A character called FS Trueman

The Wisden Trophy which had spent more time in England than in the Caribbean in recent years will now be replaced with the RichardsBotham Trophy for England v West Indies Tests This piece of news emerged not long after an announcement was made about county teams in Old Blighty henceforth competing for the Bob Willis TrophyWhile these are apt rewards for the three above mentioned cricket greats I find it rather strange that there is precious little done by the English cricket authorities to honour Frederick Sewards Trueman with a trophy in his nameI was reminded of the legendary Yorkshire fast bowler when Stuart Broad reached 500 Test wickets earlier this week in Old Trafford Like Trueman in 1964 Broad was dropped for a game in the series during which he reached a major career milestone And like Trueman did on many occasions Broad came up with a memorable quote in response to his exclusion from the opening Test at Southampton mdash To say Im disappointed would be an understatement You only get disappointed if you drop your phone and break your screenBroad didnt stop there Ive been frustrated angry gutted mdash because its quite a hard decision to understand Ive probably bowled the best Ive ever bowled in the last couple of years he continuedThe allrounder proved the selectors wrong when he came up with a virtuoso performance with bat and ball to facilitate Englands victory in the seriesdecider Broad thus became only the second Englishman to scale Peak 500 the first being his teammate James Anderson the highest wickettaker 589 in world cricket todayBack to Trueman the first man to claim 300 Test wickets Going by what Ive read and heard about him he was a character in the truest sense of the term He didnt leave anything in the dressing room when he left it tried hard on the field always wanted to be in the thick of things and hated being taken off the attackHe didnt deal with authority very well While traveling to Australia in 1962 Trueman was informed by captain Ted Dexter that Gordon Pirie the former Olympic sprinter would offer some fitness tips to the team Pirie recommended that Trueman give up eating steaks and have plenty of lettuce and nuts As a fast bowler Trueman needed his share of meat and refused to comply He also asked Pirie if he ran against a man called Vladimir Kuts When he got an affirmative reply Trueman reminded Pirie that he was still completing his run while Kuts was doing his lap of honour at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics And the example of a 95yearold man whom Pirie said was chasing reindeers after following such a diet was more than just brushed asideOn the same trip Trueman was once summoned by the team manager mdash the Duke of Norfolk Trueman come here He asked to be addressed better and told the Duke I had a dog at home I spoke to like that His Highness admitted he was wrong and ended up being Truemans close friendAmidst all the straight talk and controversy Trueman was a team man An example of this quality emerged when Dexter was finalising his playing XI for the seriesdeciding Test in 196263 Ashes at Sydney Trueman like several others believed that the Sydney Cricket Ground pitch would turn and there was a need for an extra spinner in the side In Ball of Fire he wrote Ted said that Len Coldwell Brian Statham and myself had bowled so well at Melbourne that none of us could be dropped I told him that the Melbourne Test had nothing to do with this one that we were here to win the bloody series and he must drop a paceman mdash me if necessary mdash because he could always put himself on as third seamer England went in with Trueman and Statham as well as spinners David Allen Fred Titmus and Ray Illingworth with Dexter performing the role of a medium pacer The game was drawn and the series ended 11Dexter was in Truemans firing line again at the Oval in 1964 He had a few catches dropped off his bowling and taken off At one point in the game Trueman noticed his captain pondering his next move as the Australian batsmen were prospering He went to Dexter and actually took the ball off him to claim the last four wickets That included his 300th mdash Neil Hawke caught by Colin Cowdrey for 14 Hawke had told Trueman that he would love to be his 300th wicket and so he was A bottle of champagne presented by Trueman stayed at Hawkes Adelaide residence The Press asked him what went through his mind after dismissing Hawke for his landmark scalp and Trueman said The next wicketAfter the media interactions Trueman decided to spend some time with himself He entered the bathroom bolted the door and wept I had done it despite all he wroteI wonder what Broad did after being left alone at Manchester on TuesdayHe may not have let the tears flow but would not be faulted for indulging in a bit of self backpattingFive hundred Test wickets for a fast bowler is an amazing feat Had Trueman been living today he would not have missed out on an opportunity to congratulate Broad with a Well done son message Trueman was known to go out of his way to send messages to fast bowlers Dennis Lillee will vouch for that because Trueman relayed his compliments when the great Australian went past Lance Gibbss world record 309 wickets in 198182 Fiery Fred would also bring up the fact that he waited endlessly for his beloved Yorkshire County Cricket Club to send him a congratulatory telegram for his 300th wicketThankfully Broad will not have a similar grouse with Nottinghamshire CCC 500 Test wickets for our very own the club tweetedmiddays group sports editor Clayton Murzello is a purist with an open stanceHe tweets ClaytonMurzelloSend your feedback to mailbagmiddaycomThe views expressed in this column are the individuals and dont represent those of the paperCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and a complete guide from food to things to do and events across Mumbai Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here 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