Who Only Cricket Know: Hutton's Men in the West Indies 1953/54

by David Woodhouse

Who Only Cricket Know tells the story of the second most controversial tour in English cricket history after Bodyline and has not been revisited since two tour books came out in the immediate aftermath. The cricket is dramatic, the key characters fascinating, and it is awash with incidents on and off the field, many of them involving race and social class.

This was the first tour in which MCC travelled by plane (although they returned home on the boat) and the first in they were captained by a professional player – Len Hutton. It was also Hutton’s Yorkshire teammate Fred Trueman’s debut tour and for the opposition, the Three Ws were in their pomp and a young man called Garfield Sobers made his international bow.

Genres: History

472 pages, Hardcover

First published November 8, 2021

Reviews

[Andy Weston · Rating 4 out of 5]

1953 has been referred to frequently in the last few weeks as it was the year of the coronation of the Queen.

England captain Len Hutton remembered tapping into this ‘swell of sentiment’.
At the start of the season, Neville Cardus of the Manchester Guardian told him to ‘go and win’ The Ashes for the new Queen. At the start of the series Geoffrey Green of The Times told him to come out showing the Elizabethan spirit. Perhaps 1953 marks the moment when the concept of the ‘Summer of Sport’ entered the national consciousness as well as the social diary.

It was the ‘Matthew’s Final’ as well with Blackpool coming back from 3-1 down to beat Bolton 4-3. Coronation Day ‘interrupted’ by a telegram announcing the conquest of Everest.
John Arlott pointed out in his ‘Test Match Diary that for the first time this year cricket lovers could now follow the game in four ways - ‘as spectators, viewers, listeners or daily readers’.
All these angels brought to life in a play originally written for the BBC television by Terence Ratttigan. The Final Test was remade as a feature film for release early in 1953 to cash in on Ashes fever.

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So it was with considerable anticipation that Len Hutton’s England side embarked on their Test match series in the West Indies.

The mood was very different in the islands however, with an excessively length and intentionally drawn out pathway towards independence crammed with frustration and unrest. British Guiana was under a military state of emergency as it was felt power could not be trusted to the democratically elected prime minister.

Woodhouse describes the cricket, or very much secondary importance, with a considered and sympathetic detail of what went on as it took place.
The players, largely in the dark, clearly had no idea what they were taking on. Their lack of sportsmanship on the field, bodyline fast bowling, foul language, dissent to umpires, just added fuel to the fire. More disturbingly, there were allegations of racial insults, not helped by Hutton’s regrettable decision to avoid any social mixing off the field.

With impeccable research and discernment, in relating one of the most controversial of sporting encounters, Woodhouse demonstrates how it is impossible to separate sport from other issues of the day. Rather, such ignorance can undo any recent progress and set relations back to the extent that the anger it causes boils over into violence.

[Colin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is on a much higher level than the typical "cricket-tour" accounts, of which I have read many over the years. The tour had plenty of controversial incidents which are fairly described. It also took place at time of transition in many areas. From the amateur to professional composition in English cricket to the emerging independence of the West Indian countries and the associated change in the leadership model of the West Indies team. The context setting and the tour's aftermath are well described and the book is packed with details about the games and the players.

This is as much a piece of political and social history as it is of cricket. On both counts, it is strongly recommended.

[Paul Farrow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whoever said politics and sport should be separate has never played a team game. There’s always an agenda in any team and this applies to the England and West Indies sides in 1953/54. Some famous names involved and a brilliantly researched book. If only the best players were picked by England and the MCC stopped interfering.

[Graham · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book taught me a lot about the politics of the 1950s. It is well written and an eye opener. The world has changed so much since the 1950s but reading this shows that the legacy of those days remain...

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb cross between a history of the tour and a social history of West Indies cricket.

[Ian Mason · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating read, persevere to the end, I don’t think I can recall a book taking so long to read. Loved it