By JMB
September 15 2006

When I was young I devoured cricket as if it was about to be banned. I'd watch all of the televised matches in the late 70's (just on the Beeb then) and pride myself on knowing all sorts of strange statistics, including what the players many initials stood for. Frederick Sewards Trueman had a special place in my scrap book of facts and figures though for he was the world's leading test wicket taker at the time.

Freddie Trueman is a legend FULL STOP.

I never saw him play but on the many occasions I saw him talk about cricket on the TV and radio he would tell me just how good he used to be. The statistics in cricket books told me so. Yorkshire fans have told me so. Now after the great man has died the tributes are pouring out of peoples mouths and typewriters and confirm the fact the FST was as good as he always told me he was.

Trueman played 67 test matches for England and over 600 times for Yorkshire. He came from an era where cricketers bowled 60 overs a day and thought themselves lucky. He was Yorkshire through and through and was proud of it.

Tributes to the great man have been plentiful:

"He got through so much more work - 1,100 overs in a season," added ex-England captain Close. "He was a great outswing bowler - a fast bowler who also made it go away off the pitch."

Former Yorkshire and England team-mates Ray Illingworth and Geoff Boycott were equally fulsome in their praise.

Illingworth said: "You hear a lot about how good certain fast bowlers have been but this fellow was really the best, there is absolutely no doubt about that.

"He was a great character but with a bit of fun about him and he was never nasty. He was well known for his comments about other players but there was never any malice in what he said."

Boycott added: "He always said something that made you laugh - I can't repeat most of it - but he was also genuinely fast, nasty, aggressive and a truly great bowler.

"Great is an over-used word - but he was great. He didn't play against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, he bowled against West Indies when they had Kanhai, Worrell, Weekes, Walcott, and Sobers - great batsmen."

Sir Everton Weekes, who enjoyed many tussles with Trueman, remembers his first meeting with him.

"I had a run-in with him in 1954, when the England team came to Jamaica. I was asked to be part of the committee meeting the English players.

"When I was introduced to him he said: 'You're one of those so-called three 'W's aren't you?'

"From then on we became good friends and our relationship grew from strength to strength."

Graham Gooch recalled a story of how Trueman, known by his initials F.S, would try to intimidate batsmen before county matches.

"He would go into the opposing dressing room and he'd say: 'You're mine, you're mine, you're mine, you're mine and you're mine'. That's my five for the day," the former Essex skipper said.

"I remember playing one of my first Test matches at Lord's in 1975 and he was commentating.

"Bob Woolmer was picked as third seamer for England and he (Trueman) said: 'I'm quicker than him right now.' F.S. was 55 at the time."

Fellow ex-England captain Mike Gatting added: "His consistency, pace and movement made him a great fast bowler.

"He was a competitor who wouldn't give up and loved playing the game. He wasn't too fond of going in the gym and training, but he'd bowl all day for you."