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In a Roses match, Sutcliffe was fielding close to the bat on the leg side. The batsman a pull a delivery that struck Sutcliffe viciously on the ankle.
"For a second," wrote Cardus, "he was compelled to forget himself; for a moment he hopped about in undignified pain. But when one or two of his colleagues including Emmott Robinson came towards him to see how badly he was hurt, he recovered his poise and waved them from him as though saying: "Thank you but we Sutcliffes do not have pain."
"I play each ball on its merit," he said. "If I'm beaten all ends up and get away with it, I have forgotten about it as soon as the bowler starts his run next delivery. Remember that the bowler can deliver only one ball at a time."
This simple philosophy stood him in good stead during his first class career. Sutcliffe scored 50,138 runs in all, average 51.95. His average for England was higher, 60.73, for an aggregate of 4,555 runs with 16 centuries.
A man of purpose he was rarely perturbed. After a delivery eluded the forward defensive, Sutcliffe would stay fixed in that extended position for several seconds, wondering how on earth could the ball have sneaked through his immaculate defence. This immobility inspired a Lancashire barracker to shout: "Eh Sutcliffe, what do you think you are…are war memorial?" (To be continued)
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