Trueman, 75, was the first to take 300 Test wickets and was one of Yorkshire and England's very finest bowlers © Getty Images

Fred Trueman, the former England and Yorkshire fast bowler, has been diagnosed with small cell carcinoma (lung cancer) and is to undergo a 15-week course of treatment.

Trueman was admitted to Airedale Hospital yesterday after initially displaying symptoms of anaemia and suffering from tiredness. However, the Yorkshire Post confirmed the diagnosis of cancer today as Trueman returned home.

Trueman, 75, was the first to take 300 Test wickets and was one of Yorkshire and England's very finest bowlers. Superb on the pitch, he spent many years summarising the play for the BBC's Test Match Special after his retirement where he became renowned for his astute, if curmudgeonly, view on the modern game.

"If anyone can fight this, Fred can," Bob Platt, a former team-mate of Trueman's, told the Yorkshire Post. "He is in exceedingly good spirits, and the good news is that the doctors have caught this early.''