Nicknamed "Typhoon Tyson" by the press, he was regarded by many commentators as one of the fastest bowlers ever seen in cricket[1][2][3][4] and took 76 wickets at an average of 18.56 in 17 Test matches.

In 2007, a panel of judges declared Tyson Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World for 1955 due to his outstanding tour of Australia in 1954–55 where his 28 wickets (20.82) was instrumental in retaining the Ashes.

[6] As a boy he played cricket with his elder brother David Tyson, who served in Australia during the war; at school he practised his run-up on the balcony.

Sportsmen were generally retained on headquarters staff and he played cricket for his platoon, squadron, regiment, area command and the Army.

In 1952–53 he worked felling trees, which John Snow regarded as an excellent exercise for developing the muscles of a fast bowler and attended Alf Gover's East Hill Indoor School for cricketers.

In 1954–55 Gover covered the Ashes tour as a journalist and advised Tyson to use the shorter run-up from his league cricket days, which proved to be a turning point in the series.

Tyson made his first-class debut against the Indian tourists in 1952, after his first ball the slips moved back an extra five yards and his first wicket was that of the Test batsman Pankaj Roy for a duck.

They began to revise this estimation when they saw the wicket-keeper take position halfway to the boundary and young Tyson walked over to the sightscreen to begin his run up.

Tyson reckoned that he received his Test call up when ex-England captains Gubby Allen and Norman Yardley saw him hospitalise Bill Edrich at Lords.

Edrich, a noted hooker of fast bowling, mistimed his stroke due to the speed of the ball and his cheek bone was broken.

Over 50,000 Australian fans came on the fifth day to see Neil Harvey and Richie Benaud knock off the remaining 165 runs, but what they got was 'the fastest and most frightening sustained spell of fast bowling seen in Australia'.

The Ashes were decided at Adelaide, Hutton cunningly changing his bowlers to mix the pace of Tyson and Brian Statham with the spin of Bob Appleyard and Johnny Wardle.

When he joined Len Hutton on 164/7 the home side looked like getting a first innings lead and one gentleman even booked a flight to Auckland in the hope of seeing New Zealand's first Test victory.

New Zealand spectacularly collapsed and were out for 26 to lose by an innings and 20 runs, the lowest completed score in Test cricket, Tyson taking 2/10 in the debacle.

See main articles English cricket team in Australia in 1958–59 and 1958–59 Ashes series Tyson returned to England a hero, but Northants refused to pay for a civic welcome, though the Supporters Club arranged a Welcome Home function at the Northampton Repertory Theatre.

[31] Len Hutton advised him to move back to Lancashire to team up with Brian Statham, but county transfers were difficult in those days and Tyson stayed at Northants.

In the Test arena he demonstrated the pace that had overpowered the Australians on a green wicket at Trent Bridge, taking 2/51 and 6/28 against South Africa as they fell to an innings defeat.

It was thought at the time that this was due to his violent pounding his foot received when he delivered the ball, but it was later found to be caused by the friction of his heel turning in ill-fitting boots.

He represented an elemental force obscuring the details of his technique and the highest tribute he received was the gasp of incredulity frequently emitted by the crowd as the ball passed from his hand to the distant wicket-keeper.

[34] When he moved to first-class cricket this increased to 38 yards, starting near the sightscreen and over 200 feet from the wicket-keeper, who was often reduced to an athletic long stop.

"[36] An enterprising Sydney newspaper paid Harold Larwood to give his name to an article declaring "Replay Tests – Tyson Not Fair".

[37] Instead Tyson relied on his tremendous pace to take most of his wickets, batsmen were often caught in mid-stroke by the speed of the ball coming onto the bat, or were too nervous to play fluently.

[10] His ungainly action and quest for raw speed took a toll on even his strong body and he suffered from a series of injuries which brought a premature end to his career.

[38] In his autobiography A Typhoon Called Tyson he wrote: "To bowl fast is to revel in the glad animal action, to thrill in physical power and to enjoy a sneaking feeling of superiority over the mortals who play the game".

"[41] His fast bowling gave him the nickname "Typhoon Tyson", and despite his short career he achieved status as the fastest England bowler in living memory.

Don Bradman called him "the fastest bowler I have ever seen"[2] and Richie Benaud agreed, writing "For a short time, Frank Tyson blasted all-comers".

[38][43] The best that can be said was that he was noticeably faster than his contemporaries Ray Lindwall, Keith Miller, Fred Trueman, Brian Statham, Peter Heine and Neil Adcock.

When they played together in a Gentlemen v Players match at Scarborough in 1957 the captain Godfrey Evans insisted Trueman bowl into the headwind so as to give the faster Tyson the advantage of the tailwind.

He was recruited as the Director of Coaching for the Victorian Cricket Association, taking them to two Sheffield Shield victories, and helped establish the Australian National Accreditation Scheme in 1974.

[53] The calypso singer Lord Kitchener released a single, "The Ashes (Australia vs MCC 1955)", lauding Tyson's contributions to England's victory.