page_title: English cricket team in Australia in 1954–55
section_title: Captain
hierarchical_section_title: English cricket team in Australia in 1954–55 / The England touring team / Captain
caption_attribution_description: English: England cricketer Johnny Wardle
context_page_description: Len Hutton captained the English cricket team in Australia in 1954–55, playing as England against Australia in the 1954-55 Ashes series and as the MCC in other matches on the tour. It was the first time that an England team had toured Australia under a professional captain since the 1880s. After losing the First Test by an innings, they beat Australia 3-1 and retained the Ashes. The combination of Frank Tyson, Brian Statham, Trevor Bailey, Johnny Wardle and Bob Appleyard made it one of the strongest bowling sides to tour Australia, and it was the only team of any nationality to defeat Australia at home between 1932-33 and 1970-71.
context_section_description: The selection of the MCC touring team was not without controversy. Len Hutton was the first professional England captain since Arthur Shrewsbury in 1876-77 other than as a temporary stop-gap. This break with tradition received much criticism from those who thought only a gentleman should hold this honour, but England had been heavily defeated by Australia in every series since the war, and even the West Indies in 1950. Hutton had been brought up in the hard school of Yorkshire cricket under George Hirst and Herbert Sutcliffe. Even so, he "...was a tactical genius, whose assistance was often sought..." by amateur captains, but in his day professionals were not trained as captains and the burden sat heavily on his shoulders.
  He began well with a 3-0 victory over India in 1952 and regained the Ashes 1-0 in 1953. England pulled back from being 2-0 down to square a series in the West Indies in 1953-54 despite political interference, riots and dubious umpiring. England drew 1-1 with Pakistan in 1954, but Hutton was ill for two Tests and the Rev David Sheppard captained England. There was talk that the Sussex amateur should lead the MCC in Australia and New Zealand. Fortunately, wiser counsels prevailed and Hutton was confirmed as captain. Of the amateurs on tour Bill Edrich was an old comrade and had been a professional before the war, and the others - Reg Simpson, Trevor Bailey, Peter May and Colin Cowdrey - had been schoolboys when Hutton was making Test centuries. As a result, Hutton's right to the captaincy was not questioned, the team were happy to play under him and his conscientious vice-captain Peter May was particularly helpful. As a working class Yorkshireman he was not fully adept in social graces, and he gave his after-dinner speeches in "Pudsey English". When dealing with the press corps, Hutton used heavy silences and "developed the art when it suited him of delivering with much gravity Delphic utterances which his hearers could interpret however they pleased"
  Hutton captained England in 23 Tests - of which he won 11, drew 8 and lost 4 - and proved to be one of the most successful captains in England's history. They never lost a series in which he was captain and England regained the Ashes from Lindsay Hassett's powerful 1953 Australians—the first such success in 19 years. He was fortunate in the quality of the young England players available in the 1950s, but he used them to the utmost effect. More than any other player he knew the strain of facing high-quality fast bowling and used his own fast bowlers ruthlessly. Hutton would often slow the over rates both to rest them in the Australian heat and to break the concentration of the batsmen, as he knew that strokemakers could be got out through frustration alone. These tactics did not endear him to the crowds, or the "old guard" back home who preferred the carefree attacking captaincy of the amateur, but they were very effective. The Yorkshireman also made bowling changes with great cunning, notably in the Fourth Test at Adelaide, and his ability to read a wicket during a match sometimes verged on second sight. Frank Tyson wrote that Hutton was "pursued by his own personal demons. He will never be completely content until the series has been won and he has exorcised his two personal tormentors, Lindwall and Miller. Not for a moment does he relax his own bottled up intensity". There have been more inspirational captains and those with more flair and imagination, but few matched Len Hutton for sheer bloody-minded determination to win. He retired from the game soon after the tour and was knighted for services to cricket in 1956.
caption: Johnny Wardle
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