Frank Tyson - Style

Style

His best pace was nothing short of startling to batsmen and spectators alike. He represented an elemental force obscuring the details of his technique and the highest tribute he received was the gasp of incredulity frequently emitted by the crowd as the ball passed from his hand to the distant wicket-keeper.

J.M. Kilburn, Yorkshire Post

In League, University and Army cricket Tyson had used a 'short' run up of 18 or 20 yards consisting of ten short steps and ten long final strides to the wicket. When he moved to first class cricket this increased to 38 yards, starting near the sightscreen and over 200 feet from the wicket-keeper, who was often reduced to an athletic long stop. With a final leap to the wicket he released the ball with a high arm action and a heave of his shoulders, 'the ferocity of his delivery' was described as 'every muscle is in use, the right foot takes the strain, the right arm is straight ready for delivery and the left leg kicks out menacingly'. Australian newspapers had accused Tyson of dragging his right foot over the popping crease on the 1954-55 tour and an English newspaper responded; "Will Tyson be "sacrificed" to avoid any risk of giving the Australians a chance to scream that Tyson persistently bowls no-balls by foot-drag over the crease?" with pictures of his bowling action. In the match between the Victoria and the M.C.C he was photographed dragging his foot 18 inches past the crease, but Pat Crawford of New South Wales was photographed with his foot 36 inches over the crease. The caption reading "Oh Tyson. You are an Angel compared to Pat!" An enterprising Sydney newspaper paid Harold Larwood to give his name to an article declaring "Replay Tests - Tyson Not Fair". Unlike the great swing bowler Fred Trueman he 'bowled straight and...never intentionally bowled an out-swinger. Instead Tyson relied on his tremendous pace to take most of his wickets, batsmen were often caught in mid-stroke by the speed of the ball coming onto the bat, or were too nervous to play fluently. On a green or crumbling wicket providing movement he could simply blast his way through the batting, and produced bounce and pace even off the placid Northamptonshire wickets. Tyson believed that a bouncer should 'pin the batsman against the sightscreen' and frequently used them to intimidate batsmen, even tailenders His ungainly action and quest for raw speed took a toll on even his strong body and he suffered from a series of injuries which brought a premature end to his career. In 1994 he had operations to his right arm and knees and a further operation on his knees in 2001 rendered him practically immobile for a short time. As he put it himself "to bowl fast is to revel in the glad animal action, to thrill in physical power and to enjoy a sneaking feeling of superiority over the mortals who play the game". However, he was no simple bowler, but thought hard how to dismiss and deceive batsman. John Arlott wrote "This was intelligence, rhythm and strength merged into the violent craft of fast bowling" and "He is intelligent beyond the usual run of fast bowlers: he is the type of cricketer whom improves rapidly through thinking about the game".