Brian Statham

Brian Statham, who bowled for the most part of his career, in the shadow of his famous pace colleague, Fred Trueman, was well-known for his great stamina and exemplary control. His mantra was to hit the top of off-stump and on occasions, could get the ball to jag back off the seam sharply. Even though, during his peak, he could steam in with a good burst of pace, he was never known for sledging or hurling abuses at the opposition ranks.

He rarely dug the ball short either. One can remember the incident of how Trueman urged his pace partner to give a dose of short-pitched stuff to West Indies' quick, Frank King, in a Test at Port of Spain. Statham though, refused. Earlier, in that Test Jim Laker was badly hit by a venomous bouncer from King.

Just like his methods as a quick bowler, his cricket career too progressed slowly but steadily. Interestingly, he was also a promising footballer, who played for Denton West. Statham then started to serve the Royal Air Force and that was the time, when he showed his wares as a seamer, too. He also got a trial with Lancashire.

Even though, he soon made his debut for Lancashire, his tendency to bowl with an open-chested action didn't impress the men who mattered. It was in a Roses match against Yorkshire in 1950, that Statham's control made Len Hutton sit up and take notice. In 1951 he finally made his Test debut against New Zealand. But with England having a large pool of pace bowlers in their ranks, Statham struggled to find a regular place in the side. Hutton, the then captain, was one his greatest backers.

His performances on some flat decks in the West Indies under Hutton's leadership in 1954, especially at Georgetown, resulted in him finally cementing his place in the side. He was one of the key members of the pace battery that helped England to wrest back the Ashes-urn in 1954-55. He followed it up with a match-turning spell of 7 for 39 at Lord's in 1955.

Even when England had a disappointing tour of Australia in 1958-59, Statham stood tall by taking his wickets at just under 24. With his metronomic control, Statham took 7 for 57 in 28 overs at the MCG. In the 1961 Ashes series at home, Statham was yet again in the thick of things. At Old Trafford, he took a five-for, only for the hosts to lose the game.

For a brief period, Statham also held the record for most number of wickets in Tests. He achieved that landmark against Australia in Adelaide in 1962-63. Trueman though, broke his record within a few months. By then, Statham was coming to the end of his career. He played his final series against South Africa in 1965. In 1968, Statham retired from First-Class cricket. Remember, he also formed a handy pace bowling partnership with Ken Higgs for Lancashire.

By Bharath Ramaraj