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English cricketer

Sir Leonard Hutton (23 June 1916 – 6 September 1990) was an English cricketer. He played as an opening batsman for Yorkshire County Cricket Club from 1934 to 1955 and for England in 79 Test matches between 1937 and 1955. Wisden Cricketers' Almanack described him as "one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket". He set a record in 1938 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 (and remains an England Test record 84 years later as of 2023). Following the Second World War, he was the mainstay of England's batting. 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. 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. 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, 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. His cautious approach led critics to accuse him of 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. 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 president of Yorkshire County Cricket Club in 1990. He died a few months afterwards in September 1990, aged 74.

Hutton was born on 23 June 1916 in the Moravian community of Fulneck, Pudsey, the youngest of five children to Henry Hutton and his wife Lily (née Swithenbank). Many of his family were local cricketers and Hutton soon became immersed in the sport, which he both played and read about with enthusiasm. Locals encouraged him to meet the Yorkshire and England cricketer Herbert Sutcliffe, a neighbour, from whom Hutton received coaching in Sutcliffe's garden. Sutcliffe was impressed by the young batsman, and commended him to Yorkshire as a good prospect. Following this endorsement, Hutton went to the county's indoor practice shed at Headingley in February 1930. George Hirst, a former Yorkshire cricketer responsible for assessing and coaching young players, believed that Hutton's batting technique was essentially already complete.

[[File:Herbert Sutcliffe. jpg|right|thumb|upright|Herbert Sutcliffe in 1924: Sutcliffe recognised Hutton's potential in Pudsey during 1929. He later established an opening partnership with Hutton and wrote that his partner was "a marvel – the discovery of a generation". Senior figures within Yorkshire cricket identified him as a potential successor to Percy Holmes as an opening partner to Sutcliffe; at this stage in his career, Hutton was also considered a promising leg spin bowler. In the 1933 season Hutton was selected for the Yorkshire Second Eleven. Although he failed to score a run in either of his first two innings, over the season he scored 699 runs at an average of 69.90. Yorkshire appointed Cyril Turner as Hutton's mentor; Hedley Verity and Bowes also offered Hutton guidance in his early career. Hutton made his first class debut for Yorkshire in 1934, at the age of 17 the youngest Yorkshire player since Hirst, 45 years earlier. He played regularly for the rest of the season but to prevent his overexposure to Championship cricket, Yorkshire limited his appearances and returned him periodically to the second eleven. In matches for the first team, Hutton shared large first wicket partnerships with Wilf Barber and with Arthur Mitchell, before scoring his maiden first class century in an innings of 196 against Worcestershire. At the time, he was the youngest Yorkshire batsman to score a first class century. An operation on his nose before the 1935 season delayed Hutton's appearance on the cricket field that year. Attempting to return too quickly, he endured poor health which limited his subsequent appearances and effectiveness; by the middle of August he had scored a total of just 73 runs. A century against Middlesex led to run of bigger scores, and his contribution to Yorkshire's County Championship victory that season was 577 runs at an average in first class matches of 28.85. In the 1936 season he reached 1,000 runs in a season for the first time—1,282 runs at an average of 29.81—and was awarded his county cap in July. He took part in several large partnerships through the season, including one of 230 with Sutcliffe, although he experienced a sequence of low scores in May and June. Throughout his first seasons, Hutton faced press criticism for his caution and reluctance to play attacking shots. Although regarding him a certain England selection in the future, critics thought Hutton slightly dull and pedestrian. cricket writer Alan Hill believes Hutton's subsequent success was built on this initial establishment of a defensive technique. His achievements brought limited recognition, owing to the high level of expectation surrounding him. Such praise was rare from Sutcliffe, but Hutton found the comments a burden, while others found them embarrassing.

After Hutton began 1937 with a series of high scores—he was chosen to play for England against New Zealand in the first Test match of the season. On 26 June, he made his Test debut at Lord's Cricket Ground, scoring 0 and 1. Retaining his place in the England team after scoring centuries for Yorkshire in the following games, he scored his maiden Test hundred on 24 July in the second Test at Old Trafford, Manchester. He batted for three and a half hours to score exactly 100 runs and shared a century opening partnership with Charlie Barnett. Hutton's remaining two innings in the Test series yielded 14 and 12, giving him 127 runs at an average of 25.40. Also in 1937, Hutton made his first appearance for the Players against the Gentlemen at Lord's. In total that year he scored 2,888 runs, more than double his previous seasonal best, at an average of 56.62 and including ten centuries. In early matches of the 1938 season, with an Ashes series against Australia pending, Hutton made three centuries and scored 93 not out. and was selected for the first Test at Trent Bridge in Nottingham beginning on 28 June. Hutton failed in the second Test, with two single figure scores in another drawn game. After missing a month of cricket, Hutton played just two games before his selection for the final Test of the series.

right|thumb|upright|Donald Bradman, whose Ashes record score of 334 Hutton broke in 1938|alt=Man in double breasted suit, posing with a cricket bat. The last Test was played at The Oval and began on 20 August 1938. On the third day (23 August), the Australians made a concerted effort to dismiss Hutton before he broke Bradman's 1930 record Ashes score of 334— the record score in a Test match was Hammond's 336 not out against New Zealand, but it was compiled against what was perceived as inferior bowling, and Bradman's total was more prestigious. Although showing nerves as he approached the record, Hutton passed Bradman's score with a cut off Chuck Fleetwood Smith, and extended his score to 364 before he was out, caught. Lasting for more than 13 hours, with 847 balls faced, Hutton's innings was the longest in first class cricket at the time. It was only the sixth Test of his career. England eventually scored 903, the highest team total in a Test at that time, before Hammond declared the innings closed. Australia were bowled out twice and England won by an innings and 579 runs to draw the series with one victory apiece. Among views expressed by Test cricketers, Les Ames believed that while Hutton had shown great skill, a combination of a very easy wicket for batting and an unusually weak bowling attack presented an ideal opportunity. Former England captain Bob Wyatt described the innings as one of the greatest feats of concentration and endurance in the history of the game. Some critics expressed distaste at England's approach, but this opinion was not widely shared. In the aftermath of the innings, Hutton became famous, in constant demand from the public and press who compared him to Bradman. Hutton later described the acclamation he received as one of the worst things that happened to him, not least because expectations were unreasonably high every time he subsequently batted. When the season ended, Hutton had scored 1,874 runs in all matches at an average of 60.45.|group=notes He scored centuries in two early matches but in a match against Transvaal, a delivery from Eric Davies knocked him unconscious and forced him to miss the first Test. Unsuccessful on his return in the second Test, Hutton scored a double century in the following tour match, but had another low score in the third Test, which England won. The final Test was drawn after ten days of play in a supposedly "timeless" Test. In a match which set a record aggregate of runs, Hutton scored 38 and 55 but his contributions were overshadowed by the heavy scoring of others. Although Hutton scored 265 runs in the Test series, at an average of 44.16,

In its summary of the 1939 season, Wisden noted the development of Hutton into a more exciting batsman to watch, observing that he "gave further evidence of being one of the world's greatest batsmen". In total, he scored 2,883 runs, over 400 more than any other batsman and his average of 62.27 placed him second in the national averages behind Hammond. Among his twelve centuries, Hutton scored his highest total for Yorkshire, 280 not out in six hours against Hampshire, sharing an opening partnership of 315 with Sutcliffe. His contributions helped Yorkshire to their third successive Championship. After low scores in the second Test, Hutton scored 73 and 165 not out in the final game at the Oval. He ended his season with a century against Sussex in Yorkshire's final match before the war; two days after its conclusion, the Second World War began.

At the beginning of the war, Hutton volunteered for the army and was recruited to the Army Physical Training Corps as a sergeant instructor. Although no first class cricket was played during the war, league and charity cricket matches continued and Hutton played several high profile matches in 1940. But in March 1941, his future in cricket was threatened by a serious injury. On the last day of a commando training course in York, Hutton fell in the gymnasium when a mat slipped from under him. He suffered a fractured left forearm and dislocated his ulna at the wrist. By the summer, surgery and rest initially looked to have repaired the injury; Hutton returned to his unit and resumed cricket, scoring a century in one game. However, he began to suffer increasing pain and underwent more surgery to graft bone from his legs onto the injured arm. A first operation failed, but the second attempt at the end of 1941 eventually proved successful. The surgery left him with a left arm almost two inches shorter than the right. He was discharged from the army in the summer of 1942 and, after a period of recovery, began work as a civilian for the Royal Engineers, inspecting the condition of government owned properties. Hutton's recovery and return to cricket was closely followed by the wartime press, which kept track of many pre war cricketers. Hutton resumed professional cricket with Pudsey St Lawrence in 1943, briefly captaining the team before poor results and a disagreement with the committee led him to resign the captaincy. He played for Pudsey until 1945, batting successfully and helping the team to the Priestley Cup, but his relationship with the club remained strained and he did not play for them again after 1945. Hutton played in all three games with mixed success. He scored 46 in the second match, but was struck painfully on his weak arm by a short ball from Keith Miller, whom he encountered for the first time. taking his first class run aggregate to 782 runs at an average of 48.87 in nine games. The showpiece match of the season was England against the Dominions at Lord's, but Hutton was prevented from appearing by his commitments to Pudsey.

County cricket fully resumed in 1946. Hutton was troubled by his injury; his wrists no longer rotated fully and he abandoned the hook shot. Nevertheless, he scored 1,552 runs at an average of 48.50, His four centuries included 183 not out against the touring Indian team, but he was less successful in the three Tests, scoring 123 runs at an average of 30.75. He was omitted from the Gentlemen and Players match, but was part of the MCC team touring party for the 1946–47 tour of Australia. The MCC were reluctant to tour so soon after the war, but the Australian authorities were insistent. The tourists, led once more by Wally Hammond, were beaten 3–0 in the Test series, finding their opponents much stronger than expected. Hutton began the tour well, scoring two early centuries, the latter of which was described by Wisden as the best English innings of the tour. In the final two Tests, Hutton shared three consecutive century opening partnerships with Cyril Washbrook. Hutton's preferred tactic of ducking under the ball reinforced the impression that he was afraid. In the final Test, Hutton scored a century, batting through the first day to score 122 not out, his first Test century in Australia, despite another barrage from Lindwall and Miller. The Sydney Morning Herald criticised the high number of short balls bowled by the Australian pacemen, bowled at Hutton as often as three times per over. After the second day was rained off, Hutton was taken ill overnight with tonsillitis, missed the remainder of the match and flew home soon after. In all first class matches on tour, Hutton scored 1,267 runs at an average of 70.38,

thumb|upright=1.2|Hutton in 1947
Hutton's tonsils were removed before the start of the 1947 season but his poor health continued, forcing him to miss some games at the start of the season. Nevertheless, his form remained good and he scored four centuries in early matches. Yorkshire dropped to equal seventh in the County Championship, affected by the retirement of key players and the frequent loss of Hutton to representative cricket. In the Test matches Hutton did not initially score heavily. His highest innings after three Tests was only 24 runs, He returned to form during the fourth Test, his first at Headingley, with a four and a half hour century on a difficult pitch for batting. Hutton scored 83 and 36 in the drawn final Test, Immediately after he arrived, having travelled for four days, Hutton played against British Guiana, scoring 138 and 62 not out, before appearing in the third Test. In county matches, Hutton averaged 92.05 and scored eight centuries. Some Yorkshire critics expressed concern at the team's dependence on Hutton and the poor performance of other batsmen. Hutton's main challenge that season came from the Australian side which toured England undefeated and won the Test series 4–0. In the early part of the tour, the Australians, and particularly the pace bowlers Lindwall and Miller, tried to shake Hutton's confidence by targeting him. Although Hutton failed on a difficult pitch in Yorkshire's match against the tourists, he was the only successful batsman against them when he appeared for MCC shortly after. Hutton was selected for the first Test, but England were overwhelmed by the Australian fast bowlers and lost the match. After a failure in the first innings, who responded with a series of bouncers, one of which struck Hutton on the shoulder and provoked an angry reaction from the crowd. Miller bowled him in very poor light at the start of the fourth day's play. He was nearly dismissed several times before he was out for 13, and returned to the pavilion to an uncomfortable silence from the crowd. Bill O'Reilly, another former Australian player working as a journalist, said Hutton seemed to be struggling with concentration and was a shadow of his former self. Following his struggles at Lord's, Hutton was omitted from the team for the third Test. Observers had noticed Hutton backing away from the fast bowlers, which the English selectors saw as a poor example from a leading batsman. The decision generated considerable acrimony, but surprised and pleased the Australians, who felt Hutton was their most formidable opponent with the bat. Press and critics generally judged the omission a mistake, In later years, Norman Yardley, the England captain, agreed that the choice was a poor one. found the situation unsettling and Patrick Murphy, a sports journalist, writes that it "served to drive a reserved man further in on himself." Critics considered Hutton to be a better batsmen when he returned and that these innings repaired his damaged reputation. Australia needed 404 to win on a pitch favouring spin, but the poor performances of the main bowlers allowed Australia to record a seven wicket win described by Wisden as "astonishing". while other critics noted he always looked comfortable. Facing a huge deficit in their second innings, England were bowled out for 188. Hutton scored 64, playing a similar defensive role to his first innings. In the Test series, Hutton scored 342 runs at an average of 42.75. Before the Test matches began, Hutton scored three centuries and then contributed 83 as England won the first Test. The next three Tests were drawn. In the second match, Hutton and Washbrook set a new Test match record opening partnership. In easy batting conditions, they shared 359 runs on the first day before Hutton was out for 158 after almost five hours batting. In more favourable bowling conditions in the third Test, Hutton scored 41 and 87, followed by 123 in the fourth game which settled England's second innings at a dangerous time. England won the final game to take the series 2–0, He scored a double century against Lancashire, only the second for a Yorkshire batsman in the fixture. With Hutton available for more matches than in the previous few seasons, Yorkshire shared the County Championship with Middlesex, their last success until 1959. In the four Test matches against the touring New Zealanders, all of which were drawn, Hutton scored 469 runs at an average of 78.16. Hutton scored 2,049 runs at an average of 56.91 in the 1950 season. Hutton's benefit match against Middlesex was affected by rain, but other events, collections and insurance for loss of play gave Hutton £9,713, a record at that point for a Yorkshire cricketer. Two thirds of the amount was invested on Hutton's behalf by the Yorkshire committee, following their usual practice; Hutton resented this paternalism from the committee, particularly as he did not receive the full amount until 1972. Hutton played in three of the four Tests against West Indies. In the first Test, hampered by a finger injury, he scored 39 and 45 as England recorded their only victory of the series. The West Indies won the second Test, their first Test victory in England, and won the final two Tests to take the series 3–1; Hutton missed the third Test with lumbago but in the fourth Test scored 202 not out, carrying his bat through England's first innings. The West Indian spinners Sonny Ramadhin and Alf Valentine caused difficulties for all the batsmen except Hutton, who always appeared comfortable. Wisden praised his effort as unforgettable.

thumb|upright|Freddie Brown, who led the MCC team in Australia in 1950–51, was Hutton's predecessor as England captain.|alt=Close up of young, dark haired man. Hutton was chosen to go on the MCC tour of Australia in 1950–51, under the captaincy of the amateur Freddie Brown. The latter was an unexpected choice as captain, after a struggle to find a suitable amateur for the role. Hutton played for Yorkshire until the end of June. Against Nottinghamshire, he scored 194 in five hours, his final first class century. His last 100 runs came in an hour. After the following match, his back was too painful to continue and he did not play again that season. In eleven first class matches, he scored 537 runs at an average of 29.83. In all first class cricket, he scored 40,140 runs at an average of 55.51 with 129 hundreds.

Wisden viewed Hutton, with Jack Hobbs, as "one of the two most accomplished professional batsmen to have played for his country", In October 2010, he was chosen as part of the ESPNCricinfo All time World XI, a team selected by a panel of respected commentators and cricket writers to represent the greatest cricketers of all time. As part of the same process, he was also chosen in England's greatest team; The official Yorkshire history describes him as "technically and aesthetically the best batsman to play for Yorkshire". Hutton was more cautious than these others. Following the lead of Herbert Sutcliffe, he saw the role of an opening batsman as defensive. The basis of his game was a good defensive technique, although he was able to accelerate and play attacking shots when the situation demanded. He was particularly effective on difficult batting pitches. Of the next generation of England batsmen, Peter May tried to adopt Hutton's mental approach to both batting and captaincy, while Colin Cowdrey later said "I had tried to model myself on Len Hutton ever since I started playing serious cricket." Statistically, Hutton stands near the highest achievers. When he retired, only two men had scored more than his 6,971 Test runs; his average of 56.67 is ninth highest of those who played at least fifty Test matches, while only Sutcliffe has a higher average among openers who scored over 4,000 runs. He also displayed consistency; his annual average only fell below 50 three times, he averaged over 50 each year from 1947 to 1954 and scored 20 or more in 90 of his 138 innings. Hutton's batting technique was orthodox and conventional. John Woodcock writes that he seemed to possess great intuition, for example playing mystery spinners Ramadhin and Iverson with ease. His batting stance was relaxed and still, his first movement being to slide his right foot back and across towards middle stump. He often played the ball off the back foot, getting right back onto his stumps, but never played as far forward, preferring to let the ball come to him and play it late. Hutton only played attacking shots when they presented no risk, and he rarely lifted the ball in the air; he hit just seven sixes in Test matches. However, Patrick Murphy writes: "Just now and again he would play an innings of genius, when bowlers could not contain him." In all his innings, he was expert at hitting the ball just out of the reach of fieldsmen to allow runs to be taken. Several of his contemporaries believed he did not get enough credit for surviving the short pitched attacks of the Australian bowlers following the war. Tactically, Norman Yardley found him "sound rather than venturesome". Run saving was his main priority, but during matches, he quickly adjusted his approach to attack the weakness of particular batsmen. Some of his selections as captain were widely debated. Following incidents in the Caribbean, Trueman did not play for England again under Hutton's captaincy, although he was still regarded as an England prospect. Jim Laker was also omitted from the team, possibly because Hutton doubted Laker's commitment. Both Jim McConnon, Laker's replacement, and Vic Wilson were controversial choices for the 1954–55 Australian tour, whose selections Trevor Bailey attributed to Hutton; neither played a substantial role on the tour. Trueman and Bailey thought Hutton found it hard to talk to his players: amateur critics considered this an inevitable consequence of a professional leading other professionals. On the other hand, Hutton played a key role in the development of fast bowlers Trueman, Tyson and Brian Statham. Tyson and Statham later acknowledged his advice and encouragement as factor in their subsequent success. Cowdrey also acknowledged Hutton's advice and assistance when the former began his career. Furthermore, on the 1954–55 tour of Australia, Hutton took a close interest in him and was a particular comfort when Cowdrey's father died during the tour. Hutton was a reserved man for whom the Yorkshire dressing room clashes of the 1950s held little appeal. The team was divided and the players frequently clashed with each other; some critics believe this was a factor in the county's failure to win the County Championship in the 1950s. Ray Illingworth, a player at the time, believes that Hutton was the only man who could have changed the negative attitude around the team, but "he didn't do anything about it". Illingworth recalled that he was a "distant hero", saying: "He was a funny man was Len—slightly sarcastic all the time. He'd hear an argument in the dressing room and he'd throw a bit of wood on the fire to keep it going. He looked after himself, he was very much of a loner." thumb|upright=1.2|Hutton with wife c. 1945

Hutton married Dorothy Mary Dennis, the sister of former Yorkshire cricketer Frank Dennis, on 16 September 1939 at Wykeham near Scarborough; they met at an end of season dance which Dorothy had attended with her brother. and John in 1947. but writing and journalism provided a more permanent career. Hutton worked with Thomas Moult, a journalist and writer, to produce a book of memoirs, Cricket is My Life in 1949, and he wrote for the News of the World while still playing. Following his cricketing retirement, Hutton worked in broadcasting until 1961, and after 1955, he wrote for the London Evening News until 1963. He wrote a third book, Thirty Years in Cricket, in 1984. In 1960, Hutton was invited to join the engineering firm of J. H. Fenner, mainly working in a public relations capacity. Later, he moved into marketing and overseas promotion of products, became a director of the firm in 1973, and retired in 1984. Although he disliked committees, Hutton served as an England Test selector in 1975 and 1976, but business commitments limited his availability so he resigned in 1977.