The day a legend was born: Looking back at Trueman's greatness on his birthday

JAMIE CRAWLEY: Often cited as having the most perfect side-on action, Trueman was blessed with broad shoulders and the ability to swing the ball out at great pace, which, made him one of the most unstoppable fast bowlers ever to play the game

^{Fred Trueman was born on February 6, 1931}

Fred Trueman, one of greatest bowlers in cricketing history, was born 87 years ago today.

Often cited as having the most perfect side-on action, Trueman was blessed with broad shoulders and the ability to swing the ball out at great pace, which, equipped with a devastating yorker and no mean bouncer, made him one of the most unstoppable fast bowlers ever to play the game.

Fred’s career was not without its controversial moments, not least on his first overseas tour to the West Indies in 1953-54. The England players’ behaviour both on and off the field did not win them any friends with the locals, the tour developing to become the most contentious since Bodyline.

Trueman – the working class son of a miner – was an easy scapegoat, just as Harold Larwood had been twenty years earlier.

Trueman wouldn’t tour again until 1958, depriving him of a significant haul of Tests and goodness knows how many wickets. As it was, Fred was the first man to reach 300 Test scalps, a landmarked attained in only his 65th Test match.

^{Trueman claimed 307 Test wickets for England}

Much like the many great fast bowlers to have come since, Fiery Fred’s CV is littered with devastating displays, where he scythed through an opposition batting lineup to turn a Test on its head in the space of a session.

He did so in his very Test against India in 1952, when, on his home ground, he took three wickets in eight balls to reduce the tourists to 0-4 in their second innings – still statistically the worst start to any Test innings ever. In 1963 at Edgbaston he took 12 wickets in the match against the West Indies, the last six of which were taken in a 24-ball spell at the cost of only one scoring shot – a four by Lance Gibbs.

As with all England cricketers though, performances against Australia are the gold standard, and it was Fred’s hurricane of a performance against Australia at Headingley in 1961 that probably claims the mantle of being his most memorable.

With England 1-0 down in the series after a draw at Edgbaston and defeat at Lord’s, Trueman blew Australia away with 11 wickets in the match, including a spell of 5 for 1 in the second innings, sending England on their way to an eight wicket win.

Former England fast bowler Bill Bowes, was The Cricketer’s chief correspondent at the time, and he naturally exalted in the extraordinary display by his fellow Yorkshireman...

^{Trueman played in 67 Test matches from 1952-65}

The evening session began with Trueman taking the second new ball. O’Neill snicked a low catch to Cowdrey in the gully. In Trueman’s next over Harvey played to leg where Lock, fielding close in, brought off one of those speciality catches which have made him famous. He held a hard ankle-high catch out to his left. Australia were 192 for four and the big crowd sat up to take notice.

“Thrill followed thrill. Simpson scored only two runs before he was lbw to Trueman. In fine fettle now Trueman tore up to the wickets and with a gem of a delivery shattered the stumps of Benaud first ball.

Grout had a couple of nasty ones from Trueman which cut through the surface of the pitch and raised, not a puff but a cloud of dust, and after making three runs he nicked a catch to Murray. From 182 for two at teatime Australia in fantastic fashion had gone to 208 for nine.

Australia were all out for 237 and Trueman deserved the cheers he received from the Yorkshire crowd as he came from the field.

In the second innings, although the fast bowler was operating off his shortened run I declare he bowled even faster. Ball after ball, with unerring precision he dropped into the dusting bare patches.

FRED TRUEMAN TEST CAREER

Matches: 67

Wickets: 307

Average: 21.57

Bringing the ball back like a fast offspinner he moved in to shatter the stumps of Simpson and so claimed three wickets in 15 balls at a cost of only one run.

Benaud was his next victim, bowled out for a duck this the first Australian captain since 1902 to be out for a pair. The irrepressible Trueman then had Mackay caught at the wicket second ball in the last over before tea.

Mackay had also failed to score. In 4.2 overs Trueman had taken the wickets of Harvey, O’Neill, Simpson, Benaud and Mackay at a cost of only one run. Never can there have been such a devastating spell of fast bowling in Test cricket and by a Yorkshireman in front of a Yorkshire crowd the applause as success followed success was almost deafening.

Never did any bowler have a greater reception than Trueman when the England captain and players stood on one side to let him be the first into the pavilion. From 99 for two Australia had gone to 109 for eight. It was almost unbelievable.

It took England 22 minutes after the tea interval to complete the annihilation. Grout scored seven before he pushed back a catch to Jackson.

Davidson was out to a spectacular diving catch by Cowdrey at slip off Trueman to give the fast bowler his sixth victim at a full cost of 30 runs, and Australia were all out for 120 runs. Trueman was, indeed, the hero of the piece with 11 wickets for 88 runs in the match.