by Abhishek Mukherjee

One of Fred Trueman's greatest one-liners (I could not verify the authenticity of this either way) was uttered on 7 July 1954.

The early 1950s saw an assortment of new-ball bowlers emerge in England that remains unmatched in their post-War history. Trueman, Statham, Tyson and Loader were out-and-out quick; Ridgway and Bailey were brisk; and Bedser was still around.

Tyson was probably the fastest, followed by Trueman. Their clashes were obviously eagerly anticipated.

Yorkshire won at Bradford, Trueman contributing with 5/63, 1/15, and a second-innings 33. Tyson (0/54 and 3/36), was less impressive, but he contributed with 70 (bowled Trueman) and 21. Trueman had definitely drawn first blood, but then, Yorkshire were a significantly superior side, and it was a home match for them.

Tyson was in no mood to accept this. In the return match at Northampton a week later, he went flat out in pursuit of wickets. He was up against Wardle, one of the greatest post-War spinners. He could switch between styles at will, bowling finger-spin in England and wrist-spin in Australia, and finished with a Test bowling average of 20.39.

But Wardle the batsman was no match for Tyson. If one goes by Jim Sims, Wardle was not frightened but somewhat apprehensive against The Typhoon.

Tyson went for the age-old one-two trick. He softened Wardle up with his infamous bouncer, then castled him with a yorker. Almost routine.

Trueman crossed Wardle en route the middle. "What a bloody stroke," he muttered, loudly enough for Wardle.

Sure enough, Tyson cleaned him up as well. Wardle was obviously waiting for Trueman at the pavilion with his own version of what-a-bloody-stroke.

"Ay, I slipped on the pile of sh*t you dropped at the crease," Trueman responded. One cannot help but wonder whether he had thought of it on his way to the pavilion.