The common link between Muralitharan and Fred Trueman

Wonder what Muttiah Muralitharan did in the dressing room after he achieved the incredible 800-wkt mark, but Fred Trueman, who set the trend for all record-breaking bowlers, did this behind a locked bathroom.

English fast bowler Fred Trueman was the first bowler to claim 300 Test wickets. He too, like Muttiah Muralitharan yesterday, didn't get to his mark without some suspense.

Fred Trueman (centre, with the ball) is congratulated by Colin Cowdrey and the rest of his England teammates after claiming his 300th Test wicket. PIC COURTESY: PAGEaNT OF CRICKET

Here is an extract from his autobiography where he talks about how he got to 300 wickets during the 1964 Ashes at the Oval in London.

Eight wickets to go (for 300) and three more matches to play ufffd I felt nothing could stop me. The next was in front of my own people at Headingley and I would have given a lot to achieve the 'impossible' in front of them.

But it turned out to be a totally frustrating experience and, according to some experts, the worst Test match I ever played. I got dropped for the next Test ufffdthree short of the 300. They picked Fred Rumsey and John Price for Old Trafford and the Aussies set about them with murderous ease. Bobby Simpson scored 316 at the head of a queue of happy Australian batsmen. As for me, I had a quiet laugh wondering what was going through the minds of the selectors. They couldn't blame me that time. But I was furious when a newspaper printed a picture of me, pint in hand, laughing my head off. I don't suppose the selectors bothered to check, but it had actually been taken three years earlier in Australia. Largely because they had no option, they recalled me to the Oval.

England batted first in that match and our batsmen failed once again. And when I tried to get amongst the Aussies nothing went right. Two or three catches were put down off me, I was taken off and I thought that I might not make it after all.

I put myself on
Just before lunch on the Saturday I saw Ted Dexter (captain) standing at the wicket looking a bit vacant, ball in hand. I asked him what he was going to do, and he said he was thinking of putting Peter Parfitt on to bowl. I said, 'No, you're not,' took the ball off him and put myself on. There was time for one over before lunch and with the fifth delivery I knocked back the middle stump of Ian Redpath. With the sixth and last I had Graham McKenzie caught at slip. Now they were all clapping and cheering as I went back to the pavilion, on a hat trick for my 300th Test wicket. The news was spread by radio and television and the Oval was packed when we came out again. Neil Hawke, an old pal, faced up to me. Before he did so he said: 'Well, F S, I wouldn't mind being the 300th I suppose.' I tried like hell to make the fairy story come true, but I hadn't bowled for 40 minutes, which didn't help.

The ball went just wide of his off stump. I'd aimed at off and middle. The suspense went on until we took the new ball when, in my first over, I whipped down an outswinger ufffd my favourite delivery ufffd and Neil edged it into the hands of Colin Cowdrey at slip. Neil was the first to congratulate me. To mark the event I gave him a bottle of champagne.

A lot of people have asked me what went through my mind at that moment and they are always surprised when I tell them: the next wicket. There was another one to get, and I wanted it. I took it in the next over.

The full significance of the occasion didn't hit me until much later in the dressing room when I was being interviewed by press and television. They were still clamouring round when suddenly I knew I had to get away and be on my own. I excused myself, went to a bathroom, put the bolt on the door and let the tears come.
I had done it, despite all.

Extracted from Ball of Fire - An Autobiography by Fred Trueman. Published by J M Dent & Sons Ltd. Trueman died in 2006.