family, their home being part of a terrace row called Scotch Springs (now demolished) that was surrounded by countryside but about a mile from

Maltby Main Colliery The Maltby Main Colliery was a coal mine located east of Rotherham on the eastern edge of Maltby, South Yorkshire, England. The mine was closed in 2013. History The first shafts at Maltby Main Colliery were sunk in 1910, and the first coal pro ...

and half a mile from Stainton village. Trueman's grandfather had been a horse dealer and his father worked primarily with horses too, though for a time he was a coalface worker at Maltby Main. His parents instilled into all the children a strong sense of discipline and the values of honesty and forthrightness. Trueman's education began at the village school in Stainton where his teachers recognised his talent for

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

. Encouraged by his father, he had started bowling when he was four. His father was captain of the Stainton club and Trueman used to accompany him to matches, once playing for the club when he was only eight years old. When Trueman was twelve years old, the family moved to a larger house on Tennyson Road in nearby Maltby, where Trueman attended Maltby Secondary School.Arlott, p. 17.

Development as a cricketer

At Maltby Secondary School, Trueman had two teachers called Dickie Harrison and Tommy Stubbs who recognised his talent as a bowler and picked him for the school team, even though he was much younger than the other players. His school playing career was interrupted for two years after he was seriously injured by a cricket ball that hit him in the groin. He started playing again in 1945 when he was fourteen but left school that summer to start work, initially in a newsagent. He had several jobs before becoming a professional cricketer.Arlott, p. 18. Inhibited by his injury, Trueman might have given up on cricket at this time but instead, motivated by his family, he joined a nearby village club called Roche Abbey, playing regularly for them in 1946. He was successful at Roche Abbey and, before the 1947 season when he was sixteen, came to the notice of former

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

player Cyril Turner who was coaching the Sheffield United Cricket Club which played at

Bramall Lane Bramall Lane is a association football, football stadium in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which is the home of Sheffield United F.C., Sheffield United. The stadium was originally a cricket ground, built on a road named after the Bramall ...

, a ground then in regular use by Yorkshire for

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is of three or more days scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officially adju ...

.Arlott, p. 19. In his autobiography, Trueman acknowledged his debt to Cyril Turner, "a superb coach", who taught him how to "hold the ball properly", enable it to swing both ways and how to follow through properly to complete his bowling action. Trueman played some matches for Sheffield United's Second XI team in the 1947 season and was then promoted to the first team so that he could play in the Yorkshire Council League.''As It Was'', p. 35. The following winter, he received an invitation from Yorkshire to attend indoor coaching classes at

Headingley Headingley is a suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, approximately two miles out of the city centre, to the north west along the A660 road. Headingley is the location of the Beckett Park campus of Leeds Beckett University and Headingley ...

,

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

, under the supervision of

Bill Bowes William Eric Bowes (25 July 1908 – 4 September 1987) was an English professional cricketer active from 1929 to 1947 who played in 372 first-class matches as a right arm fast bowler and a right-handed tail end batsman. He took 1,639 wicket ...

and Arthur Mitchell. Before the 1948 season began, Trueman was selected by Yorkshire for the Yorkshire Federation team for players under eighteen, effectively the county's third team. The team toured the south of England and it was on this tour that Trueman met two of his future Yorkshire colleagues,

Brian Close Dennis Brian Close, (24 February 1931 – 13 September 2015) was an English first-class cricketer. He was picked to play against New Zealand in July 1949, when he was 18 years old. Close went on to play 22 Test matches for England, ...

and

Ray Illingworth Raymond Illingworth Commander of the Order of the British Empire, CBE (8 June 1932 – 25 December 2021) was an English cricketer, cricket commentator and administrator. , he was one of only nine players to have taken 2,000 wickets and made 20, ...

.''As It Was'', p. 39. He enjoyed a successful season with Sheffield, saying that "the year 1948 proved a good one for me". He had already met a number of great Yorkshire players including

George Hirst George Herbert Hirst (7 September 1871 – 10 May 1954) was a professional English cricketer who played first-class cricket for Yorkshire County Cricket Club between 1891 and 1921, with a further appearance in 1929. One of the best all-r ...

and he was delighted by an end of season newspaper report in which

Herbert Sutcliffe Herbert Sutcliffe (24 November 1894 – 22 January 1978) was an English Professionalism#Sports, professional cricketer who represented Yorkshire County Cricket Club, Yorkshire and England national cricket team, England as an opening batsman. A ...

predicted that Trueman would play for Yorkshire before he was nineteen and for

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

before he was twenty-one. As the 1949 season began, Trueman was surprised to receive a telegram from Yorkshire which told him he had been chosen to play for the first team in the opening first-class matches against

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

at

Fenner's Fenner's is Cambridge University Cricket Club's ground. History Cambridge University Cricket Club had previously played at two grounds in Cambridge, the University Ground and Parker's Piece. In 1846, Francis Fenner leased a former cherry orc ...

and

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

at

the Parks The Oxford University Parks, commonly referred to locally as the University Parks, or just The Parks, is a large parkland area slightly northeast of the city centre in Oxford, England. The park is bounded to the east by the River Cherwell, tho ...

.

First-class and international cricket career

Beginnings: 1949 to 1951

Trueman made his first-class debut on Wednesday, 11 May 1949 in the three-day match against Cambridge which Yorkshire won by 9

wicket In the sport of cricket, the term wicket has several meanings: * It is either of the two sets of three Stump (cricket), stumps and two Bail (cricket), bails at each end of the Cricket pitch, pitch. The Fielding (cricket), fielding team's playe ...

s. He was mistakenly described as a

spin bowler Spin bowling is a bowling technique in cricket, in which the ball is delivered relatively slowly but with rapid rotation, giving it the potential to deviate sharply after bouncing. A bowler who uses this technique is called a spinner, a spin b ...

in the ''

Wisden ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', or simply ''Wisden'', colloquially the Bible of Cricket, is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom. The description "Bible of cricket" (or variations thereof) has been applied to ''Wi ...

'' match report. Opening the bowling in both innings with Brian Close, who was

medium pace Fast bowling (also referred to as pace bowling) is a type of bowling in cricket, in which the ball is delivered at high speed. The fastest bowlers bowl the ball at over . Practitioners of fast bowling are known as fast bowlers or quicks. Also ...

, Trueman took two for 72 and one for 22 as Cambridge were dismissed for 283 and 196 respectively. Yorkshire scored 317 for six declared and 164 for one so Trueman, who was number 11 in the order, did not

bat Bats are flying mammals of the order Chiroptera (). With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most birds, flying with their very long spread-out ...

. Trueman's first wicket was that of opening batsman Robert Morris, who was caught by Ellis Robinson for 19. In the second innings, Trueman bowled the future

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

and England batsman

Hubert Doggart George Hubert Graham Doggart (18 July 1925 – 16 February 2018) was an English sports administrator, first-class cricketer and schoolmaster. Background Doggart was born into a sporting family at Earl's Court, London, the elder son of the ...

for 23. Three other debutants that day who all became England players were Close and

opening batsman In cricket, the batting order is the sequence in which batters play through their team's innings, there always being two batters taking part at any one time. All eleven players in a team are required to bat if the innings is completed (i.e., if ...

Frank Lowson Frank Anderson Lowson (1 July 1925 – 8 September 1984) was an English cricketer, who played in seven Tests for England from 1951 to 1955. In first-class cricket, Lowson amassed 15,321 runs at an average of over 37, but had drifted away from ...

for Yorkshire; and

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

fast bowler

John Warr John James Warr (16 July 1927 – 9 May 2016) was an English cricketer. A successful county player for Middlesex County Cricket Club, he took part in two Test matches for England. Warr was known for his sense of humour and made many humorous a ...

for Cambridge. Many years later, Warr wrote the biographical piece about Trueman in ''Barclays World of Cricket''.Warr, ''Barclays'', p. 239. Trueman had match figures of six for 72 in his second match against Oxford, which Yorkshire lost by 69 runs. A month later, he took eight for 70 against the

Minor Counties The National Counties, known as the Minor Counties before 2020, are the cricketing counties of England and Wales that do not have first-class status. The game is administered by the National Counties Cricket Association (NCCA), which comes unde ...

on his first appearance at

Lord's Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket List of Test cricket grounds, venue in St John's Wood, Westminster. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex C ...

, bowling unchanged through the second innings. Commenting on his first

County Championship The County Championship, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Rothesay County Championship, is the only domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales. Established in 1890, it is organised by the England and Wales Cri ...

match, against

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

at

Park Avenue Park Avenue is a boulevard in New York City that carries north and southbound traffic in the borough (New York City), boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx. For most of the road's length in Manhattan, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the wes ...

,

Bradford Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...

, ''Wisden'' said that he bowled "fast and with effect". As with most of their young players, Yorkshire intended to take their time over establishing Trueman and were prepared to set him aside for lengthy periods. The established pace bowlers in 1949 were Alec Coxon and

Ron Aspinall Ronald Aspinall (26 October 1918 – 16 August 1999) was an English cricketer, who played for Yorkshire, and a cricket umpire. Life and career Aspinall was born in Almondbury, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. A useful lower order right-handed ba ...

, both fast-medium, while captain

Norman Yardley Norman Walter Dransfield Yardley (19 March 1915 – 3 October 1989) was an English cricketer who played for Cambridge University, Yorkshire County Cricket Club and England, as a right-handed batsman and occasional bowler. An amateur, he ca ...

was a "capable third seam bowler". History was against Trueman as the county rarely looked for fast bowlers with express speed, instead preferring "the medium or fast-medium bowler with his capacity for control, economy and long spells". Trueman, once he became established, was a clear breach of Yorkshire tradition. The great Yorkshire team of the 1930s had been broken up by the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and a rebuilding phase was underway by the late 1940s, although Yorkshire had won the first post-war

County Championship The County Championship, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Rothesay County Championship, is the only domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales. Established in 1890, it is organised by the England and Wales Cri ...

in 1946.

Norman Yardley Norman Walter Dransfield Yardley (19 March 1915 – 3 October 1989) was an English cricketer who played for Cambridge University, Yorkshire County Cricket Club and England, as a right-handed batsman and occasional bowler. An amateur, he ca ...

succeeded

Brian Sellers Arthur Brian Sellers (5 March 1907 – 20 February 1981) was an English amateur first-class cricketer, who played in 334 first-class matches for Yorkshire County Cricket Club between 1932 and 1948, and later became a prominent administrator ...

as captain in 1948 and his main team members that season were

Len Hutton Sir Leonard Hutton (23 June 1916 – 6 September 1990) was an English cricketer. He played as an Batting order (cricket)#Opening batsmen, opening batsman for Yorkshire County Cricket Club from 1934 to 1955 and for England national cricket team ...

,

Ted Lester Edward Ibson Lester (18 February 1923 – 23 March 2015) was an English first-class cricketer who played for Yorkshire County Cricket Club. He was born and died at Scarborough, North Yorkshire, Scarborough, Yorkshire, England. Lester had a firs ...

, Harry Halliday, Vic Wilson, Willie Watson, Frank Smailes,

Johnny Wardle Johnny Wardle (8 January 1923 – 23 July 1985) was an English spin bowling cricketer whose Test Match career lasted between 1948 and 1957. His Test bowling average of 20.39 is the lowest in Test cricket by any recognised spin bowler since ...

, Don Brennan (wicket-keeper), Ellis Robinson, Ron Aspinall and Alex Coxon. Others in the picture were future captain

Billy Sutcliffe William Herbert Hobbs Sutcliffe (10 October 1926 – 16 September 1998) was an English amateur first-class cricketer, and the son of Herbert Sutcliffe; his middle name was in honour of Jack Hobbs. Sutcliffe was born in Pudsey, near Leeds, ...

and two more young fast-medium bowlers,

Bill Foord Charles William Foord (11 June 1924 – 8 July 2015) was an English first-class cricketer from Scarborough, Yorkshire, England, who played 51 first-class matches for Yorkshire County Cricket Club between 1947 and 1953. He also played a first-clas ...

and Johnny Whitehead. The main team changes in 1949 were the retirement of Frank Smailes; the immediate establishment of Close and Lowson, who played in 22 and 24 championship matches respectively while Trueman only played in four; and an injury to Aspinall who was restricted to just three games. Aspinall had taken thirty wickets in his three matches and had been picked for a Test Trial but, at the end of May, he ruptured an

Achilles tendon The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcane ...

and was out of action for the rest of the season; indeed, he was never an effective bowler again. Yorkshire initially replaced Aspinall with

Frank McHugh Francis Curry McHugh (May 23, 1898 – September 11, 1981) was an American stage, radio, film and television actor. Early years Born in Homestead, Pennsylvania, of Irish descent, McHugh came from a theatrical family. His parents, Edward A ...

, but then brought Trueman back in June before dropping him in July in order to try out Foord and Whitehead. Trueman was recalled to play against the

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

tourists at Bramall Lane later in July but his debut season ended there and then as he sustained a thigh injury and had to be carried off the field. He could only watch from the sidelines as Yorkshire took part in "a fine struggle" for the championship which, in the end, they shared with

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

, both teams earning 192 points. He played in eight first-class matches in 1949, all for Yorkshire; in five matches for the Second XI in the

Minor Counties Championship The NCCA 3 Day Championship or National County Championship is a season-long competition in England and Wales that is contested by the members of the National Counties Cricket Association (NCCA), the so-called national counties (previously ca ...

; and in one other match for Yorkshire's first team against an Army XI which included another up and coming fast bowler,

Frank Tyson Frank Holmes Tyson (6 June 1930 – 27 September 2015) was an England international cricketer of the 1950s, who also worked as a schoolmaster, journalist, cricket coach and cricket commentator after emigrating to Australia in 1960. Nicknamed " ...

. The third issue of ''

Playfair Cricket Annual ''Playfair Cricket Annual'' is a compact annual about cricket that is published in the United Kingdom each April, just before the English cricket season is due to begin. It has been published every year since 1948. Its main purposes are to revie ...

'' in 1950 said that Trueman was "built for the job of a fast 'un, and with the spirit too" but added that "Yorkshire will not hasten his development or that of any other promising player". Trueman in his autobiography was highly critical of this policy and says that on at least one occasion he remonstrated fiercely with his captain about being left out of the first team.''As It Was'', pp. 80–81. Having called him a "fast 'un" in its Yorkshire section, ''Playfair'' in its "Who's Who" section incorrectly described Trueman as "a promising RFM" (i.e., fast medium bowler). Trueman's oft-stated view of himself was "t'fastest bloody bowler that ever drew breath". Trueman's first match in the 1950 season was for Yorkshire against the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

tourists at Park Avenue. He made twelve appearances in the County Championship and played for " The Rest" against England in a Test trial. He made only one appearance for the Second XI. On the face of it, and certainly in terms of his bowling figures to date, it was a surprise that Trueman was selected for the Test Trial. ''Wisden'' said that this was "a match immortalised by

Jim Laker James Charles Laker (9 February 1922 – 23 April 1986) was an English professional cricketer who played for Surrey County Cricket Club from 1946 to 1959 and represented England in 46 Test matches. He was born in Shipley, West Riding of Yorks ...

's eight for two". Trueman's inclusion was designed to give the England batsmen practice against fast bowling even though, at this period of his career, he was inaccurate in both length and direction. The selectors were driven by the repeated discomfiture of England batsmen against the great Australian bowlers

Ray Lindwall Raymond Russell Lindwall (3 October 1921 – 23 June 1996) was an Australian cricketer who represented Australia in 61 Tests from 1946 to 1960. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest fast bowlers of all time. He also played top-flight ...

and

Keith Miller Keith Ross Miller (28 November 1919 – 11 October 2004) was an Australian Test cricketer and a Royal Australian Air Force pilot during World War II. Miller is widely regarded as Australia's greatest ever all-rounder. His ability, irreverent m ...

, but

John Arlott Leslie Thomas John Arlott, (25 February 1914 – 14 December 1991) was an English journalist, author and cricket commentator for the BBC's '' Test Match Special''. He was also a poet and wine connoisseur. With his poetic phraseology, he becam ...

suspected there was also a subconscious urge to "reflect public feeling, the national desire for a fast bowler, even an inexperienced one – anyone so long as he was fast". 1950 was a frustrating season for Trueman who was straining to establish himself in the Yorkshire team. The club committee, however, persisted in a policy of short-term usage followed by a period of discard while they looked at Whitehead. Trueman faced the added problem of trying to succeed in an atmosphere of prevailing "discontent in the dressing room" which amounted to much more than a typical "them and us" situation between players and committee. Trueman said that the team itself was "split into cliques", specifically the "gentlemen players" and one or two senior professionals like Hutton, who had social ambitions, on the one hand; and the younger professionals like himself, Close, Illingworth and Lowson on the other. The situation was exacerbated by bad feeling between some of the professionals, Wardle in particular being a difficult person to have in a team. Although he was fast, Trueman was often wayward and sometimes expensive. These "negatives assumed great importance" in such a dour and unforgiving atmosphere. On Trueman's debit side, some of his colleagues perceived him to be "loud-mouthed and seemingly insensitive". Trueman was downhearted enough at this time to even think about joining Yorkshire's traditional rivals

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

. But at the end of the season, he went back to the winter nets where he listened to Bowes and Mitchell, practised, kept himself fit and looked forward with increasing determination to the future. Trueman was an "apt pupil" and Bowes said of him: "He had the three great assets for the job: a love of fast bowling, a powerful physique and a smooth cartwheel action". Yorkshire finished third in the County Championship, twenty points adrift of the joint winners Lancashire and Surrey. For the most part, Yorkshire selected from fifteen players in 1950 although a few others made occasional appearances. Yardley captained the team in which Hutton and Lowson were the established openers although, with Hutton's Test calls, there were more opportunities for Halliday and

Geoffrey Keighley William Geoffrey Keighley OAM (10 January 1925 – 14 June 2005) was an English barrister, businessman, first-class cricketer, farmer, grazier and legislator. Keighley was born in Nice, France. His family had business interests in Bradford, W ...

. Lester, Watson, Wilson and Billy Sutcliffe were the other batsmen and Brennan was the wicket-keeper. The main bowlers were Wardle, Coxon and

Eddie Leadbeater Edric "Eddie" Leadbeater (15 August 1927 – 17 April 2011) was an English cricketer who played in two Tests in 1951. He was born in Lockwood, Huddersfield, West Riding of Yorkshire, and died in Huddersfield. Leadbeater was a right-handed lowe ...

. Brian Close was doing his

national service National service is a system of compulsory or voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act ...

and could only make a single appearance, Ellis Robinson had departed and Ron Aspinall's career had been wrecked by his injury. So Trueman and Whitehead, who made 13 appearances, contested the fourth bowling place but one of the bit players was

Bob Appleyard Robert Appleyard (27 June 1924 – 17 March 2015) was a Yorkshire and England first-class cricketer. He was one of the best English bowlers of the 1950s, a decade which saw England develop its strongest bowling attack of the twentieth century. ...

, who would make a major impact in 1951. The next stage in Trueman's development was to harness his speed and exercise full control of the ball. This was what Bowes and Mitchell worked on in 1950–51 and "the improvement in his bowling was immediately noticeable". Whereas in 1949 and 1950 he had taken 31 wickets in both seasons, he took 90 in 1951 including five wickets in an innings six times. His best analysis of the season was eight for 53 against

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated ''Notts.'') is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. The county is bordered by South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. Th ...

at

Trent Bridge Trent Bridge Cricket Ground is a cricket ground mostly used for Test cricket, Test, One-day cricket, One-Day International and county cricket located in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England, just across the River Trent from the city of Nott ...

when he captured his first

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

by making the ball swing with devastating effect, Yorkshire winning by 9 wickets. His hat-trick victims were

Reg Simpson Reginald Thomas Simpson (27 February 1920 – 22 November 2013) was an English cricketer, who played in 27 Test cricket, Test matches from 1948 to 1955. Life and career Born in Sherwood, Nottingham, England, Simpson attended Nottingham High S ...

, Alan Armitage and Peter Harvey. All four of Trueman's career hat-tricks were taken for Yorkshire and this is a county record he shares with

George Macaulay George Gibson Macaulay (7 December 1897 – 13 December 1940) was a professional English cricketer who played first-class cricket for Yorkshire County Cricket Club between 1920 and 1935. He played in eight Test matches for England from 1923 to ...

. The hat-trick match was the second time Trueman had destroyed the Nottinghamshire batting that season. A month earlier at Bramall Lane, he had taken three for 26 and eight for 68, enabling Yorkshire to win by an innings and 33 runs. According to ''Wisden'', Trueman "bowled at very fast pace and frequently made the ball fly". Trueman might have expected that eleven-wicket haul at Bramall Lane to firmly establish his place in the Yorkshire first-team but his immediate reward was to be rested and given twelfth man duties with the Second XI, who were playing against

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...

at Cleethorpes Sports Ground. To be fair to Yorkshire, the teams for the subsequent first and second XI matches had already been chosen before he took his eight for 68. He quickly swallowed his disappointment and his eight for 53 at Trent Bridge was summarised by one of his biographers Don Mosey as "the start of the Trueman era". Despite their internal problems and disharmony, Yorkshire finished second behind

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...

in the County Championship. One of the problem players, Alex Coxon, surprisingly resigned after the 1950 season and it was widely said that "his face did not fit", even though he was a top-class bowler who had played for England. Brian Close made only two appearances as he completed his national service; and Ray Illingworth made his debut but played in only the one match. With Johnny Whitehead playing only seven times, Yorkshire relied mainly on a squad of 13 players including Trueman, who played in 26 championship matches. The other twelve regulars were Yardley (captain), Hutton, Lowson, Lester, Watson, Wilson, Halliday, Sutcliffe, Brennan, Wardle, Leadbeater and Appleyard. On Monday, 13 August 1951, Trueman and Bob Appleyard were awarded their county caps by team captain Norman Yardley.

National service in the RAF: 1951 to 1953

Since his first involvement with Yorkshire in 1948, Trueman had been working a winter job at Maltby Main in the tally office (contrary to one of the urban legend about him, he was never actually a miner).''As It Was'', p. 97. Yorkshire had encouraged him to work for the

National Coal Board The National Coal Board (NCB) was the statutory corporation created to run the nationalised coal mining industry in the United Kingdom. Set up under the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946, it took over the United Kingdom's collieries on "ve ...

so that he would be in a reserved occupation and so avoid national service. In the winter of 1950–51, he learned that his job was to be declassified and that he would be liable for call-up at some stage. He decided to volunteer after the 1951 season and, at the same time, take advantage of a new Yorkshire committee ruling that any capped players who were called up would be paid £5 a week, which was a good wage at the time. Trueman undertook his national service in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

at

RAF Hemswell Royal Air Force Hemswell, or RAF Hemswell, is a former Royal Air Force station located east of Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England. Located close to the village of Hemswell in Lincolnshire, England the disestablished airfield is now in f ...

in

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...

. At that stage, according to ''Wisden'', "the RAF was probably less hierarchical than Yorkshire County Cricket Club, and he coped with the vagaries of service life rather better than he did with the Yorkshire committee". He was there through the next two seasons until he was demobilised at the end of the 1953 season. During this time he made his Test debut for England against

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

in 1952 and took part in the 1953

Ashes Ashes may refer to: * Ash, the solid remnants of fires. Media and entertainment Art * ''Ashes'' (Munch), an 1894 painting by Edvard Munch Film * ''The Ashes'' (film), a 1965 Polish film by director Andrzej Wajda * ''Ashes'' (1922 film), ...

series against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. He was fortunate in having a station commander in

Group Captain Group captain (Gp Capt or G/C) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many Commonwealth of Nations, countries that have historical British influence. Group cap ...

Jim Warfield Jim or JIM may refer to: Names * Jim (given name), a given name * Jim, a diminutive form of the given name James * Jim, a short form of the given name Jimmy People and horses * Jim, the nickname of Yelkanum Seclamatan (died April 1911), Nat ...

who was a cricket enthusiast and was willing to grant him leave for Test and occasional county matches. In addition, Warfield decided to employ Trueman in the sports section, looking after the equipment and playing fields.''As It Was'', p. 98. Nevertheless, this relaxation of the usual rules caused questions to be raised in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

after the mother of another conscript complained to her local MP that her son had been refused leave to take part in a national

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and in modern forms is usually made of plastic, where early membranes were made of animal skin. ...

playing championship. Trueman claimed that he was the first person to be mentioned in ''

Hansard ''Hansard'' is the transcripts of parliamentary debates in Britain and many Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries. It is named after Thomas Curson Hansard (1776–1833), a London printer and publisher, who was the first official printe ...

'' in a cricketing connection. His identity in the RAF was AC2 F. S. Trueman 2549485. He was later promoted to AC1. National service restricted Trueman to just nine first-class matches in 1952 but four of them were Tests. He made his debut for England on Thursday, 5 June in the first Test against

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

at

Headingley Headingley is a suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, approximately two miles out of the city centre, to the north west along the A660 road. Headingley is the location of the Beckett Park campus of Leeds Beckett University and Headingley ...

.

Len Hutton Sir Leonard Hutton (23 June 1916 – 6 September 1990) was an English cricketer. He played as an Batting order (cricket)#Opening batsmen, opening batsman for Yorkshire County Cricket Club from 1934 to 1955 and for England national cricket team ...

had been appointed England captain before the series as the first professional to hold the post in the 20th century and the first ever to hold it in a home series. The appointment was controversial, especially among the amateur establishment, but Hutton had "an easy initiation against a weak Indian side, who did not relish the tearaway bowling of the young Trueman".Birley, p. 284. England, for whom Trueman opened the bowling with

Alec Bedser Sir Alec Victor Bedser (4 July 1918 – 4 April 2010) was an English professional cricketer, primarily a medium-fast bowler. He is widely regarded as one of the best English cricketers of the 20th century. Bedser played first-class cricket fo ...

, won the match in four days by 7 wickets. After taking three for 89 in the first innings when India scored 293, Trueman produced a sensational opening spell in the second innings and, after only 14 balls had been bowled, India were reduced to none for four, Trueman taking three of the wickets. He finished with four for 27 as India recovered to score 165. England had made 334 in the first innings and a second innings total of 128 for three secured the win. England won the second Test at

Lord's Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket List of Test cricket grounds, venue in St John's Wood, Westminster. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex C ...

by 8 wickets. Trueman, again opening the bowling with Bedser, took four for 72 and four for 110. In the third Test at

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and is the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,197, it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after W ...

, England won by an innings and 207 runs with Trueman taking eight for 31 and one for 9. The fourth and final Test at the Oval was ruined by rain and drawn after England scored 326 for six declared and India had been bowled out for only 98. Trueman with five for 48 and Bedser with five for 41 were almost unplayable. Trueman's tally of wickets in his debut series was therefore 29. He had a problem during the season in "a tendency to get stitch", which was diagnosed as "a lack of regular fast bowling exercise". In the 1952 County Championship, Yorkshire made a strong challenge but ultimately finished as runners-up to

Stuart Surridge Walter Stuart Surridge (3 September 1917 – 13 April 1992) was an English first-class cricketer who captained Surrey County Cricket Club. Neither a remarkable batsman nor bowler, Surridge was one of the most successful team captains in the hi ...

's great Surrey team which began a remarkable run of seven consecutive titles to 1958. Trueman was restricted to five championship appearances but Yorkshire did get Brian Close back from his national service. Yardley was again the captain and the other mainstays were Hutton, Lowson, Lester, Halliday, Wilson, Watson, Sutcliffe, Brennan, Wardle, Leadbeater and the fast-medium bowler Bill Holdsworth who was effectively Trueman's stand-in. Holdsworth played 24 matches in 1952 and 1953 only; but never again after Trueman returned to full-time action in 1954. As a result of his fine performances in 1952, mainly in Test cricket against India, Trueman was voted the Young Cricketer of the Year by the Cricket Writers' Club. The following spring, he was named as one of the

Cricketers of the Year The ''Wisden'' Cricketers of the Year are cricketers selected for the honour by the annual publication ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', based "primarily for their influence on the previous English season". The award began in 1889 with the naming ...

for 1952 by ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'' in its 1953 edition (the other four were

Harold Gimblett Harold Gimblett (19 October 1914 – 30 March 1978) was a cricketer who played for Somerset and England. He was known for his fast scoring as an opening batsman and for the much-repeated story of his debut. In a book first published in 1982 ...

,

Tom Graveney Thomas William Graveney (16 June 1927 – 3 November 2015) was an English first-class cricketer, representing his country in 79 Test matches and scoring over 4,800 runs. In a career lasting from 1948 to 1972, he became the 15th player to scor ...

,

David Sheppard David Stuart Sheppard, Baron Sheppard of Liverpool (6 March 1929 – 5 March 2005) was a Church of England bishop who played cricket for Sussex and England in his youth, before serving as Bishop of Liverpool from 1975 to 1997. Sheppard remains ...

and

Stuart Surridge Walter Stuart Surridge (3 September 1917 – 13 April 1992) was an English first-class cricketer who captained Surrey County Cricket Club. Neither a remarkable batsman nor bowler, Surridge was one of the most successful team captains in the hi ...

). ''Wisden'' said of Trueman in its dedication that he "is 5 ft 10½ in. and weighs 13st 9lbs" and "gives promise of becoming a second

Harold Larwood Harold Larwood (14 November 1904 – 22 July 1995) was a professional cricketer for Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club and the England cricket team between 1924 and 1938. A right-arm fast bowler who combined extreme speeds with great a ...

". Having mentioned his problem with "stitch", ''Wisden'' remarked that "it is doubtful whether Trueman has reached the stage of physical development to bowl the long spells which may be necessary against Test batsmen of the highest class". While Yorkshire thought Trueman would need two more seasons "before he can do everything asked", England certainly possess "the best fast bowling prospect in years" and ''Wisden'' followed this comment with a direct comparison of Trueman's attributes with those of Larwood. Writing in 1999,

Derek Birley Sir Derek Sydney Birley (31 May 1926 – 14 May 2002) was a distinguished English educationalist and a prize-winning writer on the social history of sport, particularly cricket. Life and career Born in a mining community in West Yorkshire, Birl ...

said of Trueman at this pivotal moment in his career that he was "still learning his craft and, rather more slowly, how to behave". Birley viewed Trueman as "an early cricketing example of a post-war phenomenon, the brash and undisciplined youth tolerated for his talent – the anti-hero". Birley admitted that Trueman eventually became "an immensely popular public figure" thanks to his "rudimentary sense of humour, prodigious memory and forthright views", all of which made him a media favourite on the one hand but, on the other, the same qualities made him "less popular on the county cricket circuit", where he was "dreaded off the field like the

Ancient Mariner ''The Rime of the Ancient Mariner'' (originally ''The Rime of the Ancyent Marinere''), written by English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge in 1797–98 and published in 1798 in the first edition of ''Lyrical Ballads'', is a poem that recounts the ...

". Trueman played

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

for Lincoln City during his national service. He played for

RAF Hemswell Royal Air Force Hemswell, or RAF Hemswell, is a former Royal Air Force station located east of Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England. Located close to the village of Hemswell in Lincolnshire, England the disestablished airfield is now in f ...

in the 1952–53 season and was spotted by Lincoln City manager

Bill Anderson James William Anderson III (born November 1, 1937) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and television host. His soft-spoken singing voice earned him the nickname "Whispering Bill" from music critics and writers. As a songwriter, hi ...

, who invited him to play for the Lincoln reserves. Trueman was a forward, playing either as a striker or on the wing. Given the publicity he had received after his performances in the 1952 Test series, there was a lot of public interest in his football and Lincoln's attendances increased considerably when he was playing. Eventually, Bill Anderson offered him professional terms but Trueman decided to concentrate on cricket and, aware of the risk to his Test and county career if he sustained a football injury, he declined. The highlight of the 1953 season, for Trueman and all other England cricket followers, was the series victory over Australia that enabled England to win the Ashes for the first time since the

bodyline Bodyline, also known as fast leg theory bowling, was a cricketing tactic devised by the English cricket team for their English cricket team in Australia in 1932–33, 1932–33 Ashes tour of Australia. It was designed to combat the extraordinar ...

series in 1932–33. Trueman missed the first four Tests, which were all drawn, and played in the last at the Oval which England won by 8 wickets, partly thanks to him taking four important wickets. "Erratic, yes; wild, most certainly; but full of fire and dynamite", wrote

Jack Fingleton John Henry Webb Fingleton, (28 April 190822 November 1981) was an Australian cricketer, journalist and commentator. The son of Australian politician James Fingleton, he was known for his dour defensive approach as a batsman, scoring five Tes ...

. Yorkshire by contrast had a poor season, though it could partly be excused by the impact of Test calls, injuries and Trueman's national service. They dropped to twelfth place in the County Championship, which was then their lowest-ever position. Ray Illingworth, who had made only a handful of appearances previously, was an ever-present in Yorkshire's championship team in 1953 and other young prospects making progress were

Mike Cowan Michael Thomas "Fluff" Cowan (born February 7, 1948) is a professional golf caddie on the PGA Tour. He is a 40-year tour veteran and one of its best-known caddies. Cowan has caddied for Ed Sabo (1976–1978), Peter Jacobsen (1978–1996), Tiger Wo ...

, Doug Padgett, Bryan Stott and Ken Taylor. Otherwise, the mainstays were as before: Yardley, Hutton, Lowson, Lester, Halliday, Watson, Wilson, Sutcliffe, Brennan and Wardle. Close played in only two matches and Trueman in ten. Bill Holdsworth made 14 appearances and Bill Foord, in his last season before finally deciding to be a schoolteacher, made 22.

Clashes with authority: 1954 to 1956

Trueman's first overseas tour, to the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

, took place the following winter (1953–54) after he was demobilised by the RAF. He played in eight first-class matches, including three of the five Tests, and took 27 wickets at 33.66 with a best effort of five for 45. It was a controversial tour and its ramifications had an adverse impact on Trueman's international career during the next few years. MCC at the outset were "riddled with anxiety" about sending a team abroad under a professional captain but could hardly deny Hutton his right having just won the Ashes. England had a very strong team in which the main bowlers were

Trevor Bailey Trevor Edward Bailey (3 December 1923 – 10 February 2011) was an England Test cricketer, cricket writer and broadcaster. An all-rounder, Bailey was known for his skilful but unspectacular batting. As the BBC reflected in his obituary: "His ...

,

Jim Laker James Charles Laker (9 February 1922 – 23 April 1986) was an English professional cricketer who played for Surrey County Cricket Club from 1946 to 1959 and represented England in 46 Test matches. He was born in Shipley, West Riding of Yorks ...

,

Tony Lock Graham Anthony Richard Lock (5 July 1929 – 30 March 1995) was an English cricketer, who played primarily as a left-arm spinner. He played in 49 Test matches for England taking 174 wickets. Lock took 2,844 first-class wickets, placing him ...

,

Johnny Wardle Johnny Wardle (8 January 1923 – 23 July 1985) was an English spin bowling cricketer whose Test Match career lasted between 1948 and 1957. His Test bowling average of 20.39 is the lowest in Test cricket by any recognised spin bowler since ...

,

Brian Statham John Brian Statham, (17 June 1930 – 10 June 2000) was an English professional cricketer from Gorton, in Manchester, who played for Lancashire County Cricket Club from 1950 to 1968 and for England from 1951 to 1965.Birley, p. 286. Hutton discouraged fraternisation with the West Indies players and this went decidedly against Trueman's grain, given that he was a gregarious character who liked nothing better than to fraternise. Trueman had made friends with

Frank Worrell Sir Frank Mortimer Maglinne Worrell (1 August 1924 – 13 March 1967), sometimes referred to by his nickname of Tae, was a Barbadian West Indies cricketer and Jamaican senator. A stylish right-handed batsman and useful left-arm seam bowler, ...

and other West Indian players when he met them in English league cricket and objected strongly to Hutton's policy, claiming that he was not alone in this and especially as Hutton gave no reason for it. Trueman suspected the MCC hierarchy (i.e., Allen, Brown, etc.) of instructing Hutton to make the demand. For his own part, he would not allow anyone to dictate to him with whom he should be friends. West Indian writer

C. L. R. James Cyril Lionel Robert James (4 January 1901 – 31 May 1989), Fraser, C. Gerald (2 June 1989)"C. L. R. James, Historian, Critic And Pan-Africanist, Is Dead at 88" ''The New York Times''. . who sometimes wrote under the pen-name J. R. Johnson ...

commented on the 1953–54 English team that it was "actively disliked". He said that this was "not due merely to unsportsmanlike behaviour by individuals" but that there was "evidence to show" that the team was there primarily to "establish the prestige of Great Britain, and by that, of the local whites". Trueman quickly alienated the West Indian crowds who disliked his belligerent style, especially when he followed instructions and did not show sympathy for batsmen he had hit with the ball. The West Indian fans nicknamed him ""Mr Bumper Man" and someone wrote a calypso about him that was based on the

sea shanty A sea shanty, shanty, chantey, or chanty () is a genre of traditional Folk music, folk song that was once commonly sung as a work song to accompany rhythmical labor aboard large Merchant vessel, merchant Sailing ship, sailing vessels. The term ...

''

Drunken Sailor "Drunken Sailor", also known as "What Shall We Do with a/the Drunken Sailor?" or "Up She Rises", is a traditional sea shanty, listed as List of folk songs by Roud number, No. 322 in the Roud Folk Song Index. It was sung aboard sailing ships at ...

''. He fell foul of off-field incidents too, including one in which he and Tony Lock were blamed for something done by

Denis Compton Denis Charles Scott Compton (23 May 1918 – 23 April 1997) was an English multi-sportsman. As a cricketer he played in 78 Test matches and spent his whole career with Middlesex. As a footballer, he played as a winger and spent most of his ca ...

who, as the "golden boy" of English cricket, was effectively beyond reproach. It was while the team was in

Barbados Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...

that one of the most repeated "Trueman stories" is said to have originated, although it is almost certainly apocryphal. At a dinner, Trueman is said to have ordered a local dignitary, apparently the Indian High Commissioner: "Pass t'salt, Gunga Din".Birley, p. 287. At the end of the tour, to his outrage, Trueman had his good-conduct bonus docked. No reason was given and he tried without success to obtain one, but neither Hutton nor MCC would elaborate. Trueman never forgave Hutton and the two never played together for England again. Trueman played in the first Test at

Sabina Park Sabina Park is a cricket ground and the home of the Kingston Cricket Club, and is the only Test cricket ground in Kingston, Jamaica. History Sabina Park was originally a Pen (urban residence and adjoining land of a wealthy merchant, shopkee ...

but, with figures of two for 107 and none for 32, he proved expensive and West Indies won by 140 runs. He was omitted from the team for both the second and third Tests but then recalled for the fourth at

Queen's Park Oval The Queen's Park Oval is a sports stadium in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, used mostly for cricket matches. It opened in 1896. Privately owned by the Queen's Park Cricket Club, it is currently the second largest capacity cricket ground in ...

which was drawn; Trueman again struggled and had a return of one for 131 in the first innings as West Indies amassed 681 for eight declared, all of the famous "Three Ws" scoring centuries:

Everton Weekes Sir Everton DeCourcy Weekes, Order of St Michael and St George, KCMG, Gold Crown of Merit, GCM, Order of the British Empire, OBE (26 February 19251 July 2020) was a cricketer from Barbados. A right-handed batsman, he was known as one of the har ...

206, Frank Worrell 167 and

Clyde Walcott Sir Clyde Leopold Walcott KA, GCM, OBE (17 January 1926 – 26 August 2006) was a West Indian cricketer. Walcott was a member of the "three W's", the other two being Everton Weekes and Frank Worrell: all were very successful batsmen from B ...

124. Trueman was retained for the final Test at Sabina Park which England won by nine wickets to square the series two apiece. He opened the bowling with Bailey and returned figures of two for 39 and three for 88, while Bailey produced a match-winning seven for 34 in the first innings when West Indies were all out for only 139. Back in England after the 1953–54 tour, Trueman in 1954 was able to play a full season for the first time since 1951. Jim Kilburn wrote that, at the age of 23, Trueman "had acquired a man's physique for fast bowling that questioned the courage as well as the technique of opposing batsmen". He played in 33 matches and, for the first time, exceeded 100 wickets in a season. His tally was 134 at 15.55 with a best return of eight for 28. Yorkshire probably should have won the County Championship in 1954 having won six of their first seven matches but were badly hit by wet weather in August and finished runners-up behind Surrey. Trueman and the medium-paced Appleyard formed an effective combination, backed up by Wardle's spin, and Yorkshire had a strong bowling side. The rest of the team mostly comprised Hutton, Lowson, Yardley, Lester, Watson, Vic Wilson, Close, Illingworth and wicket-keeper Roy Booth. Arlott mentions the hard work put in by Trueman to improve his bowling, first by "smoothing out the last minor unevenness in his run-up" and then by achieving increased accuracy. Trueman said in his autobiography that Yorkshire in the early to mid-1950s were constantly let down by divisions in the team, blaming both Yardley and Hutton for the problems. Re the situation in 1954, he specifically mentions Yardley's inability to deal with the attitudes of Wardle and Appleyard. Despite his excellent form for Yorkshire in 1954, there was no place for Trueman in any of the Test matches against

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

, nor was he selected for the tour of Australia and New Zealand the following winter. He became engaged to his first wife, Enid Chapman, in September 1954 and they married in March 1955. He worked as a furniture salesman through the winter months. Trueman had a problem with so-called "drag" in 1955 when he was no-balled twice for not having his rear foot behind the bowling crease when he released the ball (i.e., he had dragged his back foot over the line before completing delivery). To remedy this, he reduced his run up by six yards, and with no apparent loss of pace.Arlott, p. 89. Yorkshire were involved in a two-horse race for the County Championship but were again let down by one poor spell, this time in June, and had to settle for second place as Surrey won a fourth consecutive title. With Appleyard ill, Trueman and Wardle shared the main weight of the bowling with support from Close. As Arlott points out, Yorkshire had a "serious weakness" in the lack of a regular fast bowling partner for Trueman. The situation was alleviated when Cowan was available, but his appearances were limited by national service and then by a back injury sustained on the MCC tour of Pakistan in 1955–56. There were some signs of change, most notably with the arrival of

Jimmy Binks James Graham Binks (born 5 October 1935) is a former English cricketer who played as a wicket-keeper for Yorkshire. Although he was regarded by many as the best wicket-keeper of his generation, his limited batting ability restricted him to just ...

as wicket-keeper and, with more appearances by Doug Padgett and Ken Taylor, the 1960s team was beginning to take shape. Appleyard, Hutton and Lester were less active than before. Otherwise, the mainstays with Trueman were Close, Illingworth, Lowson, Billy Sutcliffe, Wardle, Watson, Vic Wilson and Yardley. Trueman did force his way back into the England team for the second Test at Lord's in 1955, when England defeated

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

by 71 runs. Opening the bowling with Statham, he took two for 73, which was expensive, and none for 39 while Statham won the match for England with two for 49 and a brilliant seven for 39. That was Trueman's only Test in 1955 as

Frank Tyson Frank Holmes Tyson (6 June 1930 – 27 September 2015) was an England international cricketer of the 1950s, who also worked as a schoolmaster, journalist, cricket coach and cricket commentator after emigrating to Australia in 1960. Nicknamed " ...

was recalled for the third Test at Old Trafford. There was no Test tour in 1955–56 so Trueman had to wait a whole year for his next chance to play for England. The Australians visited England in 1956 and, Peter May having succeeded Hutton as England captain, Trueman was recalled for two Tests. In the second at Lord's, which Australia won by 185 runs, he opened the bowling with Statham and took two for 54 and five for 90. During the second innings, he took his 50th wicket in Test cricket when he had

Keith Miller Keith Ross Miller (28 November 1919 – 11 October 2004) was an Australian Test cricketer and a Royal Australian Air Force pilot during World War II. Miller is widely regarded as Australia's greatest ever all-rounder. His ability, irreverent m ...

caught behind, but Miller had the last laugh as his ten-wicket haul won the match for Australia. Trueman had done enough to retain his place for the third Test at Headingley where England won by an innings and 42 runs. It was a spinner's wicket and 18 of the Australian wickets fell to Laker and Lock. Trueman opened the bowling with Bailey and took one for 19 and one for 21, dismissing Colin McDonald in both innings. Brian Statham returned for the now legendary fourth Test at Old Trafford, taking Trueman's place and opening the bowling with Bailey, but no pace bowlers were needed here for this was "Laker's Match", the Surrey off-spinner taking an unparalleled 19 wickets in the match. Trueman made 31 first-class appearances in 1956 but had difficulty with a persistent strain in his left side, exacerbated by occasional

sciatica Sciatica is pain going down the leg from the lower back. This pain may go down the back, outside, or front of the leg. Onset is often sudden following activities such as heavy lifting, though gradual onset may also occur. The pain is often desc ...

, and he reverted to his long run after more problems with drag at the start of the season. Yorkshire's team underwent change before the season began with the retirements of Hutton and Yardley. Yardley was succeeded as captain by Billy Sutcliffe, with whom Trueman had a good relationship. Rain badly affected the County Championship and Yorkshire managed only eight wins in their 28 matches to finish seventh. With Trueman largely ineffective due to his injury, the bowling was carried by Appleyard, Wardle and the emerging Ray Illingworth. Binks, Illingworth and Vic Wilson played in all of Yorkshire's 28 championship matches in 1956. The other essential players, besides Trueman when fit, were Appleyard, Close, Lowson, Padgett, Sutcliffe, Taylor, Wardle and Watson. Trueman was not included in the 1956–57 tour of South Africa, in which England relied for pace on Bailey, Statham, Tyson and

Peter Loader Peter James Loader (25 October 1929 – 15 March 2011) was an English cricketer and umpire, who played thirteen Test matches for England. He played for Surrey and Beddington Cricket Club. A whippet-thin fast bowler with a wide range of pace and ...

. To keep his name in the frame, Trueman accepted an invitation to make a short tour of India with C. G. Howard's XI, which played two matches between 30 December and 8 January. Howard's team included Alec Bedser,

Tom Graveney Thomas William Graveney (16 June 1927 – 3 November 2015) was an English first-class cricketer, representing his country in 79 Test matches and scoring over 4,800 runs. In a career lasting from 1948 to 1972, he became the 15th player to scor ...

,

Bill Edrich William John Edrich (26 March 1916 – 24 April 1986) was a first-class cricketer who played for Middlesex, Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), Norfolk and England. Edrich's three brothers, Brian, Eric and Geoff, and also his cousin, John, all play ...

,

Reg Simpson Reginald Thomas Simpson (27 February 1920 – 22 November 2013) was an English cricketer, who played in 27 Test cricket, Test matches from 1948 to 1955. Life and career Born in Sherwood, Nottingham, England, Simpson attended Nottingham High S ...

, Willie Watson and the Australians

Bruce Dooland Bruce Dooland (1 November 1923 – 8 September 1980) was an Australian cricketer who played in three Test cricket, Test matches for the Australian national cricket team during the late 1940s. During the war Dooland was in an Australian Command ...

and

Colin McCool Colin Leslie McCool (9 December 1916 – 5 April 1986) was an Australian cricketer who played in 14 Test cricket, Test matches between 1946 and 1950. McCool, born in Paddington, New South Wales, was an all-rounder who bowled leg spin and go ...

. The two matches, played in Calcutta and Bombay, were to celebrate the Silver Jubilee of the

Cricket Association of Bengal The Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) is the governing body for cricket in the Indian state of West Bengal. It owns the Eden Gardens stadium in Kolkata, where its headquarters are located. CAB is a full member of the Board of Control for Cr ...

, Trueman taking eight wickets and achieving top score in one innings when he struck a rapid 46 not out.

The great Test bowler: 1957 to 1964

In 1952, after Trueman's early success against India, Len Hutton had commented that he needed another five years to mature as a bowler; and it was in 1957 that Trueman returned to the fore and finally became an established England player. He overcame his side strain and recovered his form, taking 27 wickets in his first four matches. New regulations about time-wasting caused him to reconsider his run up which he limited to eighteen yards. Trueman was selected for the first Test against West Indies and kept his place for the entire series.Arlott, p. 93. He was England's leading wicket-taker with 22 at 20.68. His great partnership with Statham began in earnest and for six years the pair were a formidable presence in international cricket, Statham noted for his accuracy and persistence, Trueman for his rhythm and dynamics. Trueman's selection in this series can be put into some perspective by the fact that his great rival Frank Tyson achieved 100 wickets in a season for the first time, yet Trueman was now clearly considered England's best option to partner Statham. As Arlott recounts, the third Test at Trent Bridge featured "one of the finest sustained bowling performances of Trueman's life".Arlott, p. 94. In a high-scoring match which was eventually drawn, Trueman and Statham took 15 wickets between them from a combined 135 overs, which is a considerable total for two pace bowlers. In the context of the match, they were both outstanding and their joint performance was acclaimed as the first major success in a partnership that the selectors now regarded as long-term. England did not have an overseas tour in the winter of 1957–58. Trueman played in 32 first-class matches in 1957, taking 135 wickets. He had an outstanding time in his favoured leg slip position, holding 36 catches. There were more problems in the Yorkshire dressing room, principally a petition started by certain players for the club committee to sack Billy Sutcliffe from the captaincy. Trueman refused to sign it but, in August, Sutcliffe decided to resign. Despite this, Yorkshire still managed to finish third, though a long way behind champions Surrey. Yorkshire's main players in 1957 were Appleyard, Binks, Close, Illingworth, Lowson, Padgett, Sutcliffe, Taylor, Trueman, Wardle, Watson and Vic Wilson.

Ronnie Burnet John Ronald Burnet OBE (11 October 1918 – 6 March 1999) was an English first-class cricketer and the last amateur captain of Yorkshire County Cricket Club. Yet despite this, and his modest playing record, he is remembered as a success in that ...

was Yorkshire's new captain in 1958. Not an accomplished player, though he had previously captained the club's Second XI, he was a good man-manager and a firm disciplinarian who could get the best out of what was to be a new team in which Trueman was, apart from Brian Close and Vic Wilson, the most experienced player. Burnet made his mark in 1958 with the sacking of Wardle for disciplinary reasons. The other "trouble-maker", Appleyard, lost his ability as a result of his illnesses and Yorkshire dropped him for good mid-season. Although the team could only finish 11th in the County Championship, having lost 24 full days to the weather, it was a much happier dressing room than it had been since 1946. Regular team members now included Binks,

Brian Bolus John Brian Bolus (31 January 1934 – 7 May 2020) was an English cricketer who played in seven Test matches from 1963 to 1964. Cricket commentator Colin Bateman stated, "Bolus was essentially an accumulator, dependably totting up 25,000 run ...

, Burnet, Close, Cowan, Trueman, Illingworth, Lowson, Padgett, David Pickles, Phil Sharpe, Stott, Taylor, Trueman, Don Wilson and Vic Wilson which meant that the great Yorkshire team of the 1960s was really beginning to take shape. Trueman played in all five Tests against New Zealand in 1958, taking 15 wickets in the series at an average of 17.06. This was a wet summer and most of the bowling in the series was done by spinners, but he still managed five for 31 in the first Test at

Edgbaston Edgbaston () is a suburb of Birmingham, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It lies immediately south-west of Birmingham city centre, and was historically in Warwickshire. The Ward (electoral subdivision), wards of Edgbaston and Nort ...

.Arlott, p. 100. He pulled off a remarkable anticipatory catch in the Lord's Test when he stepped forward from his short leg position to catch the ball off a defensive stroke with his hand on the batsman's boot. In the final Test at the Oval, he made the highest score of his whole Test career with 39 * in twenty minutes, including three sixes off

Alex Moir Alexander McKenzie Moir (17 July 1919 – 17 June 2000) was a New Zealand cricketer. He played 17 Test matches for New Zealand in the 1950s as a leg-spinner and lower-order batsman. Early life Moir served in Europe with New Zealand forces in W ...

. Despite sending what was, on paper, a very strong team on the 1958–59 tour of

Australasia Australasia is a subregion of Oceania, comprising Australia, New Zealand (overlapping with Polynesia), and sometimes including New Guinea and surrounding islands (overlapping with Melanesia). The term is used in a number of different context ...

, England lost the Ashes to

Richie Benaud Richard Benaud (; 6 October 1930 – 10 April 2015) was an Australian cricketer who played for New South Wales cricket team, New South Wales and Australia national cricket team, Australia. Following his retirement from international cricket in ...

's Australians, who won the series 4–0 with the third Test drawn.

Tom Graveney Thomas William Graveney (16 June 1927 – 3 November 2015) was an English first-class cricketer, representing his country in 79 Test matches and scoring over 4,800 runs. In a career lasting from 1948 to 1972, he became the 15th player to scor ...

recalled that "it was a miserable tour (and England) were never a team".Waters, p. 150. Graveney agreed with Trueman that the biggest problem was the tour manager,

Brown Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing and painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors Orange (colour), orange and black. In the ...

, who "did a very bad job". Graveney confirmed that Brown had been rude to several team members and "was a very stuck-up individual, at least when he was sober". Brown tried to make trouble for Trueman from the outset of the tour but Trueman had learned a lot from his West Indian experience five years earlier and made a formal complaint about Brown to the team captain, Peter May. Although May was a public school-educated amateur like Brown, he supported Trueman and reprimanded Brown, telling him to "act in a manner more befitting someone with managerial responsibility". For his part, Trueman described Brown as "a snob, bad-mannered, ignorant and a bigot". Trueman was one of several players who suffered injury or illness on the tour and missed the first Test because of a back problem. He was fit in time for the second Test but was not selected. He took part in the last three Tests, taking nine wickets with a best analysis of four for 90. At the

Sydney Cricket Ground The Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) is a sports stadium in the Moore Park, New South Wales, Moore Park suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is used for Test cricket, Test, One Day International and Twenty20 cricket, as well as, Australi ...

, he established an excellent rapport with the Australian spectators. The fourth Test at the

Adelaide Oval The Adelaide Oval is a stadium in Adelaide in the state of South Australia. It is located in the Adelaide Parklands, parklands. The venue is predominantly used for cricket and Australian rules football, but has also played host to rugby league, ...

was the only one in which Statham, Trueman and Tyson played together for England. On the New Zealand leg of the tour, he played in all five first-class matches, including two Tests, and took 20 wickets. For the first time in Trueman's career, Yorkshire won the County Championship outright in 1959. He made a major contribution to that success as he took 140 wickets. Arlott wrote of Trueman's deep commitment to the Yorkshire cause in 1959, the title win being the achievement of a career ambition. Trueman owed personal loyalty to Burnet and had developed affinity with his younger colleagues. The club's main players in 1959 were Binks, Bolus, Burnet, Close, Illingworth, Padgett, seamer Bob Platt, Sharpe, Stott, Taylor, Trueman and the Wilsons. England played India in the 1959 Test series and Trueman, whose selection problems were by now behind him, played in all five Tests. He bowled the most overs and took the most wickets, 24 at 16.70. The series was a poor contest, England winning all five Tests as India had a very weak team at the time. The outcome of the series was evident in the first Test, which England won by an innings and 59 runs. ''Wisden'' records how England captain Peter May used his three pace bowlers Trueman, Statham and

Alan Moss Alan Edward Moss (14 November 1930 – 12 March 2019) was an English cricketer, who played in nine Tests Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowled ...

"in short relays to keep them fresh". The tactics gave India "no respite" and Trueman, the main destroyer, "always looked likely to tear through the whole side". When MCC toured the West Indies in 1959–60, England had a largely rebuilt team and were not expected to do well but several batsmen scored Test centuries and England won the series 1–0 with four matches drawn. In direct contrast to his previous visit to the Caribbean, this tour was Trueman's happiest and most successful, largely because he had an excellent relationship with the manager

Walter Robins Robert Walter Vivian Robins (3 June 1906 – 12 December 1968) was an English cricketer and cricket administrator, who played for Cambridge University, Middlesex, and England. A right-handed batsman and right-arm leg-break and googly bowler, h ...

and did not have to put up with the likes of Allen and Brown. In 1960, Vic Wilson having succeeded the retired Burnet as captain, Yorkshire won the Championship again but Kilburn wrote that they did so "without laying any pretensions to being an outstanding side".Kilburn, p. 162. Trueman's bowling by then contributed the team's main strength. He played in all five Tests that summer against South Africa yet still captured 150 wickets for Yorkshire, sometimes serving as a fast-medium bowler off a shortened run. His outstanding performance was taking seven in both innings against Surrey at the Oval. Trueman's value to the team was illustrated by them, in Kilburn's words, "having to wait for wickets when he was not in action". He made 32 first-class appearances and took 175 wickets, the highest season tally of his entire career, at the outstanding average of 13.98. Yorkshire's team in 1960 was mostly drawn from Binks,

Jack Birkenshaw Jack Birkenshaw, (born 13 November 1940) is a former English cricketer, who later stood as an umpire and worked as a coach. Cricket writer Colin Bateman stated, "Jack Birkenshaw was the epitome of a good all-round county cricketer: a probing ...

, Bolus, Close, Cowan, Illingworth, Padgett, Mel Ryan, Sharpe, Stott, Taylor, Trueman and the Wilsons. The 1960 Test series against South Africa was the first time Trueman and Statham bowled together throughout and Arlott wrote that they "virtually won that Test rubber". England won the first three Tests and, in these, Trueman and Statham shared 39 wickets. Their final tallies were Statham 27 and Trueman 25. In its summary of the series, ''Wisden'' said that the South African batsmen did not come up to expectations because they could not handle Statham and Trueman. Trueman played in the first four Tests against Australia in 1961 and, although he effectively won the third Test for England, they failed to regain the Ashes. Wisden said that the third Test, played at Headingley, should be remembered as "Trueman's Match" because "two devastating spells by him caused Australia to collapse". He took eleven wickets in the match for 88 runs, his best performance in Test cricket to date, and England won by eight wickets with two days to spare. Yorkshire finished second in the County Championship behind

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

, who won the title for the first time. Playfair said the Yorkshire team were looking distinctly jaded in the closing matches. Trueman and Illingworth were the outstanding bowlers for Yorkshire, both taking over 120 wickets in county matches. In 1962, Yorkshire regained the County Championship title, but had to defeat Glamorgan on the final day of the season to secure the necessary points. Vic Wilson retired at the end of the season. The main players were Binks, Bolus, Close, Illingworth, Padgett, Ryan, Sharpe, Stott, Taylor, Trueman, Don Wilson and Vic Wilson. In another outstanding season of pace and swing, Trueman took 153 first-class wickets in 33 first-class appearances. He also scored 840 runs, which was the best season tally of his whole career but, because of inconsistency, he remained well short of the standard required if he was to be termed an all-rounder, though that is not something he ever pursued given his workload as a specialist bowler. In a five-Test series that year, England made short work of a Pakistan team that was weak in attack. As in 1961, Trueman played in the first four Tests but not the fifth Test at the Oval. He took 22 wickets in the series, his best match being the second Test at Lord's in which he took nine, the highlight being six for 31 in the first innings to bowl Pakistan out for only 100. Trueman and Statham had taken 216 and 229 Test wickets respectively after the 1962 season so, when they toured Australia and New Zealand in 1962–63, both were poised to overtake the world record of 236 set by Alec Bedser, who was England's assistant-manager on the tour. Australian captain Richie Benaud was also in contention with 219 but, as expected, it was Statham who broke the record and he extended it to 242 wickets. Statham did not play in New Zealand and Trueman was then able to overtake him, extending the record to 250. The series was drawn, one win apiece, so Australia retained the Ashes. Trueman took three for 83 and five for 62 in England's victory at the

Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as the 'G, is a sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadium in the Southern Hemisphere, the Lis ...

when captain

Ted Dexter Edward Ralph Dexter, (15 May 1935 – 25 August 2021) was an England international cricketer. An aggressive middle-order batsman of ferocious power and a right-arm medium bowler, he captained Sussex and England in the early 1960s. He captain ...

used him in short bursts, setting defensive fields until he could return. Although England were well beaten by

Frank Worrell Sir Frank Mortimer Maglinne Worrell (1 August 1924 – 13 March 1967), sometimes referred to by his nickname of Tae, was a Barbadian West Indies cricketer and Jamaican senator. A stylish right-handed batsman and useful left-arm seam bowler, ...

's outstanding West Indies team in 1963, Trueman had an outstanding series. After West Indies won the first Test at Old Trafford by ten wickets, many thought they would cruise to a series win but Trueman inspired an England fightback. The second Test at Lord's was a classic match in which all four results were possible until the last couple of balls but it ended in a draw. Trueman took eleven wickets in the match with six for 100 and five for 52. Richie Benaud, who had just joined BBC TV, said that Trueman "showed wonderful control of swing and length" in a "magnificent" performance. In the third Test at Edgbaston, Trueman went one better by routing West Indies for England to win by 217 runs. He took five for 75 and seven for 44. In the second innings, he took the last six West Indian wickets in only 24 balls at a cost of four runs. It was all to no avail, though, as West Indies won both the last two Tests to take the series by three Tests to one. Yorkshire retained the County Championship title in 1963. Tony Nicholson reinforced Yorkshire's faster bowling and provided Trueman with an able accomplice. In addition, Yorkshire's batting was considerably enhanced by the emergence of

Geoff Boycott Sir Geoffrey Boycott (born 21 October 1940) is a former Test cricketer, who played cricket for Yorkshire and England. In a prolific and sometimes controversial playing career from 1962 to 1986, Boycott established himself as one of England's m ...

and

John Hampshire John Harry Hampshire (10 February 1941 – 1 March 2017), also known as Jack Hampshire, was an English cricketer and umpire, who played eight Tests and three One Day Internationals (ODIs) for England between 1969 and 1975. He played first-class ...

. Trueman took 76 wickets in the Championship, 34 in Tests and 129 in all matches. By this time firmly in the category of senior cricketers, Trueman was well aware of his position and its implied privileges but realised that both his energies and his resolve had to be nurtured. He captured five wickets in each innings when Yorkshire defeated West Indies at

Acklam Park Acklam Park is a rugby union and cricket ground located in Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Initially opened in 1929, the venue has hosted games of Middlesbrough RUFC since the ground's opening in 1929, as well as Middlesbrough Cricket C ...

, eight for 45 against

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

at Bradford and, for England, had a match return of 12 for 119 at Edgbaston.Kilburn, p. 169. He scored two

centuries A century is a period of 100 years or 10 decades. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages. The word ''century'' comes from the Latin ''centum'', meaning ''one hundred''. ''Century'' is sometimes abbreviated as c. A ...

, the first of his career, one against

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...

which Kilburn described as "timely in the context of the match" and the other at the

Scarborough Festival {{No footnotes, date=July 2011 The Scarborough Festival is an end of season series of cricket matches featuring Yorkshire County Cricket Club which has been held in Scarborough, on the east coast of Yorkshire, since 1876. The ground, at North Ma ...

where he hit six sixes and 11 fours in 67 minutes. Trueman was selected for the first three Tests against Australia in 1964, was omitted from the fourth and then recalled for the fifth in which he became the first bowler to capture 300 Test wickets. England again failed to recover the Ashes in a generally disappointing 1964 series which is only memorable for Trueman's unprecedented feat. On 15 August 1964, he reached the milestone when he had

Neil Hawke Neil James Napier Hawke (27 June 1939 – 25 December 2000) was an Australian Test cricketer and leading Australian rules footballer. Early years Born in Cheltenham, South Australia, Hawke quickly developed as a natural all-round sportsman ...

caught by

Colin Cowdrey Michael Colin Cowdrey, Baron Cowdrey of Tonbridge, (24 December 1932 – 4 December 2000) was an English cricketer who played for Kent County Cricket Club from 1950 to 1976, and in 114 Test matches for England from 1954 to 1975. He was born i ...

at slip in the fifth Test at the Oval. Hawke, a good friend of Trueman off the field, was the first to congratulate him. The occasion produced one of Trueman's few concessions to fatigue when he was asked if he thought his record would ever be broken and he quipped: "Aye, but whoever does it will be bloody tired". As Warr pointed out: "This comment reveals the essence of the man. A touch of belligerence, a hint of humility, a pinch of roughness and an over-riding sense of humour". Meanwhile, Yorkshire lost the County Championship title which was won for the first time by a very strong

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...

team which starred

Tom Graveney Thomas William Graveney (16 June 1927 – 3 November 2015) was an English first-class cricketer, representing his country in 79 Test matches and scoring over 4,800 runs. In a career lasting from 1948 to 1972, he became the 15th player to scor ...

and featured

Basil D'Oliveira Basil Lewis D'Oliveira CBE OIS (4 October 1931 – 19 November 2011) was an England international cricketer of South African Cape Coloured background, whose potential selection by England for the scheduled 1968–69 tour of apartheid-era Sout ...

,

Norman Gifford Norman Gifford (born 30 March 1940) is a retired English cricketer, who played primarily as a left-arm spinner. Gifford played county cricket for Worcestershire, and Warwickshire County Cricket Clubs, and represented England in fifteen Tes ...

and fast bowlers

Len Coldwell Leonard John Coldwell (10 January 1933 – 6 August 1996) was an English cricketer, who played in seven Tests for England from 1962 to 1964. Coldwell was a right-arm fast-medium bowler who was, for a few years in the early to mid-1960s, half of ...

and

Jack Flavell Jack Flavell (15 May 1929 – 25 February 2004) was an English cricketer who played in four Tests for England from 1961 to 1964. His county cricket career was spent with Worcestershire, with whom Flavell won two County Championship titles. His ...

. Trueman's overall achievements in 1964 did not meet his own high standards and his tally of exactly 100 wickets was well down on his totals in recent seasons.

Final flourishes: 1965 to 1972

Trueman's Test career ended in 1965 after he had played in the first two of a three-match series against New Zealand. In Kilburn's view, Trueman's "decline" was "not from skilful and purposeful and beautiful bowling but from devastating fast bowling" and it may have been accelerated by the change in 1964 to the no-ball law which, he contends, impacted the rhythm of fast bowlers with long run-ups culminating in a long delivery stride.Kilburn, p. 170 Trueman continued to play first-class cricket for Yorkshire till the end of the 1968 season when his retirement was by his own decision. He bowed out of Test cricket with a then world record of 307 wickets at an average of 21.54. Although he was the first bowler to take 300 Test wickets, he had undergone numerous clashes and problems with the England cricketing hierarchy and was not involved in the tours of Australia (1954–55); South Africa (1956–57) and (1964–65); India and Pakistan (1961–62); or India (1963–64). From the beginning to the end of his international career, England played 118 Tests and he missed 51 of them. He recalled in his memoirs: "Irrespective of the fact I was at the top of my game for Yorkshire and frequently topped the county bowling averages, I was often overlooked for England. To my mind the reason for this was personal. Quite simply, some of the selection committee did not like my forthright attitude, which they misinterpreted as being "bolshy". Rather than pick the best eleven players for the job, the selection committee would often choose someone because he was, in their eyes, a gentleman and a decent chap. Such attributes often took precedence over someone's ability to play international cricket".''As It Was'', p. 3. He also wrote: "For this reason I was selected for far fewer Tests than I believe I should have been. To my mind, if I'd had the opportunity to play in those Tests, I'm sure I would have topped 400 wickets. But that was not to be, even though I was regularly taking 100-plus wickets a season for Yorkshire". Trueman made 33 first-class appearances in 1966 and was able to focus on his county career, helping the team to win the first of three consecutive County Championships to 1968. He says he "grew old gracefully (in cricketing terms)". He took 111 wickets, the twelfth and final time that he achieved 100 in a season. He made 31 first-class appearances in 1967 but greatly reduced his workload as a bowler, operating mainly in short spells. He had recognised that he could no longer maintain fast pace for the same time as he had done formerly, though he did comment on encountering "any number of sluggish wickets that summer". In 1968, with

Brian Close Dennis Brian Close, (24 February 1931 – 13 September 2015) was an English first-class cricketer. He was picked to play against New Zealand in July 1949, when he was 18 years old. Close went on to play 22 Test matches for England, ...

injured for a long period, Trueman was Yorkshire's acting captain in several matches and ensured that the team completed their hat-trick of titles. An event that gave Trueman considerable satisfaction was to lead Yorkshire to victory, by an innings and 69 runs, against a Test-strength Australian team at Bramall Lane. Trueman showed great tactical awareness throughout the match with a timely declaration of Yorkshire's innings and then ensuring that Australia faced slow bowlers only during periods of poor light. He himself took key wickets and Yorkshire, always in control, "surged confidently to their victory". He followed his policy of the previous season by bowling in short spells. Following Yorkshire's victory over the Australians, Trueman decided to take stock of his career and decided that it was a good time to retire, so that he could "bow out while still at the top". As it happened, Brian Statham had announced that he would retire at the end of the season and Trueman decided to delay his own announcement after seeing the emotion of Statham's last match at Old Trafford. Trueman admitted that he would be unable to cope with a similar display of emotion by Yorkshire followers and postponed his announcement until well after the season had ended. He then quietly delivered a polite letter to the Yorkshire committee and so happily "avoided a big farewell" Although he had officially retired, Trueman made one final first-class appearance in 1969 when he agreed to appear at the Scarborough Festival and play for the

International Cavaliers The International Cavaliers were an ''ad hoc'' cricket team made up of famous cricketers in order to encourage local cricket. Their teams included many prominent cricketers from the 1940s, 1950s, 1960s and 1970s as many retired veterans and talented ...

against the touring Barbados team. He surprisingly reappeared in 1972 when he joined

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...

and played in six limited overs matches.

Summary of career statistics

For the details of this, see ''Playfair'' in 1969 and 1970. Trueman's autobiography has an extensive career stats appendix starting on page 381. In 603 first-class matches, Trueman scored 9,231 runs, including three

centuries A century is a period of 100 years or 10 decades. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages. The word ''century'' comes from the Latin ''centum'', meaning ''one hundred''. ''Century'' is sometimes abbreviated as c. A ...

, with a highest score of 104 and held 439

catches Catch may refer to: In sports * Catch (game), children's game * Catch (baseball), a maneuver in baseball * Catch (cricket), a mode of dismissal in cricket * Catch or reception (gridiron football) * Catch, part of a rowing stroke * Catch wrestlin ...

. He took 2,304

wicket In the sport of cricket, the term wicket has several meanings: * It is either of the two sets of three Stump (cricket), stumps and two Bail (cricket), bails at each end of the Cricket pitch, pitch. The Fielding (cricket), fielding team's playe ...

s, including four

hat-tricks A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

, at an average of 18.27 with a best analysis of eight for 28. In 67 Test appearances, he scored 981 runs with a highest score of 39 * and held 64 catches. He took a then world record 307 Test wickets with a best analysis of eight for 31. His tally of 1,745 wickets for Yorkshire is bettered only by

Wilfred Rhodes Wilfred Rhodes (29 October 1877 – 8 July 1973) was an English professional cricketer who played 58 Test matches for England between 1899 and 1930. In Tests, Rhodes took 127 wickets and scored 2,325 runs, becoming the first Englishman ...

,

George Hirst George Herbert Hirst (7 September 1871 – 10 May 1954) was a professional English cricketer who played first-class cricket for Yorkshire County Cricket Club between 1891 and 1921, with a further appearance in 1929. One of the best all-r ...

,

Schofield Haigh Schofield Haigh (19 March 1871 – 27 February 1921) was a Yorkshire and England cricketer. He played for nineteen seasons for Yorkshire County Cricket Club, sporadically for England cricket team, England from 1898–99 to 1912, and was a ''Wisd ...

and

George Macaulay George Gibson Macaulay (7 December 1897 – 13 December 1940) was a professional English cricketer who played first-class cricket for Yorkshire County Cricket Club between 1920 and 1935. He played in eight Test matches for England from 1923 to ...

. He achieved 100 wickets in a season on 12 occasions, with a best return of 175 wickets in 1960. He holds the record for most consecutive first-class matches played (67) in which he took a wicket. Trueman played in only 18 limited overs matches and took 28 wickets.

Style and technique

Approach to cricket

In his own words, Fred Trueman "didn't play cricket for social reasons like some of the fancy amateurs". It was his living and he "played to win".''Ball of Fire'', p. 56. Conversely, he would try and do something each day to make the crowd laugh and "he breathed life and humour into any cricket match". He took his bowling very seriously indeed but he liked to entertain when he was batting or fielding. On the occasions when he captained his team, especially in 1968 when Brian Close was injured for a long time, he proved to be "a shrewd and intelligent exponent of the craft (of captaincy)". According to

David Frith David Edward John Frith (born 16 March 1937) is an English cricket writer and historian. Cricinfo describes him as "an author, historian, and founding editor of '' Wisden Cricket Monthly''". Life and career David Frith was born in Gloucester ...

, it was his "sense of fun and mischief" that prompted Trueman to make a habit of visiting the opposition dressing room and this was always "more than a social call". Sometimes he did genuinely want to see a "good mate" in the other team, such as Tony Lock or Brian Statham, but more often than not it was "a declaration of war, an acutely personal challenge, clothed in rollicking humour and self-caricature". Trueman always maintained his hostility towards the perceived arrogance and "snobbishness" of some in the cricketing establishment, especially the likes of

Allen Allen, Allen's or Allens may refer to: Buildings * Allen Arena, an indoor arena at Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee * Allen Center, a skyscraper complex in downtown Houston, Texas * Allen Fieldhouse, an indoor sports arena on the Univ ...

(or "Sir", as he wished to be called). Trueman hated what he called "fancy caps" or "jazz 'ats", which specifically meant those of MCC and the universities, and was alleged to say on seeing the wearer of such a cap that he would "pin him to t'bloody sightscreen".Frith, p. 172. On one occasion, a Cambridge University batsman, having just been dismissed, acknowledged him with the condescending compliment: "That was a very good ball, Mr Trueman". Trueman replied: "Aye, wasted on thee". In a similar vein, his view of the

Gentlemen v Players Gentlemen v Players was a long-running series of cricket matches that began in July 1806 and was abolished in January 1963. It was a match between a team consisting of amateurs (the Gentlemen) and a team consisting of professionals (the Players ...

fixture was that it was a "ludicrous business" that was "thankfully abolished" after the 1962 season.

Bowling

John Warr, with whom Trueman shared his first-class debut, wrote that from the beginning of his career, Trueman's run-up was "curving and long but nicely modulated". David Frith continued with Trueman reaching the wicket, where he turned his body side-on and cocked back his ball-carrying right arm, as the leading left arm was hoisted, before "an awesome cartwheel" sent him into a follow through which "resembled a Sea Fury finishing its mission along the runway of an aircraft carrier". Warr said Trueman's final stride had a "pronounced drag" which caused him some difficulties when the front-foot rule was introduced. His bowling arm was kept high through the delivery stride, to generate extra bounce and pace off the pitch, and the movement of the ball was "predominantly away from the bat" (i.e., the out-swinger). Trueman himself maintained that his ability to bowl outswingers consistently was "another new ingredient I brought to the county game". As

Maurice Leyland Maurice Leyland (20 July 1900 – 1 January 1967) was an English international cricketer who played 41 Test matches between 1928 and 1938. In first-class cricket, he represented Yorkshire County Cricket Club between 1920 and 1946, scoring ove ...

said to him: "Keep bowling those outswingers, Fred, and you'll be all right. That's the one that gets the great batsmen out!" Trueman acknowledged that other great fast bowlers who could bowl the outswinger well were

Ray Lindwall Raymond Russell Lindwall (3 October 1921 – 23 June 1996) was an Australian cricketer who represented Australia in 61 Tests from 1946 to 1960. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest fast bowlers of all time. He also played top-flight ...

and

Wes Hall Sir Wesley Winfield Hall (born 12 September 1937) is a Barbadian former cricketer and politician. A tall, strong and powerfully built man, Hall was a genuine fast bowler and despite his very long run up, he was renowned for his ability to bow ...

; but Brian Statham and Frank Tyson could not.''Ball of Fire'', p. 57. In Jim Kilburn's view, "(Trueman's) place among the truly great bowlers of cricket history is beyond question". He had a "resilience of spirit (that was) as marked as the physical power that gave him such remarkable freedom from injury over the years".Kilburn, p. 189 His name on the team-sheet was "an advertisement for any match".Kilburn, p. 171 Trueman's method was a long, accelerating run-up ending in a wide delivery stride with a "cartwheel" swing of the arms and a balanced follow-through. Technically, he was "highly accomplished" as he had much more than mere speed at his command, for he learned in-swing, out-swing and variation of pace and length. Kilburn's final analysis of Trueman's contribution to Yorkshire cricket is: "In an XI representing all the county history he would be selected". In his early days, Trueman had very fast pace but tended to be wayward and was liable to be punished accordingly. His natural hostility in that period earned him his famous nickname of "Fiery Fred". As time went by, much of the belligerence and raw pace faded being replaced by a growing mastery of the bowling arts. Strength, determination and stamina were always among Trueman's greatest attributes and with maturity came a control of both seam and swing. In Warr's view, Trueman learned that it was unwise to always follow a boundary with a bouncer and instead he cultivated the

yorker In cricket, a yorker is a ball bowled (a delivery) which bounces by the batsman's feet. This makes it very challenging for a batter to play. When a batsman assumes a normal stance, a yorker generally bounces on the cricket pitch on or near th ...

as "a potent weapon". Trueman was one of the most charismatic cricketers of the post-war period and this charisma has been summarised by Mick Pope and Paul Dyson in "the rolling up of the flapping shirt sleeve on the walk back to his mark; the tossing back of the wayward locks of black hair before the smooth accelerated run to the wicket culminating with a high cartwheel action and drag of the back foot through the crease", the conclusion being that "Trueman is one of English cricket's icons".Pope & Dyson, pp. 109–110. Trueman's career lasted twenty seasons, an extremely long span for a fast bowler, and Arlott noted of him that he maintained his form and ability "much longer than the peak period (i.e., a decade) of even the best of the kind (and) he was, when the fire burned, as fine a fast bowler as any". When explaining his success as a fast bowler, Trueman always maintained that he was "blessed by two things from birth": the "Trueman tenacity" and the "perfect physique for a fast bowler". He said that the essentials for that perfect physique were having strong, thick legs – "always the first essentials" – with big shoulders and hips. ''Wisden'' described Fred Trueman as "probably the greatest fast bowler England has produced". Trueman would have considered this to be an understatement as he believed himself to be "t'finest fast bowler that ever drew breath" and there were many who agreed with him.

Batting and fielding

Although he always saw himself as a specialist bowler, Trueman was an outstanding fielder and a useful late order batsman. He preferred to field close in, his favourite position being leg slip, and he was a fine and safe catcher. Warr says Trueman was a "brilliant ambidextrous thrower" and he "made life very easy for his captain to place him advantageously in the field". Though he had some talent as a batsman, Trueman never aspired to becoming a genuine all-rounder. He lacked the necessary consistency as he batted primarily to entertain but he had a good defensive technique with a range of attacking strokes which he would employ boldly. His batting consistency did improve in later years and he scored three first-class centuries.

Media work

''Test Match Special''

Trueman was an expert summariser for the BBC's ''

Test Match Special ''Test Match Special'' (also known as ''TMS'') is a British sports radio programme, originally, as its name implies, dealing exclusively with Test cricket matches, but currently covering any professional cricket. The programme is available on BB ...

'' radio cricket commentaries from 1974 to 1999, forming close friendships with commentators

John Arlott Leslie Thomas John Arlott, (25 February 1914 – 14 December 1991) was an English journalist, author and cricket commentator for the BBC's '' Test Match Special''. He was also a poet and wine connoisseur. With his poetic phraseology, he becam ...

and

Brian Johnston Brian Alexander Johnston (24 June 1912 – 5 January 1994), nicknamed Johnners, was a British cricket commentator, author, and television presenter. He was most prominently associated with the BBC during a career which lasted from 1946 until h ...

. He was well known for his direct style of commentary and frequently used a catch phrase, "I don't know what's going off out there", to express his dismay that current England players lacked his knowledge of tactics.Baxter, pp. 148–154. Trueman was noted for his dislike of many aspects of the modern game, especially

one-day cricket Limited overs cricket, also known as white ball cricket, is a version of the sport of cricket in which a match is generally completed within one day. There are a number of formats, including List A cricket (8-hour games), Twenty20 cricket (3-h ...

and the frequency with which current fast bowlers sustained injury. He was criticised by some for being unduly negative about current players and for glorifying cricket "in my day". He once remarked, amusingly without any sense of irony: "We didn't have metaphors in my day. We didn't beat about the bush".Tibballs, G. (2007), ''The Bowler's Holding, the Batsman's Willey'', Haydock, Ebury Press, Trueman was nevertheless respected for his unsurpassed knowledge of the mechanics of fast bowling, and many feel he should have been used as a bowling coach for England's under-achieving teams of the 1980s and 1990s, a point once emphasised by his fellow-summariser Trevor Bailey on ''Test Match Special''.''As It Was'', p. 347. A good example of Trueman's coaching ability had occurred in 1975 when he was approached by the Australian fast bowler

Dennis Lillee Dennis Keith Lillee, (born 18 July 1949) is a retired Australian cricketer rated as the "outstanding fast bowler of his generation".

for help. Lillee was having trouble with both his run-up and bowling action, problems that Trueman had already observed and mentioned on the radio. Trueman gave Lillee the technical advice that provided the solution and Lillee was soon able to recover his form, though this was at the expense of England. Trueman received criticism from many people in the England camp for helping an Australian player, especially after Lillee publicly acknowledged his debt to Trueman. Bailey, on the other hand, completely rejected this criticism and said that the "prima donnas" of English cricket should also have the sense to consult experts like Trueman.

Television, journalism and other media work

In the 1970s Trueman presented the

Yorkshire Television ITV Yorkshire, previously known as Yorkshire Television and commonly referred to as just YTV, is the British television service provided by ITV Broadcasting Limited for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV (TV network), ITV network. Until 19 ...

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: Television TV stations/networks/channels ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network and company, including: **ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network in the United Kingd ...

programme ''

Indoor League ''The Indoor League'' was a pub games competition series that was produced by Yorkshire Television and aired from 1973 until 1977. The programme was hosted by former England cricketer Fred Trueman (1931–2006). Background The first series o ...

'', which was broadcast at 5.15 pm on a Thursday evening, after the children's programmes. This show had a notably

Northern Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating ...

, working class focus, and featured

pub A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...

games such as

darts Darts is a competitive sport in which two or more players bare-handedly throw small projectile point, sharp-pointed projectile, projectiles known as dart (missile), darts at a round shooting target, target known as a #Dartboard, dartboard. Point ...

,

bar billiards Bar billiards is a form of billiards which involves scoring points by potting balls in holes on the playing surface of the table rather than in pockets. Bar billiards developed from the French/Belgian game '' billard russe'', of Russian origin. T ...

,

shove ha'penny Shove ha'penny (or shove halfpenny) pronounced /ʃʌv ˈheɪpəni/ (with emphasis on 'shove') also known in ancestral form as shoffe-grote ['shove- groat' in Modern English], slype groat ['slip groat'], and slide-thrift, is a pu ...

, skittles and arm-wrestling. Trueman anchored the programme with a pint of bitter and his

pipe Pipe(s), PIPE(S) or piping may refer to: Objects * Pipe (fluid conveyance), a hollow cylinder following certain dimension rules ** Piping, the use of pipes in industry * Smoking pipe ** Tobacco pipe * Half-pipe and quarter pipe, semi-circular ...

to hand, and signed off each week with his catchphrase, "Ah'll sithee" (

Yorkshire dialect Yorkshire dialect, also known as Yorkshire English, Broad Yorkshire, Tyke, or Yorkie, is a grouping of several regionally neighbouring Dialect, dialects of English language, English spoken in Yorkshire. Yorkshire experienced drastic dialect ...

for "I'll be seeing you"). He made guest appearances in many British television programmes of the 1970s. He played himself in an episode of ''

Two in Clover ''Two in Clover'' is a British sitcom that ran for two series from 1969 to 1970. It starred Sid James and Victor Spinetti and was written by '' Bless This House'' writing duo Vince Powell and Harry Driver. It was produced and directed by Al ...

'' (series 2, episode 6), where he appeared alongside

Sid James Sidney James (born Solomon Joel Cohen; 8 May 1913 – 26 April 1976) was a South African–British actor and comedian whose career encompassed radio, television, stage and screen. Noted for his distinctive laugh, he was best known for numerou ...

and

Victor Spinetti Vittorio Giorgio Andre "Victor" Spinetti (2 September 1929 – 19 June 2012) was a Welsh actor, author, poet and raconteur. He appeared in dozens of films and stage plays throughout his fifty-year career, including the three 1960s Beatles films ...

. Another notable appearance was as Earnest Egan in the ''

Dad's Army ''Dad's Army'' is a British television British sitcom, sitcom about the United Kingdom's Home Guard (United Kingdom), Home Guard during the World War II, Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft (TV producer), David Crof ...

'' episode " The Test" (series 4, episode 10), which centred on a cricket match. Trueman's character bowled one ball and then retired with a shoulder injury. He was the subject of '' This Is Your Life'' on 5 December 1979. He wrote a column in the ''

Sunday People The ''Sunday People'' is a British tabloid Sunday newspaper. It was founded as ''The People'' on 16 October 1881. At one point owned by Odhams Press, The ''People'' was acquired along with Odhams by the Mirror Group in 1961, along with the '' ...

'' newspaper for 43 years to provide coverage of cricket and

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

.''As It Was'', pp. 355–356. Soon after his retirement from cricket, he tried his hand at being a stand-up comedian but found after-dinner speaking to be a more congenial and lucrative occupation. Along with fellow cricketing broadcaster

Henry Blofeld Henry Calthorpe Blofeld (born 23 September 1939), nicknamed Blowers by Brian Johnston, is an English retired sports journalist, broadcaster and amateur ornithologist best known as a cricket commentator for '' Test Match Special'' on BBC Radi ...

, Trueman played a fictionalised version of himself in the

Tertiary Phase The Tertiary Phase, Quandary Phase, Quintessential Phase and Hexagonal Phase are respectively the third, fourth, fifth and sixth series of ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' radio series. Produced in 2003, 2004 and 2018 by Above the Title ...

of

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' is a Science fiction comedy, comedy science fiction franchise created by Douglas Adams. Originally a The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (radio series), radio sitcom broadcast over two series on BBC ...

radio programme.

Personal and family life

Fred Trueman married Enid Chapman on 19 March 1955 at All Saints' Church,

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, sub ...

, and had three children: Karen, Rebecca and Rodney. After divorce in 1972, Trueman remarried on 28 February 1973 at the register office in

Skipton Skipton (also known as Skipton-in-Craven) is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. Historically in the East Division of Staincliffe Wapentake in the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is on the River Aire and the Leeds ...

. His second wife was Veronica Wilson who had two children: Sheenagh and Patrick. They lived in the Craven village of

Flasby Flasby is a hamlet in the Yorkshire Dales in North Yorkshire, England. It is one of the two settlements, with Winterburn, in the civil parish of Flasby with Winterburn. The population of the civil parish was estimated at 80 in 2012, measured a ...

in the

Yorkshire Dales The Yorkshire Dales are a series of valleys, or Dale (landform), dales, in the Pennines, an Highland, upland range in England. They are mostly located in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, but extend into C ...

. Trueman was the titular proprietor of a company called Freddie Trueman Sports Ltd which operated a sporting goods shop in Skipton until it was dissolved. In June 1991, his daughter Rebecca married Damon Welch, the son of film actress

Raquel Welch Jo Raquel Welch (; September 5, 1940 – February 15, 2023) was an American actress. Welch first gained attention for her role in ''Fantastic Voyage'' (1966), after which she signed a long-term contract with 20th Century Fox. They lent her con ...

, but the marriage ended in divorce two years later.

Politics

Trueman was a monarchist and long-time supporter of the Conservative Party.

Honours

Trueman was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(OBE) in the

1989 Birthday Honours Queen's Birthday Honours are announced on or around the date of the Queen's Official Birthday in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The dates vary, both from year to year and from country to country. All are published in suppl ...

for services to cricket. After his ''Test Match Special'' colleague Brian Johnston had nicknamed him "Sir Frederick", there were those who thought he had really been knighted and many, particularly in his native county, who could not understand why he had not. Having been a pipe-smoker all of his adult life, Trueman was elected

Pipe Smoker of the Year Pipe Smoker of the Year was an award given out annually by the British Pipesmokers' Council, to honour a famous pipe-smoking individual. Initiated in 1965 as Pipeman of the Year by the Briar Pipe Trade Association, it was presented at a lunch in ...

in 1974 by the British Pipesmokers' Council. This award was discontinued in 2004, two years before Trueman was diagnosed with lung cancer, because its organisers feared it fell foul of new laws on tobacco promotion.

Death

Trueman was diagnosed with

small cell carcinoma Small-cell carcinoma, also known as oat cell carcinoma, is a type of highly malignant cancer that most commonly arises within the lung, although it can occasionally arise in other body sites, such as the cervix, prostate, and gastrointestinal tr ...

of the lung in May 2006. He died of the disease on 1 July 2006 at

Airedale General Hospital Airedale General Hospital is an NHS district general hospital based in Steeton with Eastburn, West Yorkshire, England and is operated by the Airedale NHS Foundation Trust. Airedale was opened for patients in July 1970 and officially opened by t ...

in

Steeton with Eastburn Steeton with Eastburn is a civil parish within the City of Bradford Metropolitan District, West Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it has, according to the 2001 census, a population of 4,277, increasing to 4 ...

, West Yorkshire. His funeral service was held at the

Bolton Priory Bolton Priory, whose full title is The Priory Church of St Mary and St Cuthbert, Bolton Abbey, is a Grade I listed building, listed parish church of the Church of England in the village of Bolton Abbey (village), Bolton Abbey, within the Yorkshi ...

on 6 July, and was attended by former and current Yorkshire players, including

Ray Illingworth Raymond Illingworth Commander of the Order of the British Empire, CBE (8 June 1932 – 25 December 2021) was an English cricketer, cricket commentator and administrator. , he was one of only nine players to have taken 2,000 wickets and made 20, ...

and

Brian Close Dennis Brian Close, (24 February 1931 – 13 September 2015) was an English first-class cricketer. He was picked to play against New Zealand in July 1949, when he was 18 years old. Close went on to play 22 Test matches for England, ...

. His body was then interred in the Priory's cemetery. A book of condolence was also opened at Headingley cricket ground and later presented to his widow.

Statue

On 18 March 2010, a bronze statue of Trueman (''illustrated above'') by Yorkshire-born sculptor

Graham Ibbeson Graham Ibbeson (born 1951) is a British artist and sculptor, known for the realistic figurative sculptures he has created for public commissions in the United Kingdom. Biography Ibbeson was born in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, and from 1972 to ...

was unveiled by Veronica Trueman at the

Leeds and Liverpool Canal The Leeds and Liverpool Canal is a canal in Northern England, linking the cities of Leeds and Liverpool. Over a distance of , crossing the Pennines, and including 91 locks on the main line. The Leeds and Liverpool Canal has several small branc ...

basin in

Skipton Skipton (also known as Skipton-in-Craven) is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. Historically in the East Division of Staincliffe Wapentake in the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is on the River Aire and the Leeds ...

. Also in attendance were Trueman's brother Dennis and the former Test

umpire An umpire is an official in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The term derives from the Old French , , and , : (as evidenced in cricke ...

Dickie Bird Harold Dennis "Dickie" Bird, (born 19 April 1933) is an English former cricketer and retired international cricket umpire. During his long umpiring career, he became a much-loved figure among players and viewing public, due to his excellence ...

.

References

Bibliography

Specific

* * * * * * * * * * Article on Fred Trueman written by

John Warr John James Warr (16 July 1927 – 9 May 2016) was an English cricketer. A successful county player for Middlesex County Cricket Club, he took part in two Test matches for England. Warr was known for his sense of humour and made many humorous a ...

. * * * * *

General

* ''

Playfair Cricket Annual ''Playfair Cricket Annual'' is a compact annual about cricket that is published in the United Kingdom each April, just before the English cricket season is due to begin. It has been published every year since 1948. Its main purposes are to revie ...

'' (1950 to 1969). Playfair Books Ltd. * ''

Wisden Cricketers' Almanack ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', or simply ''Wisden'', colloquially the Bible of Cricket, is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom. The description "Bible of cricket" (or variations thereof) has been applied to ''Wi ...

'' (1950 to 1969). John Wisden & Co. Ltd.

External links

Information

*

Photographs

Fred Trueman, wearing his England sweater, celebrates a successful bowling spell

Fred Trueman's bowling action – his sideways-on style

Fred Trueman's bowling action – his follow-through

Fred Trueman (top right) and the 1954 Yorkshire team

Fred Trueman celebrates his 300th wicket in Test cricket with his England team mates

Fred Trueman on ''Test Match Special''

Fred Trueman and the cast of ''Dad's Army''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Trueman, Fred 1931 births 2006 deaths Men's association football forwards English sports broadcasters Combined Services cricketers Conservative Party (UK) people Deaths from lung cancer in England English monarchists Derbyshire cricketers England Test cricketers English cricket commentators English cricketers of 1946 to 1968 20th-century English sportsmen English cricketers English men's footballers International Cavaliers cricketers Lincoln City F.C. players Officers of the Order of the British Empire Sportspeople from Maltby, South Yorkshire Players cricketers Cricketers from South Yorkshire Wisden Cricketers of the Year Wisden Leading Cricketers in the World Yorkshire cricketers T. N. Pearce's XI cricketers 20th-century Royal Air Force personnel Military personnel from South Yorkshire Royal Air Force airmen

Early life and career

Childhood

Development as a cricketer

First-class and international cricket career

Beginnings: 1949 to 1951

National service in the RAF: 1951 to 1953

Clashes with authority: 1954 to 1956

The great Test bowler: 1957 to 1964

Final flourishes: 1965 to 1972

Summary of career statistics

Style and technique

Approach to cricket

Bowling

Batting and fielding

Media work

''Test Match Special''

Television, journalism and other media work

Personal and family life

Politics

Honours

Death

Statue

See also

References

Bibliography

Specific

General

External links

Information

Photographs