Len Hutton

Len Hutton

Sir Leonard "Len" Hutton (23 June 1916 – 6 September 1990) was an English Test cricketer, who played for Yorkshire and England before and after the Second World War as an opening batsman. He was described by Wisden Cricketers' Almanack as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. In 1938, he set a record for the highest individual innings in a Test match in only his sixth Test appearance, scoring 364 runs against Australia, a milestone that stood for nearly 20 years. In 1952 he became the first professional cricketer of the 20th century to captain England in Tests; under his captaincy England won the Ashes the following year for the first time in 19 years. In the years immediately following the war, he was the mainstay of England's batting.

Marked out as a potential star from his teenage years, Hutton made his debut for Yorkshire in 1934 and quickly established himself at county level. By 1937, he was playing for England and when the war interrupted his career in 1939, critics regarded him as one of the leading batsmen in the country, and even the world. However, during the war, he received a serious injury to his arm while taking part in a commando training course. His arm never fully recovered, forcing him to alter his batting style. When cricket restarted, Hutton resumed his role as one of England's leading batsmen; by the time of England's tour to Australia in 1950–51, the team relied heavily on his batting and did so for the remainder of his career. As a batsman, Hutton was cautious and built his style on a sound defence. Although capable of attacking strokeplay, both Yorkshire and England depended on him greatly for their success, and awareness of this affected his style. Hutton remains statistically among the best batsmen to have played Test cricket.

Hutton captained the England Test team between 1952 and 1955, although his leadership was at times controversial. He pursued a cautious approach and faced criticism for negativity. Never comfortable in the role, Hutton felt that the former amateur players who administered and governed English cricket did not trust him. In 23 Tests as captain, he won eight Tests and lost four with the others drawn. Worn out by the mental and physical demands of his role, Hutton retired from regular first-class cricket during the 1955 season. He was knighted for his contributions to cricket in 1956. He went on to be a Test selector, a journalist and broadcaster. He also worked as a representative for an engineering firm until retiring from the job in 1984. Hutton remained involved in cricket, and became Yorkshire president in 1990. He died a few months afterwards in September 1990, aged 74.