England cricket hero Trueman dies
Fred Trueman
Trueman earned the nickname Fiery Fred because of his fast bowling
Legendary former England and Yorkshire fast bowler Fred Trueman has died aged 75 after a battle with lung cancer.
Trueman was the first man to claim 300 wickets in Test cricket and finished with 307 from only 67 matches.
He made his Yorkshire debut in 1949 and had more than 2,000 first-class wickets to his name when he retired in 1969.
Trueman was famed for his partnership for England with Lancashire's Brian Statham and was Yorkshire's spearhead during their dominance in the 1960s.
A quick-witted and natural raconteur, he also worked as an expert analyst on the BBC's Test Match Special for 26 years until 2000.
Born in Stainton, Yorkshire, Frederick Sewards Trueman made an instant impact on his Test debut at the age of 21 in June 1952 against India at Headingley.
He took seven wickets in the match, and later in the series recorded the then best Test figures by any fast bowler of 8-31 at Old Trafford.
'Fiery Fred' as he came to be known, Trueman had a classical side-on action which helped generate fearsome pace.
The 300-wicket milestone was reached at The Oval in August 1964, when Australian Neil Hawke edged to Colin Cowdrey at slip.
Asked afterwards whether anyone would surpass his achievement, his reply was typically forthright: "If anyone beats it, they'll be bloody tired."
Trueman remains the third most prolific bowler for England in Tests, behind Ian Botham (383) and Bob Willis (325), and finished with an average of 21.57, while his 2,304 wickets for Yorkshire cost a mere 18.29 apiece.
He briefly returned to action for Derbyshire in 1972 to play limited-overs cricket but it is his exploits with England and Yorkshire for which he will be remembered.
Such was the esteem in which he was held, news of his death cast a shadow over proceedings at the scene of many of his finest hours.
Flags at his home ground Headingley, where England were playing Sri Lanka in the fifth one-day international, were lowered to half-mast and a tribute was planned for the interval between innings.
