Famous Cricketers No 65 - Len Hutton

283. All England XI v Glamorgan, Cardiff, September 18, 20, 21 (Match drawn) c B.L.Muncer b A.J.Watkins 11 248-7d 320 c W.E.Jones b J.C.Clay 67 182-6 118-8d SEASON’S AVERAGES Batting and Fielding M I NO Runs HS Ave 100 50 Ct Test matches 4 8 0 342 81 42.75 - 4 5 Players 1 2 1 191 132* 191.00 1 1 2 County Championship 14 22 5 1565 176* 92.05 8 4 11 Other Yorkshire matches 5 8 1 227 107* 32.42 1 - 3 Other matches 4 8 0 329 73 41.12 - 4 2 Season 28 48 7 2654 176* 64.73 10 13 23 Career 283 448 54 21076 364 53.49 68 86 208 Bowling O M R W BB Ave 5i 10m Test matches 4 1 30 0 - - - - Players 3 0 11 0 - - - - County Championship 2 1 22 0 - - - - Other Yorkshire matches 12 3 39 0 - - - - Season (6-ball) 26 5 102 0 - - - - Career (6-ball) 1080.5 208 } 4435 157 6-76 28.24 4 1 (8-ball) 262.7 40 1948/49 – MCC in South Africa Ten years after his previous highly successful and enjoyable tour to South Africa, Len Hutton returned to enjoy even greater success. Although the amount of runs he scored was truly impressive, it was the way in which he made them that made such a lasting impact on the cricketing public. Never can he have played with such freedom so consistently on a major tour. As the well-known critic R.J.Hayter said in his summing up of the tour in Wisden : “Well as Compton played, from the standpoint of technical perfection he was second to Hutton, who strode from triumph to triumph until towards the end of the tour when fatigue lessened his powers.” By the time that the first Test at Durban arrived he had already scored three centuries and three half-centuries in eight innings, innings which received such eulogies as “… a brilliant display of stroke-making”; “Hutton using the full range of his punishing strokes was in dazzling mood”; “Hutton treated the crowd to a glorious exhibition of fluent and varied strokes.” His 174 v Transvaal on the eve of the first Test took only three hours in which time “His stroke-play touched the heights of excellence.” The third Test at Johannesburg will be forever remembered for the opening partnership of 359 with Cyril Washbrook when Cyril made his highest Test score of 195. Although this opening partnership has been surpassed since by other countries, it remains the record for England. Yet again “His [Hutton’s] off and cover drives touched perfection.” His masterful form continued for the rest of the tour with most of his innings receiving accolades similar to those above. The batting of Hutton, Washbrook and Denis Compton gave enormous pleasure and it was, of course, on this tour that Compton made his celebrated 300 in one minute over three hours at Benoni – five 6s and thirty-two 4s. The tour was a great success, on and off the field, under the genial leadership of George Mann with the reputation of Len Hutton, if anything, enhanced. He finished top of the England Test averages and second to Compton overall. 38