Titmus's longevity a tribute to cricket
In the Independent , Angus Fraser pays tribute to Fred Titmus, the former Middlesex and England allrounder, who died on Wednesday at the age of 78.
Siddhartha Talya
25-Feb-2013
In the Independent, Angus Fraser pays tribute to Fred Titmus, the former Middlesex and England allrounder, who died on Wednesday at the age of 78.
As a person Titmus was old school. He had a dry sense of humour and was very witty but he could also be caustic and blunt. He showed his tenacity by recovering from a horrific boating accident in Barbados on England's 1967-68 West Indies tour, when the propeller of a boat removed four of his toes. It would have ended the careers of many cricketers but in the summer of 1968 he returned to take 111 wickets in a season for Middlesex.
Scyld Berry, in the Daily Telegraph, says Titmus was a master of his craft and that did not include offspin alone.
Mike Selvey, in the Guardian, says Titmus was an astonishing player who excelled for five decades, knew all the game's intricacies but liked to keep it simple, and was his mentor.
Siddhartha Talya is a senior sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo