Book Review: Sense of Humour, Sense of Justice by Fred Rumsey

Fred Rumsey was a very good county cricketer. One good enough to play for his country in five Test matches, in which he took 17 wickets.

Bowling quick left arm, he represented first Worcestershire and then Somerset with distinction, taking 580 wickets between 1960 and 1969, at an average of 20 runs each.

He finished his career at Derbyshire, where he was a key member of the side that reached the Gillette Cup Final at Lord's in 1969.

I saw Fred a few times, although in his time at Derbyshire he was considerably slower and heavier than in his salad days. He wasn't picked for his fielding, which was functional at best and usually saw him at third man or fine leg, though in his prime he was a decent slip fielder. Nor for his batting, which was bucolic and entertaining for the short time that it usually lasted, Fred being a genuine number eleven. His bowling, however, was probing, accurate and a success. He is still the most economical bowler in the history of List A cricket, from those who bowled over 400 overs. 2.73 an over he went for, cheaper than van der Bijl, Cartwright and Garner... 

It was only ever a short-term signing, one brought about by his accepting the role of public relations officer with the club. He played from 1969 to 1973 for Derbyshire and did invaluable work towards the county's centenary celebrations in 1970. 

Indeed, whatever his merits as a cricketer, they were dwarfed by his off-field achievements. He single-handedly advanced the idea of a Professional Cricketers' Association, was very much a pioneer of public relations in the game and also played a leading role in the expansion of the Lord's Taverners.

His has been a life worth living and one in which he has had considerable fun. Funny stories are liberally scattered throughout the book's 256 pages, and although some of them are undoubtedly apocryphal, and others have had different people as the subject, they bear the retelling. The Derbyshire committee of the time does not come out of some of the tales especially well, but many around the circuit were renowned for being well meaning but amateur in the extreme at that time.

His career brought him into contact with many people, inside and outside sport and a rich array of character flit in and out of the chapters.

The book has many photographs and my particular favourite was one I had not seen before, of a Derbyshire v MCC match at Chesterfield in 1970, a game that featured a number of retired Derbyshire players.

It was a pleasure to read, not recording one of the game's true greats, but a fine player who made a greater contribution than most to its development. It is all the more rewarding for this. It is a lasting tribute to Fred, and also to Fairfield Books. The publishing house was set up by Stephen Chalke, one of my favourite cricket writers, and has produced some wonderful reads over the past twenty years.

This is but the latest of them.

Highly recommended.

Sense of Humour, Sense of Justice is written by Fred Rumsey and is available from Amazon and from all good book shops, priced £16