Hugh Trumble was a fine offspinner who was deadly on a wet wicket, but who could take wickets in all conditions. On the wet pitches often found in those days, especially the sticky wickets in his native Australia he was virtually unplayable. A tall man, he bowled offspin at close to medium pace with considerable variation in flight and pace. He turned the ball enough to beat the bat on true pitches, but on a wet wicket could make the ball bite, turn and lift spitefully. He fooled many a good batsman with a well disguised slower ball, often resulting in a caught and bowled. He was also a very useful batsman with 4 Test fifties and three first-class centuries to his name, mostly concentrating on defence. At the start of the 1899 tour he was batting at No. 10, but by the end he was opening in Tests - he achieved the double of 100 wickets and 1000 runs that summer. One of his greatest performances came, unfortunately, in a losing cause, making 64 and 7 and taking 4 for 108 and 8 for 65 in the Oval Test in 1902, England winning that game by a solitary wicket. He was the first man to take two test hat-tricks (both at his home ground at Melbourne), a feat equalled only by Wasim Akram of Pakistan and TJ Matthews of Australia. After he retired from playing he was secretary of Melbourne CC from 1911 to his death. His elder brother John played seven Tests for Australia.
Dave Liverman