When Statham came to India

His Test career lasted from 1951 to 1965, during which he took 252 wickets in 70 Tests at an average of 24.82. He earned a name for himself as a gentleman fast bowler who used the bouncer sparingly and had none of the aggressive mannerisms that are the fast bowler's traditional landmarks. He was one of the great fast bowlers in the post war era, known for his accuracy and stamina and he and Freddie Trueman took their place as among the finest pace bowling pairs in the game's history. Oh yes, John Brian Statham who passed away on Sunday following a long battle against cancer, was one of the game's quiet, undemonstrative characters.

It was to India that the young Statham made his first full tour in 1951-52. But in Statham's own words, it was anything but a memorable experience. In fact, in his autobiography `Flying Bails', published in 1961, he has a few harsh things to say about Indian cricket and the trip in general. He wrote in rather severe terms about the food, accommodation and the umpiring and the attitude of the Indian cricketers whose approach he found difficult to understand. For example, he was convinced that Vijay Merchant and Vijay Hazare were playing against each other instead of trying to hammer a tired England attack on a dead Kotla batting track in the first Test. The rivalry between the two in running up big scores is well known and Statham was of the view that Merchant and Hazare were rather keen to carry this rivalry into the Test. Interestingly enough, Merchant was bowled by Statham for 154 and Hazare, the captain, declared the innings closed when he had scored 164 not out and Statham offered this as proof to back his theory.

Statham also spoke disparagingly of the kind of wickets he bowled on in the sub continent. ``I played in all five Tests, none of which gave me any pleasure for the the pitches were as useful to fast bowler as a fridge would be to an Eskimo.'' Indeed, he took only eight wickets at 36.62, enjoying himself only at Bombay when in the first innings he took four for 96.

Not surprisingly, Statham declined invitations to tour India in 1961-62 and 1963-64. By that time of course he was one of the leading England players. He did however play in three Tests against India in 1959 when he was at the peak of his powers. In bowler friendly conditions and faced with a weak side which lost all five Tests, Statham troubled all the batsmen and took 17 wickets at the niggardly average of 13.11. He also played against the touring Indian team in 1967 for Lancashire and even though he was no longer an England player and was a year away from retirement, he surprised quite a few of the younger batsmen with his pace, swing and bounce.