Fred Trueman dies
Saturday, 01 Jul 2006 14:01
Fred Trueman dies
The England and Yorkshire cricket legend Fred Trueman has died aged 75 after a battle against cancer.
"Fiery Fred" was renowned for his lightening fast bowling and quick-witted sledging of his opponents.
Fred's wife Veronica made the announcement today to send sadness throughout the cricketing world. She said: "We lost Fred at 12.15 BST."
Fittingly his death came on a day when England were playing at Headingley, the home of his beloved Yorkshire cricket club.
Fellow former England bowler Angus Fraser told Sky: "I'll remember him as a typical bloody-minded fast bowler. He represented what fast bowling is all about.
"If you talk of the greats of English cricket, others have taken more wickets, but you'd be pushed to find a better one."
Trueman took 307 Test wickets in just 67 matches and was the first bowler to go past 300 Test wickets. For his club he took more than 2,000 wickets in a brilliant 20 year career.
As a player he was known for his larger-than-life attitude to the game and was forever trying some new tactic to unsettle the opposition.
One of his favourite tricks was to wander into the opponent's dressing room and point at a series of their batsmen while telling them "I'll have you and I'll have you and I'll have you – that's my five wickets".