BRIAN STATHAM

Gary Sobers commented upon the formidable challenge posed to batsmen by the combination of Statham and Trueman in tandem. He said of Statham, however, that he could be too accurate.[117] Sobers explained that once a good batsman had established himself at the crease, he knew exactly where the ball was going to pitch and so, assuming he had the necessary skill, could move into position just as the ball was about to be delivered. It meant, said Sobers: “Brian had to get the good batsmen out early or he could bowl them into form”.[117] Sobers’ view was echoed by Neville Cardus who wrote the post-retirement tribute to Statham in the 1969 Wisden. Cardus asserted that Statham sometimes bowled too superbly,[20] meaning that tail-end batsmen could not cope with his unerring accuracy. Cardus acknowledged that good batsmen are not tail-enders and he famously quoted Statham as saying: “When I bowl and they miss, well, they are usually out”.[20] The onus was on the good batsman to not miss and that confirms the point made by Sobers about knowing where the ball would pitch and then getting into position before it arrived.[117]

Statham’s bowling action was criticised by some people when he started playing (see above) but Cardus praised his rhythm and elasticity.[20] Statham bowled with a somewhat chest-on style in that his left shoulder, in the delivery stride, didn’t point in the direction of the delivery. Unlike Trueman, Statham did not bowl with a cartwheel action. Cardus had a theory that, because Statham was double-jointed, it was impossible for him to achieve what Cardus called forward shoulder rigidity and so a cartwheel was out of the question.[20]

Jim Laker, writing in 1960, said he had never met a more placid or pleasant character than Statham, whom he called an inspiration. Laker was struck by the accuracy of Statham’s bowling because it was so rare in a fast bowler to have such sureness of aim.[118] He cited an instance when Statham, because of doubts about his fitness before one match, was asked to bowl flat out in the nets for the equivalent of three overs. There was no batsman involved and Statham was told to just bowl at the stumps. He hit them sixteen times out of eighteen.[119] Laker commented on the unusual situation whereby Statham did not have an out-of-season job and wondered what he would do when he retired from cricket. Statham, said Laker, had no ambitions outside the game and was a contented, untroubled soul who looked forward to sleeping when not playing.[120]

MUSIC BY RAMA LOW

In Barclay’s World of Cricket, Richie Benaud described Statham as the only fast bowler he could recall who did not resort to histrionics and abuse. Statham would merely shake his head to register frustration. Benaud said that Statham was always the catalyst in his partnerships with Tyson and Trueman because he was the one whom opposition batsmen most feared. This was not in the physical sense but in terms of the batsman having no margin for error given Statham’s accuracy and movement off the seam. While Statham did not swing the ball through the air, his deviation off the pitch was unmatched.[121] Wisden commented on this movement off the pitch by saying that when the ball pitched on the seam it broke back in very sharply, meaning that a ball ostensibly aimed at the off stump was suddenly flying towards the leg stump and the batsman was in real danger of being bowled or trapped leg before wicket.[14]

Statham’s final ball in first-class cricket was delivered at about 17:50 on Monday, 5 August 1968. It was the last ball in a spell of five successive maiden overs and it was pitched on a good length at the middle stump of Yorkshire captain Brian Close, who blocked it. The match ended at that point, the two captains agreeing to a draw. Close shook Statham’s hand and Statham left the field to a standing ovation by the crowd of nearly 10,000 people, the applause led by Fred Trueman on the players’ balcony. Next day, The Times regretted his decision to retire and said: “There are still hundreds of wickets left in him”.[122]