Yorkshire Cannon

Any lingering and foolish foreign notion that cricket is a polite pastime for languid young toffs always is dispelled when All-England's Freddie Trueman pounds up to bowl. Like fellow Yorkshireman Sam Small, who was stubborn enough to believe he could fly and did, Freddie thinks he can transform his 190-pound frame into a cannon—and he very nearly can. Hair flying wildly, he takes a 20-yard run-up (1), rears back (2) and rifles the rock-hard ball toward a batsman at a speed of 90 mph.