Famous Cricketers No 65 - Len Hutton

giving far more expression to the glorious range of shots which he had hinted at before. There was the 146 partnership in 70 minutes with Sutcliffe – with whom he shared nine century stands in the season, including 315 on his 21st birthday – in the MCC match at Scarborough, the 87 at Hove “with Hutton scoring brilliantly in front of the wicket” ( Wisden ) and the perfect exhibition of batsmanship in his 135 v The New Zealanders at Headingley with nineteen boundaries. After watching him score his century in the Test Trial Cardus commented that he would develop into one of the finest batsmen in the history of the game, whilst the Daily Express reporter after his 271* v Derbyshire made several forecasts and offered the opinion that he was already the second best batsman in the country after Walter Hammond. He was of the opinion that he would break every individual batting record for his county and for England and would go on to be an England player for the next twenty-five years which would include four trips to Australia. Even Bradman would have cause to fear for his records. The following year would see the arrival of the Australians in this country. How would Len Hutton measure up to this praise and how accurate had been the Express writer’s views? Own Team O M R W Opp Ct Total Total 71. Yorkshire v MCC, Lord’s, May 1, 3, 4 (MCC won by 25 runs) b W.E.Bowes 2 210 15 1 63 2 D.C.S.Compton b 339 E.A.Roberts lbw b R.W.V.Robins 161 380 2 0 11 0 276-7d 72. Yorkshire v Oxford University, The Parks, May 5, 6 (Yorkshire won by an innings and 160 runs) lbw b R.F.H.Darwall-Smith 95 444-6d 2 1 4 0 149 15.5 7 32 2 P.M.W.Whitehouse c H.Sutcliffe 135 R.E.Whetherly st A Wood 73. Yorkshire v Lancashire, Old Trafford, May 15, 17, 18 (Yorkshire won by ten wickets) b F.M.Sibbles 13 270 - - - - 106 not out 14 35-0 12 5 26 2 C.Washbrook lbw 197 N.Oldfield lbw 74. Yorkshire v Warwickshire, Edgbaston, May 19, 20, 21 (Match drawn) c A.J.W.Croom b W.E.Hollies 88 492-9d 23 5 109 0 496-8 2 75. North v South, Lord’s, May 22, 24, 25 (South won by six wickets) c R.W.V.Robins b J.Langridge 102 271 6 0 37 0 300 b K.Farnes 15 184 2.2 0 16 0 158-4 76. Rest of England v MCC Australian XI, Lord’s, May 26, 27, 28 (MCC Australian X1 won by 69 runs) cW.R.Hammond b R.W.V.Robins 18 235 5 0 24 0 376 c G.O.B.Allen b H.Verity 50 245 - - - - 173 1 77. Yorkshire v Derbyshire, Chesterfield, May 29, 31, June 1 (Yorkshire won by six wickets) c T.S.Worthington b T.B.Mitchell 84 261 9 0 43 1 A.V.Pope lbw 248 1 b W.H.Copson 2 94-4 - - - - 106 78. Yorkshire v Worcestershire, Stourbridge, June 2, 3, 4, (Yorkshire won by an innings and 81 runs) c and b R.T.D.Perks 101 460 190 189 1 79. Yorkshire v Kent, Bradford, June 5, 7, 8 (Yorkshire won by 287 runs) b A.E.Watt 20 297 8 1 23 0 254 1 c F.G.Foy b F.E.Woolley 34 328-7d - - - - 84 1 80. Yorkshire v Middlesex, Lord’s, June 9, 10, 11 (Middlesex won by an innings and 22 runs) lbw b C.I.J.Smith 7 218 8 1 23 0 371 c D.C.S.Compton b W.J.Edrich 19 131 81. Yorkshire v Kent, Tonbridge, June 12, 14 (Yorkshire won by an innings and 51 runs) c L.E.G.Ames b A.E.Watt 136 462-8d 2 0 6 0 141 5 1 24 0 270 15