Bill Frindall
Encyclopedia
William Howard Frindall, MBE
(3 March 1939 – 29 January 2009) was an English cricket
scorer
and statistician
. He was familiar to cricket followers from his appearances on the BBC Radio 4
programme Test Match Special
, nicknamed the Bearded Wonder (often shortened to Bearders) by Brian Johnston
for his ability to research the most obscure cricketing facts in moments, at the same time as keeping perfect scorecards, and because he had a beard. In his obituary in The Independent, Angus Fraser
described Frindall as "the doyen of cricket scorers".
, Surrey
. He was educated at Reigate Grammar School
, and studied architecture
at the Kingston School of Art.
He undertook National Service
in the RAF from 1955, becoming a corporal. He remained in the RAF after completing his service, and was commissioned in 1963 as accountant officer in the secretarial branch. He served for two years in the NATO headquarters at Fontainebleau
, and left the RAF in 1965. He grew his handlebar moustache
into a full beard after leaving the RAF.
Frindall married three times. He married Maureen Wesson in 1960, and they had two sons (Raymond Ernest Howard and Stuart William) and a daughter (Vanessa Jane) together. After their divorce in 1970, he was married to Jacqueline Seager. After his second divorce, he married Deborah Brown; they had a daughter (Alice Katharine).
In later life, he lived in Wiltshire. Frindall died on 29 January 2009, following a short illness after contracting Legionnaires' disease during a charity cricketing tour of Dubai
with the Lord's Taverners
. He was survived by his third wife, Debbie, and his four children.
for many years, particularly in charity matches, although his batting was somewhat agricultural. He ran a touring team, the Malta Maniacs, and also played for the Elvinos and the Lord's Taverners
.
He took over the scoring for Test Match Special on 2 June 1966, at the First Test against West Indies
at Old Trafford. He replaced the previous scorer, Arthur Wrigley
, who had been the BBC
scorer from 1934 up to his death in October 1965. Frindall speculatively wrote to the BBC, pointing out that they would need a new scorer, and secured the job. After a trial period, Frindall continued to score for the BBC until his death, watching all 246 Test matches in England from June 1966 to 2008. He covered 377 Tests for the BBC in all, forming a close working relationship with John Arlott
and Brian Johnston
, providing continuity with later commentators such as Jonathan Agnew
. Frindall's perfectionism clashed occasionally with Henry Blofeld
's more effusive - but error-prone - delivery.
Frindall was also known for producing scoring charts for many of his tours with England. He modified the linear scoring system invented by John Atkinson Pendlington
and developed by Australian scorer Bill Ferguson
into a version that is known as the Frindall system. Frindall met Ferguson in 1953, when he was 14 years old. Frindall's work was so meticulously accurate that the commentators would habitually trust his opinion if it differed from the official scoreboard.
Frindall was the president of British Blind Sport
, a charity co-ordinating sport for the blind
and partially sighted
.
It was a common boast of Frindall that he was born on the first day of the last "Timeless Test
", between England and South Africa, which became the longest Test ever played (the game was abandoned after 9 days' play spread over 12 days). He last appeared for Test Match Special at England's Test against India at Mohali
in 2008. Given his love of such statistics, it is highly fitting that his funeral took place on 13 February 2009, the day of the shortest Test; the second Test between England and the West Indies was abandoned after just 10 balls.
attempted to revise the status of many 19th century and pre-war matches, which would have produced statistics that are different from the conventional, Frindall was among those who objected to their "rewriting of history". As a result, some ACS statistics are different from those in Wisden
, which is regarded as the standard. For example, the ACS has awarded Jack Hobbs
199 hundreds (as recorded on Cricinfo), while Wisden, the generally accepted standard, gives him his "traditional" total of 197.
More recently, when the International Cricket Council
decided to award Test
and One Day International status to the matches played for the Tsunami
benefit
and the ICC Super Series
between Australia
and a Rest of the World
team, Frindall, in common with many statisticians and historians, disputed the ruling. As a result, Playfair
and other publications to which he supplied statistics did not classify those matches as official Tests or ODIs.
by Staffordshire University
for his contribution to statistics. He was appointed an MBE
for services to cricket and broadcasting
in the 2004 summer Honours
list. He received several awards from the Beard Liberation Front
, including "Beard of the year".
, which he edited for 23 years, from 1986 until his death; the Wisden Book of Cricket Records; the Guinness Book of Cricket - Facts and Feats; and the 'Cricket records' section of the Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
, which he wrote for several years.
He was also briefly a correspondent for the Mail on Sunday.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(3 March 1939 – 29 January 2009) was an English cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
scorer
Scorer
A scorer in the sport of cricket is someone appointed to record all runs scored, all wickets taken and, where appropriate, number of overs bowled. In professional games, in compliance with the Laws of Cricket, two scorers are appointed, most often one provided by each team.The scorers have no say...
and statistician
Statistician
A statistician is someone who works with theoretical or applied statistics. The profession exists in both the private and public sectors. The core of that work is to measure, interpret, and describe the world and human activity patterns within it...
. He was familiar to cricket followers from his appearances on the BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
programme Test Match Special
Test Match Special
Test Match Special is a British radio programme covering professional cricket, broadcast on BBC Radio 4 , Five Live Sports Extra and the internet to the United Kingdom and the rest of the world...
, nicknamed the Bearded Wonder (often shortened to Bearders) by Brian Johnston
Brian Johnston
Brian Alexander Johnston CBE, MC was a cricket commentator and presenter for the BBC from 1946 until his death.-Early life and education:...
for his ability to research the most obscure cricketing facts in moments, at the same time as keeping perfect scorecards, and because he had a beard. In his obituary in The Independent, Angus Fraser
Angus Fraser
Angus Robert Charles Fraser is the current Managing Director of Cricket of Middlesex County Cricket Club, and a former English cricketer and journalist....
described Frindall as "the doyen of cricket scorers".
Early and private life
Frindall was born in EpsomEpsom
Epsom is a town in the borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England. Small parts of Epsom are in the Borough of Reigate and Banstead. The town is located south-south-west of Charing Cross, within the Greater London Urban Area. The town lies on the chalk downland of Epsom Downs.-History:Epsom lies...
, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
. He was educated at Reigate Grammar School
Reigate Grammar School
Reigate Grammar School is an independent co-educational day school located in the town of Reigate, Surrey, United Kingdom. Intake is from 11 to 18, with the majority of its pupils entering at the age of 11, and others entering at 13 and 16.- History :...
, and studied architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
at the Kingston School of Art.
He undertook National Service
National service
National service is a common name for mandatory government service programmes . The term became common British usage during and for some years following the Second World War. Many young people spent one or more years in such programmes...
in the RAF from 1955, becoming a corporal. He remained in the RAF after completing his service, and was commissioned in 1963 as accountant officer in the secretarial branch. He served for two years in the NATO headquarters at Fontainebleau
Fontainebleau
Fontainebleau is a commune in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southeast of the centre of Paris. Fontainebleau is a sub-prefecture of the Seine-et-Marne department, and it is the seat of the arrondissement of Fontainebleau...
, and left the RAF in 1965. He grew his handlebar moustache
Handlebar moustache
A handlebar moustache is a moustache with particularly lengthy, upward curved, extremities. It is named for its resemblance to the handlebars of a bicycle. It is also known as a "spaghetti moustache", because of its stereotypical association with Italian men...
into a full beard after leaving the RAF.
Frindall married three times. He married Maureen Wesson in 1960, and they had two sons (Raymond Ernest Howard and Stuart William) and a daughter (Vanessa Jane) together. After their divorce in 1970, he was married to Jacqueline Seager. After his second divorce, he married Deborah Brown; they had a daughter (Alice Katharine).
In later life, he lived in Wiltshire. Frindall died on 29 January 2009, following a short illness after contracting Legionnaires' disease during a charity cricketing tour of Dubai
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
with the Lord's Taverners
Lord's Taverners
The Lord’s Taverners is a thriving club, the official charity for recreational cricket and the UK’s leading youth cricket and disability sports charity whose objective is to 'give young people, particularly those with special needs, a sporting chance'.The Lord’s Taverners was founded in 1950 by a...
. He was survived by his third wife, Debbie, and his four children.
Cricket
Frindall was an enthusiastic cricketer from his early years, playing for Hampshire's Second XI in 1972, where he played one match against Gloucestershire's Second XI, bowling six wicketless overs for 22 runs, and scoring one run in the second innings before he was caught and bowled. He continued as an effective fast bowler in club cricketClub cricket
Club cricket is a mainly amateur, but still formal, form of the sport of cricket, usually involving teams playing in competitions at weekends or in the evening. There is a great deal of variation in game format although the Laws of Cricket are always observed...
for many years, particularly in charity matches, although his batting was somewhat agricultural. He ran a touring team, the Malta Maniacs, and also played for the Elvinos and the Lord's Taverners
Lord's Taverners
The Lord’s Taverners is a thriving club, the official charity for recreational cricket and the UK’s leading youth cricket and disability sports charity whose objective is to 'give young people, particularly those with special needs, a sporting chance'.The Lord’s Taverners was founded in 1950 by a...
.
He took over the scoring for Test Match Special on 2 June 1966, at the First Test against West Indies
West Indian cricket team
The West Indian cricket team, also known colloquially as the West Indies or the Windies, is a multi-national cricket team representing a sporting confederation of 15 mainly English-speaking Caribbean countries, British dependencies and non-British dependencies.From the mid 1970s to the early 1990s,...
at Old Trafford. He replaced the previous scorer, Arthur Wrigley
Arthur Wrigley
Arthur Wrigley was an English cricket scorer and statistician. He was the first scorer for BBC radio cricket commentary....
, who had been the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
scorer from 1934 up to his death in October 1965. Frindall speculatively wrote to the BBC, pointing out that they would need a new scorer, and secured the job. After a trial period, Frindall continued to score for the BBC until his death, watching all 246 Test matches in England from June 1966 to 2008. He covered 377 Tests for the BBC in all, forming a close working relationship with John Arlott
John Arlott
Leslie Thomas John Arlott OBE was an English journalist, author and cricket commentator for the BBC's Test Match Special. He was also a poet, wine connoisseur and former police officer in Hampshire...
and Brian Johnston
Brian Johnston
Brian Alexander Johnston CBE, MC was a cricket commentator and presenter for the BBC from 1946 until his death.-Early life and education:...
, providing continuity with later commentators such as Jonathan Agnew
Jonathan Agnew
Jonathan Philip Agnew is an English cricket broadcaster and former professional cricketer. He was born in Macclesfield, Cheshire and educated at Uppingham School. He is nicknamed "Aggers", and, less commonly, "Spiro"....
. Frindall's perfectionism clashed occasionally with Henry Blofeld
Henry Blofeld
Henry Calthorpe Blofeld is a sports journalist. He is best known as a cricket commentator for Test Match Special on BBC Radio 4 and BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra.Blofeld had an exceptional career as a schoolboy cricketer, cut short by injury...
's more effusive - but error-prone - delivery.
Frindall was also known for producing scoring charts for many of his tours with England. He modified the linear scoring system invented by John Atkinson Pendlington
John Atkinson Pendlington
John Atkinson Pendlington was the inventor of the linear scoring system for cricket which, unlike conventional scoring systems, shows balls faced by each batsman from each bowler...
and developed by Australian scorer Bill Ferguson
Bill Ferguson
William Henry Ferguson BEM is one of the best known cricket scorers. For 52 years from 1905 until his death, Ferguson acted as the scorer and baggageman for Australia, England, West Indies, South Africa and New Zealand in 43 tours and 208 Test matches.He is often credited with two of the most...
into a version that is known as the Frindall system. Frindall met Ferguson in 1953, when he was 14 years old. Frindall's work was so meticulously accurate that the commentators would habitually trust his opinion if it differed from the official scoreboard.
Frindall was the president of British Blind Sport
British Blind Sport
British Blind Sport is a British charity that makes sport and recreational activities accessible to people who are visually impaired. The charity enables blind and partially sighted people to experience the same sporting opportunities as sighted people...
, a charity co-ordinating sport for the blind
Blindness
Blindness is the condition of lacking visual perception due to physiological or neurological factors.Various scales have been developed to describe the extent of vision loss and define blindness...
and partially sighted
Visual impairment
Visual impairment is vision loss to such a degree as to qualify as an additional support need through a significant limitation of visual capability resulting from either disease, trauma, or congenital or degenerative conditions that cannot be corrected by conventional means, such as refractive...
.
It was a common boast of Frindall that he was born on the first day of the last "Timeless Test
Timeless Test
A timeless Test is a match of Test cricket played under no limitation of time, which means the match is played until one side wins or the match is tied, with theoretically no possibility of a draw. The format means that it is not possible to play defensively for a draw when the allotted time runs...
", between England and South Africa, which became the longest Test ever played (the game was abandoned after 9 days' play spread over 12 days). He last appeared for Test Match Special at England's Test against India at Mohali
Mohali
Mohali is a city adjacent to Chandigarh, 18th District in Punjab, India. It is officially named after the eldest son of Guru Gobind Singh, Sahibzada Ajit Singh . It, along with Chandigarh and Panchkula, form a part of the Chandigarh Tricity...
in 2008. Given his love of such statistics, it is highly fitting that his funeral took place on 13 February 2009, the day of the shortest Test; the second Test between England and the West Indies was abandoned after just 10 balls.
Opinions
Frindall was known for staunchly defending his beliefs about cricket statistics. When the Association of Cricket Statisticians and HistoriansAssociation of Cricket Statisticians and Historians
The Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians was founded in England in 1973 for the purpose of researching and collating information about the history and statistics of cricket...
attempted to revise the status of many 19th century and pre-war matches, which would have produced statistics that are different from the conventional, Frindall was among those who objected to their "rewriting of history". As a result, some ACS statistics are different from those in Wisden
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom...
, which is regarded as the standard. For example, the ACS has awarded Jack Hobbs
Jack Hobbs
Sir John Berry "Jack" Hobbs was an English professional cricketer who played for Surrey from 1905 to 1934 and for England in 61 Test matches from 1908 to 1930....
199 hundreds (as recorded on Cricinfo), while Wisden, the generally accepted standard, gives him his "traditional" total of 197.
More recently, when the International Cricket Council
International Cricket Council
The International Cricket Council is the international governing body of cricket. It was founded as the Imperial Cricket Conference in 1909 by representatives from England, Australia and South Africa, renamed the International Cricket Conference in 1965, and took up its current name in 1989.The...
decided to award Test
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
and One Day International status to the matches played for the Tsunami
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea megathrust earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC on Sunday, December 26, 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The quake itself is known by the scientific community as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake...
benefit
World Cricket Tsunami Appeal
The World Cricket Tsunami Appeal was an effort by the International Cricket Council to raise funds to support the humanitarian relief efforts following the Indian Ocean tsunami of 26 December 2004. It was scheduled to be held over two games but was reduced to one due to an over-crowded...
and the ICC Super Series
ICC Super Series 2005
The ICC Super Series 2005 was a cricket series played in Australia in October 2005 and featuring some of the world's best cricketers. There were two teams playing: Australia, the world's ranked number one side, and an ICC World XI made up of some of the best non-Australian cricketers...
between Australia
Australian cricket team
The Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. It is the joint oldest team in Test cricket, having played in the first Test match in 1877...
and a Rest of the World
Rest of the world
The Rest of the World within sports and games played at the international competitive level, refers to a team of players from many countries of origin who compete against a single individual or a team from a single group, such as a club or country.-Overview:...
team, Frindall, in common with many statisticians and historians, disputed the ruling. As a result, Playfair
Playfair Cricket Annual
Playfair Cricket Annual is a compact annual about cricket that is published in the United Kingdom each April, just before the English cricket season is due to begin. Its main purposes are to review the previous English season and to provide detailed career records and potted biographies of current...
and other publications to which he supplied statistics did not classify those matches as official Tests or ODIs.
Honours and awards
In 1998, Frindall was awarded the honorary Degree of Doctor of TechnologyDoctor of Technology
The Doctor of Technology degree is conferred upon candidates after having completed a course of study in technology, and a project of lengthy duration in a technologically-related field...
by Staffordshire University
Staffordshire University
Staffordshire University is a university with its main campus based in the city of Stoke-on-Trent, and with other campuses in Stafford, Lichfield and Shrewsbury.- History :...
for his contribution to statistics. He was appointed an MBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
for services to cricket and broadcasting
Broadcasting
Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and video content to a dispersed audience via any audio visual medium. Receiving parties may include the general public or a relatively large subset of thereof...
in the 2004 summer Honours
British honours system
The British honours system is a means of rewarding individuals' personal bravery, achievement, or service to the United Kingdom and the British Overseas Territories...
list. He received several awards from the Beard Liberation Front
Beard Liberation Front
The Beard Liberation Front is a British interest group which campaigns in support of beards and opposes discrimination against those who wear them. It was founded in 1995 by socialist historian Keith Flett who continues to organise and represent the organisation...
, including "Beard of the year".
Publications
In June 2006, his autobiography, Bearders - My Life in Cricket, was published by Orion. Frindall's other works include the Wisden Book of Test Cricket; the Playfair Cricket AnnualPlayfair Cricket Annual
Playfair Cricket Annual is a compact annual about cricket that is published in the United Kingdom each April, just before the English cricket season is due to begin. Its main purposes are to review the previous English season and to provide detailed career records and potted biographies of current...
, which he edited for 23 years, from 1986 until his death; the Wisden Book of Cricket Records; the Guinness Book of Cricket - Facts and Feats; and the 'Cricket records' section of the Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom...
, which he wrote for several years.
He was also briefly a correspondent for the Mail on Sunday.