Arunabha Sengupta looks at some famous feuds in cricket. In this episode he revisits the conflicts between two great Yorkshiremen - Len Hutton and Fred Trueman
Freddie Trueman was never at a loss for a rejoinder on the ground, and some of his captains copped it fair and square. Once, on being called back to bowl after only a two over breather, with the rousing words, “Come on, Fred,England expects,” he had mumbled back, “She expects, does she? No wonder she is called the ruddy Mother Country.”
Most often the banter tended to be good humoured and typical Yorkshire, and most captains ended up with a good chuckle. However, during his first overseas tour to the West Indies in 1953-54, the conflict with the captain, who himself was an archetypical Yorkshireman, turned dead serious and was to keep him out of several subsequent tours.
The situation in the Caribbean at the time of the tour was extremely volatile. The old colonial rule was being challenged and people were demanding independence. The off the field atmosphere was on a knife’s edge and the team could have done well with a charming diplomatic skipper. However, Len Hutton was the first professional cricketer who had been entrusted with leading a touring England team, and he wanted to win at all costs.
The English team was an extremely strong one, boasting players like Peter May, Denis Compton, Tom Graveney, Jim Laker, Tony Lock, Trevor Bailey, Brian Statham, Johnny Wardle and Godfrey Evans apart from Trueman and Hutton. And the first instruction given to this group by the skipper was not to fraternise with the opponent.
This attitude rubbed the West Indian press and public the wrong way. CLR James wrote that this team was actively disliked. Trueman himself was far from amused. He was a gregarious soul who thrived on fraternising and had made friends with Frank Worrell and other West Indians while playing English league cricket. He objected strongly to Hutton’s policy, and claimed that he was not alone, especially as the captain did not back the order with reasons. For his own part, Trueman was not exactly someone to allow others dictate his choice of friends.
On his first tour as a big fast bowler, the new hero of English cricket, Trueman found himself in hot water for incidents on and off the field.
In one of the first games, a thunderbolt hurled by him hit the esteemed and aging George Headley, and fractured his arm. This, even though largely unintentional, did cause a lot of problems. However, constantly barracked by the crowds, he did himself no favours during one of the warm-up matches by hitting a batsman deliberately with a bouncer and going back to his bowling mark without making any attempt to find out how he was.
Soon, he was nicknamed Mr Bumper Man and a calypso was composed about him based on The sea shanty Drunken Sailor.
His image as a troublemaker was thus intensified, and once he and Tony Lock were squarely blamed for some off the field episode that they were not responsible for – and was in fact carried out by the Golden Boy of English cricket, Denis Compton.
There is a fascinating story about Trueman during the tour, which in all probability is a manufactured legend, but brings out his trouble-seeking image during the tour. At a social dinner, he is said to have ordered a local dignitary, apparently the Indian High Commissioner, with the words – “Pass t’salt, Gunga Din.”
Whatever was the true extent of his exploits on the tour, Hutton described the fiery fast bowler as a problem child and largely due to the captain’s report, Trueman was docked his good conduct bonus.
In all fairness to Hutton, on and off the field, this was a difficult tour. West Indies took a 2-0 lead early on beforeEngland clawed back to square the series 2-2, with the crowd baying for their blood. And Trueman was really somewhat difficult to handle in the circumstances.
But, ‘Fiery Fred’ as he was called, despite having the highest regard for Hutton the batsman, was never able to forgive his captain. He did not tour again till 1959, and as a result missed quite a few Tests in his career. His ultimate tally of 307 wickets from 67 Tests stood as a world record for more than a decade before Lance Gibbs trudged past it, and at an average of 21.57, it still stands as one of the best records of any fast bowler.
However, till the end of his life, Trueman carried the grievance that had it not been for Hutton’s unfair treatment, he would have played at least 100 Tests for England and topped 400 wickets.