142 Facts About Len Hutton

Len Hutton played as an opening batsman for Yorkshire County Cricket Club from 1934 to 1955 and for England in 79 Test matches between 1937 and 1955.

Len Hutton set a record in 1938 for the highest individual innings in a Test match in only his sixth Test appearance, scoring 364 runs against Australia, a milestone that stood for nearly 20 years.

Len Hutton remains statistically among the best batsmen to have played Test cricket.

Len Hutton captained the England Test team between 1952 and 1955, although his leadership was at times controversial.

Never comfortable in the role, Len Hutton felt that the former amateur players who administered and governed English cricket did not trust him.

Len Hutton worked as a representative for an engineering firm until retiring from the job in 1984.

Len Hutton remained involved in cricket, and became president of Yorkshire County Cricket Club in 1990.

Len Hutton died a few months afterwards in September 1990, aged 74.

Len Hutton was born on 23 June 1916 in the Moravian community of Fulneck, Pudsey, the youngest of five children to Henry Len Hutton and his wife Lily.

Many of his family were local cricketers and Len Hutton soon became immersed in the sport, which he both played and read about with enthusiasm.

Len Hutton practised in the playground of Littlemoor Council School, which he attended from 1921 until 1930, and at Pudsey St Lawrence Cricket Club, which he joined as a junior.

Locals encouraged him to meet the Yorkshire and England cricketer Herbert Sutcliffe, a neighbour, from whom Len Hutton received coaching in Sutcliffe's garden.

Len Hutton was sufficiently encouraged to decide to attempt a career in professional cricket, but at the prompting of his parents decided to learn a trade as well.

Senior figures within Yorkshire cricket identified him as a potential successor to Percy Holmes as an opening partner to Sutcliffe; at this stage in his career, Len Hutton was considered a promising leg spin bowler.

Len Hutton made his first-class debut for Yorkshire in 1934, at the age of 17 the youngest Yorkshire player since Hirst, 45 years earlier.

Len Hutton played regularly for the rest of the season but to prevent his overexposure to Championship cricket, Yorkshire limited his appearances and returned him periodically to the second eleven.

In matches for the first team, Len Hutton shared large first-wicket partnerships with Wilf Barber and with Arthur Mitchell, before scoring his maiden first-class century in an innings of 196 against Worcestershire.

Len Hutton finished the season with a total of 863 runs at an average of 33.19;.

Len Hutton's achievements brought limited recognition, owing to the high level of expectation surrounding him.

Len Hutton batted for three-and-a-half hours to score exactly 100 runs and shared a century opening partnership with Charlie Barnett.

Len Hutton's remaining two innings in the Test series yielded 14 and 12, giving him 127 runs at an average of 25.40.

Also in 1937, Len Hutton made his first appearance for the Players against the Gentlemen at Lord's.

In early matches of the 1938 season, with an Ashes series against Australia pending, Len Hutton made three centuries and scored 93 not out.

In just over three hours, Len Hutton scored 100 from 221 deliveries on his Ashes debut, adding 219 with Charlie Barnett for the first wicket.

Len Hutton failed in the second Test, with two single figure scores in another drawn game.

Len Hutton was generally unsuccessful with the bat in the following weeks, during which the third Test was entirely rained off.

Len Hutton was unbeaten on 160 although Australia missed a chance to dismiss him, stumped, when he had scored 40.

Len Hutton then shared substantial partnerships with Hammond and Joe Hardstaff junior, taking his personal score to 300 at the end of the second day, out of a total of 634 for five.

Len Hutton maintained caution throughout; Wisden commented that his dominance of the bowling had become slightly monotonous after two days, although it recognised his skill.

Len Hutton later described the acclamation he received as one of the worst things that happened to him, not least because expectations were unreasonably high every time he subsequently batted.

Len Hutton scored centuries in two early matches but in a match against Transvaal, a delivery from Eric Davies knocked him unconscious and forced him to miss the first Test.

Unsuccessful on his return in the second Test, Len Hutton scored a double century in the following tour match, but had another low score in the third Test, which England won.

Len Hutton began to dominate opening partnerships with Sutcliffe, in contrast to prior seasons when he was the junior partner.

Len Hutton's contributions helped Yorkshire to their third successive Championship.

Len Hutton was successful in representative matches, scoring 86 for the Players against the Gentlemen, and compiling 480 runs in the Test matches against West Indies.

Len Hutton scored 196 in the first Test, hitting his last 96 runs in 95 minutes; he and Denis Compton scored 248 runs together in 133 minutes.

Len Hutton ended his season with a century against Sussex in Yorkshire's final match before the war; two days after its conclusion, the Second World War began.

At the beginning of the war, Len Hutton volunteered for the army and was recruited to the Army Physical Training Corps as a sergeant-instructor.

Len Hutton suffered a fractured left forearm and dislocated his ulna at the wrist.

Len Hutton was discharged from the army in the summer of 1942 and, after a period of recovery, began work as a civilian for the Royal Engineers, inspecting the condition of government-owned properties.

Len Hutton resumed professional cricket with Pudsey St Lawrence in 1943, briefly captaining the team before poor results and a disagreement with the committee led him to resign the captaincy.

Len Hutton played for Pudsey until 1945, batting successfully and helping the team to the Priestley Cup, but his relationship with the club remained strained and he did not play for them again after 1945.

Len Hutton scored 46 in the second match, but was struck painfully on his weak arm by a short ball from Keith Miller, whom he encountered for the first time.

Len Hutton was troubled by his injury; his wrists no longer rotated fully and he abandoned the hook shot.

Len Hutton began the tour well, scoring two early centuries, the latter of which was described by Wisden as the best English innings of the tour.

However, Len Hutton failed to reach a score of 50 runs in the first three Tests; in the first, he was out for a first ball duck, and in the second, a short ball from Keith Miller struck him on his injured arm.

Len Hutton's preferred tactic of ducking under the ball reinforced the impression that he was afraid.

Bill Bowes, covering the tour as a journalist, believed that Len Hutton was unable to master bowling faster than he had encountered for eight years, but acquitted himself reasonably well.

Len Hutton's tonsils were removed before the start of the 1947 season but his poor health continued, forcing him to miss some games at the start of the season.

Len Hutton returned to form during the fourth Test, his first at Headingley, with a four-and-a-half-hour century on a difficult pitch for batting.

Len Hutton hit 344 runs in the Test series at an average of 44.00; in all first-class matches, he scored eleven centuries and totalled 2,585 runs at an average 64.62, although his achievements that season were overshadowed by those of Denis Compton and Bill Edrich, who both broke the previous record for most runs scored in a season.

Subsequently, Len Hutton flew out to join the tour; Immediately after he arrived, having travelled for four days, Len Hutton played against British Guiana, scoring 138 and 62 not out, before appearing in the third Test.

In county matches, Len Hutton averaged 92.05 and scored eight centuries.

Len Hutton was selected for the first Test, but England were overwhelmed by the Australian fast bowlers and lost the match.

At Lord's in the second Test, lost by England, Len Hutton scored 20 and 13, but of more concern to critics was the manner in which he batted.

Len Hutton was nearly dismissed several times before he was out for 13, and returned to the pavilion to an uncomfortable silence from the crowd.

Bill O'Reilly, another former Australian player working as a journalist, said Len Hutton seemed to be struggling with concentration and was a shadow of his former self.

Observers had noticed Len Hutton backing away from the fast bowlers, which the English selectors saw as a poor example from a leading batsman.

The decision generated considerable acrimony, but surprised and pleased the Australians, who felt Len Hutton was their most formidable opponent with the bat.

Press and critics generally judged the omission a mistake, although the Wisden correspondent believed the decision to be correct as Len Hutton benefited from a break.

Critics considered Len Hutton to be a better batsmen when he returned and that these innings repaired his damaged reputation.

England were bowled out for 52 runs in the first innings, of which Len Hutton scored 30 before being last out to an exceptional catch down the leg side from wicketkeeper Don Tallon.

Len Hutton scored 64, playing a similar defensive role to his first innings.

In easy batting conditions, they shared 359 runs on the first day before Len Hutton was out for 158 after almost five hours batting.

In more favourable bowling conditions in the third Test, Len Hutton scored 41 and 87, followed by 123 in the fourth game which settled England's second innings at a dangerous time.

Len Hutton scored a double century against Lancashire, only the second for a Yorkshire batsman in the fixture.

Len Hutton scored 101 in the first Test, and fifties in the second and third matches, before ending the series with an innings of 206 in the fourth Test, in which the second hundred runs took only 85 minutes.

Len Hutton scored 2,049 runs at an average of 56.91 in the 1950 season.

Batting effectively on a succession of early season rain-affected wickets, Len Hutton frequently top-scored for Yorkshire.

Len Hutton played in three of the four Tests against West Indies.

Len Hutton batted well in the early games but the team struggled.

Len Hutton thrashed the fast bowlers majestically and played the turning or lifting ball with the ease of a master craftsman.

Len Hutton remained in the middle order for the second Test, which England lost by 28 runs, but resumed his role as opener for the rest of the tour and scored a century in the following state game.

Len Hutton scored 62 in the third Test, but the Australian spinner Jack Iverson, who caused the touring batsmen huge problems all series, bowled Australia to victory.

Len Hutton's form continued in the fourth Test as he carried his bat for the second time in six months.

Len Hutton scored 553 Test runs at an average of 88.83, and in all first-class matches accumulated 1,199 runs with five centuries and an average of 70.52.

In contrast to his previous Australian tour, Len Hutton played the short ball comfortably.

Len Hutton stood head and shoulders above every other batsman and, taking all factors into consideration, worthily earned the description of the finest present-day batsman in the world.

Len Hutton scored 2,145 runs in 1951 with nine centuries, including his 100th in first-class cricket.

The 100th century came a week later, against Surrey, when Len Hutton became the thirteenth player to achieve the landmark.

Len Hutton followed this immediately with 194 not out against Nottinghamshire and 100, in the drawn fourth Test at Headlingley.

Len Hutton ended the Test series with 378 runs at an average of 54.00.

But, as widely anticipated by the press, Len Hutton was appointed to captain England in the first Test of a four-match series against the 1952 Indian tourists.

Len Hutton harboured private doubts whether the cricket establishment would accept a professional captain, but declined to turn amateur, as Wally Hammond had done in 1938.

Len Hutton presumed his appointment was an interim measure until a more suitable candidate could be found.

Len Hutton was retained as England captain initially on a match-by-match basis.

Len Hutton's health was uncertain and he was troubled by fibrositis which restricted his movement and adversely affected his fielding.

Len Hutton top-scored in both England innings with 43 and 60 not out in the drawn first Test, and batted effectively for Yorkshire against the Australians.

However, he was dismissed early in the second innings; England managed to draw the match, but Len Hutton faced press criticism for his cautious tactics.

Rain prevented a result in the third Test, but Len Hutton scored 66 and his tactics were praised.

Len Hutton was bowled second ball by a yorker from Lindwall and England struggled to remain competitive throughout the match.

Len Hutton used Trevor Bailey to bowl negatively and slow Australia down; his tactics, including time-wasting and the use of leg theory, meant Australia could not score the runs in the available time and the match was drawn.

Amid great public interest for the deciding fifth Test, Len Hutton lost his fifth successive toss but replying to Australia's first innings of 275, England established a narrow first-innings lead.

Len Hutton scored 443 runs at an average of 55.37 in the Tests, but found it mentally tiring to lead England.

Len Hutton's authority was compromised by the MCC, who did not give him the tour manager he requested; instead, they appointed the inexperienced Charles Palmer, the Leicestershire captain, who had already been selected as a player on the tour.

Len Hutton found some of the professionals in the team to be difficult to lead, particularly Godfrey Evans, and Fred Trueman.

Amid growing independence movements in the region, Len Hutton believed his team was used as a political instrument to support colonial rule.

The climax came in the third Test when missiles were thrown onto the outfield when the umpire judged Cliff McWatt was out; Len Hutton kept his team and the umpires on the field, possibly defusing a dangerous situation.

Len Hutton wanted to exploit what he saw as a West Indian weakness against pace, picking four fast bowlers for the first Test.

England batted slowly throughout; Len Hutton was himself barracked for his slow, defensive batting during the match.

Len Hutton lost the toss but his bowlers dismissed West Indies cheaply in good batting conditions.

Len Hutton then batted for almost nine hours to score 205, his nineteenth and final Test century.

Len Hutton apologised, not having noticed Bustamante speaking to him, but was dismissed immediately when play resumed; the incident was prominently reported the following day.

Len Hutton missed large parts of the 1954 season on medical advice, suffering from mental and physical exhaustion brought about by the West Indian tour.

Len Hutton played in the first Test against Pakistan, on their first tour of England, scored a duck and missed the next two matches.

Two former England cricketers, Errol Holmes and Walter Robins, the latter a selector that year, favoured Sheppard over Len Hutton and persuaded him to offer his candidacy to captain the MCC in Australia that winter.

Len Hutton further downplayed his team's chances through exaggerating its inexperience to the Australian press; newspapers were already sympathetic to Len Hutton as a professional captain of a class-driven country.

Len Hutton made a series of good scores in the opening games.

The home side scored 601, England dropped 12 catches and, with the key players Evans and Compton injured, lost by an innings; the press blamed Len Hutton for choosing to bowl.

Len Hutton was unwell before the third Test, suffering from fibrositis and a heavy cold, and had to be persuaded out of bed by members of his team.

Len Hutton decided to play at the last minute and unexpectedly left out Bedser again, although he was fit to play.

Len Hutton neglected to inform Bedser, who only learned of his omission when he saw the team list displayed in the dressing room before the match.

Wisden believed Len Hutton's tactics were instrumental in giving his team the upper hand, and in the final innings, England needed 94 to win and retain the Ashes.

Many commentators viewed this as a sign that Len Hutton's reserve had slipped in the critical situation, but Alan Gibson believes it was a deliberate ploy to inspire Compton.

Len Hutton was out to the fourth ball of the match, but Australia were forced to follow on for the first time by England since 1938, and Len Hutton took a wicket with the last ball of the match before time ran out.

Len Hutton's caution was criticised, but the main complaint was that he deliberately slowed the speed of play, reducing the number of overs bowled, allowing the fast bowlers to rest and restricting the rate at which Australia scored.

Len Hutton had played in 79 Test matches, scoring 6,971 runs at an average of 56.67 with 19 hundreds.

Len Hutton was 39, an early retirement age for the period.

Len Hutton played one further match in 1957 for MCC against Lancashire, and two matches in 1960 for MCC and L C Stevens' XI.

Len Hutton displayed consistency; his annual average only fell below 50 three times, he averaged over 50 each year from 1947 to 1954 and scored 20 or more in 90 of his 138 innings.

Len Hutton often played the ball off the back foot, getting right back onto his stumps, but never played as far forward, preferring to let the ball come to him and play it late.

Immediately before the war, Len Hutton batted in a more attacking style and several of his contemporaries remembered his attractive strokeplay.

Len Hutton only played attacking shots when they presented no risk, and he rarely lifted the ball in the air; he hit just seven sixes in Test matches.

Len Hutton's cricket was never meant to be a joyride, yet he was not a joyless man without humour.

Jim Kilburn believed that Len Hutton pursued a serious approach to all matches, to the point where he missed some enjoyment of the game.

Len Hutton made no romantic gestures; he lit no fires of inspiration.

Len Hutton invited admiration rather than affection and would have exchanged either or both for effective obedience.

Jim Laker was omitted from the team, possibly because Len Hutton doubted Laker's commitment.

Trueman and Bailey thought Len Hutton found it hard to talk to his players: amateur critics considered this an inevitable consequence of a professional leading other professionals.

Cricket followers from the south of England remained slightly distrustful of Len Hutton owing to the perception that he occasionally carried professionalism to excess.

When he was appointed England captain, many in the cricketing establishment held his professionalism against him with the result that Len Hutton never felt comfortable dealing with the amateurs who ran English cricket at the time.

Consequently, Len Hutton never felt secure in the position and was often uncomfortable around the amateur establishment.

Len Hutton rarely captained Yorkshire, except in the absence of the official captain, through a combination of poor health, frequent absences with England and the presence of the amateur Norman Yardley in the side.

Len Hutton was a reserved man for whom the Yorkshire dressing room clashes of the 1950s held little appeal.

Ray Illingworth, a player at the time, believes that Len Hutton was the only man who could have changed the negative attitude around the team, but "he didn't do anything about it".

Len Hutton looked after himself, he was very much of a loner.

Len Hutton married Dorothy Mary Dennis, the sister of former Yorkshire cricketer Frank Dennis, on 16 September 1939 at Wykeham near Scarborough; they met at an end-of-season dance which Dorothy had attended with her brother.

Len Hutton worked with Thomas Moult, a journalist and writer, to produce a book of memoirs, Cricket is My Life in 1949, and he wrote for the News of the World while still playing.

Len Hutton wrote a third book, Thirty Years in Cricket, in 1984.

Len Hutton's increasing commitments in the south of England meant he moved to North London in 1959.

In 1960, Hutton was invited to join the engineering firm of J H Fenner, mainly working in a public relations capacity.

Len Hutton became involved with Surrey cricket in later years but maintained links with Yorkshire, and became president of Yorkshire county cricket in January 1990.