A tribute to Len Hutton

Perhaps Hutton was never quite the happy warrior whom every boy in pads would wish him to be. But in 1946 having adjusted to the short left arm and learned how to play with a bat of a size usually only to be found in youth clubs the whole burden of English cricket was piled on his shoulders. He had to open the batting against Lindwall and Miller. He had to hang on whilst more glamorous batsmen got themselves out with flashy shots.

Then he had to take on the England captaincy and win back the Ashes. He did it all with professional dedication. But, since he was not a boisterous man or noted for the wit of his after dinner speeches, we are entitled to ask ourselves how funny he believed his most famous indeed his only publicised joke to be? Whilst resisting one particularly savage spell of pace and lift, he walked down the wicket for what commentators undoubtedly called 'consultations' with Dennis Compton. 'There must,' said Hutton, 'be a better way of earning your living than this.'