Tich Freeman
Encyclopedia
Alfred Percy "Tich" Freeman (17 May 1888 – 28 January 1965) was an English
cricket
er. A leg spin
bowler for Kent and England, he is the only man to take 300 wickets in an English season, and is the second most prolific wicket taker in first class cricket history.
he used sparingly. His bowling grip was somewhat unorthodox for a leg spinner: being such as small man with small hands, he gripped the ball between thumb, middle and index fingers rather than the orthodox leg break grip between the palm, index finger and ring finger.
Freeman, two of whose brothers played for Essex
, played club cricket during the early 1910s and was engaged by Kent in 1914. After success with the Second Eleven, he was picked for the county side regularly late in the season, but World War I
then halted county cricket for several years. Figures of 7 for 25 against Warwickshire showed Freeman's promise, and when cricket resumed in 1919 he developed rapidly. He took 60 wickets in a short season in 1919, 102 in 1920, 166 in 1921 and 194 in 1922. He was named a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1923 and took 17 for 67 on a rain-affected pitch against Sussex in 1922.
In 1924, Freeman's bowling for the Players (6 for 52 in the first innings) against the Gentlemen earned him a place in the MCC
tour to Australia. However, owing to the rock-hard pitches and the superb footwork of Australia's batsmen, Freeman proved expensive in the two Tests
in which he was selected. Freeman continued to dominate Kent's bowling in the following three years, but was only modestly successful against South Africa in 1927-1928.
However, 1928 was Freeman's most successful year: he set his record of 304 first-class wickets, and took 22 wickets in three Tests against the West Indies (plus 9 for 104 against them for Kent). In 1929 Freeman took 22 wickets in two Tests against South Africa, but their batsmen's mastery over him in the Fifth Test, when he did not take a wicket in 49 overs and conceded 169 runs, meant that this Test was his last. Yet, between 1930 and 1933 Kent so depended upon Freeman's bowling that he took 951 County Championship wickets - over 55 percent of Kent's total - for only 15.21 runs each. Among his best performances in these years were:
Freeman even did well against the 1930 Australians, taking 5 for 78, but he was never selected for a home Ashes Test. He averaged as little as 11 runs per wicket against Leicestershire, but more than 26 against the strong Surrey batting lineups.
In 1934 and 1935, although he was still the leading wicket-taker in England, Freeman fell away gradually. His average rose from around 15 to over 21 runs per wicket, and he was rarely as successful as before when the ground helped him or against weak batting - though his work rate still earned him many wickets. In early 1936, Freeman was again strong, and he took 70 wickets in the first fourteen matches. But his performance deteriorated thereafter, with only 33 wickets in the next fourteen games, so that Kent did not engage him for 1937. Freeman played for Walsall in the Birmingham And District League for a few years after that. He was granted life membership of MCC
in 1949. After retirement Freeman opened a chain of sports retail shops in partnership with his old Kent
team mate Jack Hubble
. He christened his retirement cottage "Dunbowlin'".
In the Reliance ICC Test Player Bowling Rankings , he was:
Second only to Wilfred Rhodes
in his aggregate of first-class wickets, Freeman accumulated his in little more than half as many matches.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
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...
er. A leg spin
Leg spin
Leg spin is a type of spin bowling in the sport of cricket. A leg spinner bowls right-arm with a wrist spin action, causing the ball to spin from right to left in the cricket pitch, at the point of delivery. When the ball bounces, the spin causes the ball to deviate sharply from right to left, that...
bowler for Kent and England, he is the only man to take 300 wickets in an English season, and is the second most prolific wicket taker in first class cricket history.
Career
Freeman's common name comes from his extremely short stature - he was only five feet two (158 centimetres) tall. However, his stocky build and strong fingers gave him great bowling stamina, and he hated being taken off. His height gave his deliveries a low trajectory that was difficult for batsmen to reach on the full toss. This meant batsmen who did not play with a straight bat, or who lacked good footwork, rarely lasted long against him. However, the top county batsmen and many overseas players could nullify his flight and spin, and Freeman had neither the skill nor variety to deceive these players often. Moreover, his spin was never severe enough to cause much harm on Australian pitches. Freeman relied chiefly on a leg-break that pitched on middle-and-leg, so that batsmen had to play at it, and a top-spinner that was notoriously difficult to detect and brought him hundreds of wickets; the googlyGoogly
In cricket, a googly is a type of delivery bowled by a right-arm leg spin bowler. It is occasionally referred to as a Bosie , an eponym in honour of its inventor Bernard Bosanquet.- Explanation :...
he used sparingly. His bowling grip was somewhat unorthodox for a leg spinner: being such as small man with small hands, he gripped the ball between thumb, middle and index fingers rather than the orthodox leg break grip between the palm, index finger and ring finger.
Freeman, two of whose brothers played for Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
, played club cricket during the early 1910s and was engaged by Kent in 1914. After success with the Second Eleven, he was picked for the county side regularly late in the season, but World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
then halted county cricket for several years. Figures of 7 for 25 against Warwickshire showed Freeman's promise, and when cricket resumed in 1919 he developed rapidly. He took 60 wickets in a short season in 1919, 102 in 1920, 166 in 1921 and 194 in 1922. He was named a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1923 and took 17 for 67 on a rain-affected pitch against Sussex in 1922.
In 1924, Freeman's bowling for the Players (6 for 52 in the first innings) against the Gentlemen earned him a place in the MCC
Marylebone Cricket Club
Marylebone Cricket Club is a cricket club in London founded in 1787. Its influence and longevity now witness it as a private members' club dedicated to the development of cricket. It owns, and is based at, Lord's Cricket Ground in St John's Wood, London NW8. MCC was formerly the governing body of...
tour to Australia. However, owing to the rock-hard pitches and the superb footwork of Australia's batsmen, Freeman proved expensive in the two Tests
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...
in which he was selected. Freeman continued to dominate Kent's bowling in the following three years, but was only modestly successful against South Africa in 1927-1928.
However, 1928 was Freeman's most successful year: he set his record of 304 first-class wickets, and took 22 wickets in three Tests against the West Indies (plus 9 for 104 against them for Kent). In 1929 Freeman took 22 wickets in two Tests against South Africa, but their batsmen's mastery over him in the Fifth Test, when he did not take a wicket in 49 overs and conceded 169 runs, meant that this Test was his last. Yet, between 1930 and 1933 Kent so depended upon Freeman's bowling that he took 951 County Championship wickets - over 55 percent of Kent's total - for only 15.21 runs each. Among his best performances in these years were:
- 17 for 92 against Warwickshire at Folkestone in 1932
- 16 for 82 against Northamptonshire at Tunbridge Wells in 1932
- 16 for 94 (10 for 53 in first innings) against Essex at Southend in 1930
- 15 for 94 against Somerset at Canterbury in 1931
- 15 for 122 against Middlesex at Lord's in 1933
- 15 for 142 against Essex at Gravesend in 1931
- 15 for 144 against Leicestershire at Maidstone in 1931
- 10 for 79 in an innings against Lancashire at Manchester in 1931
- 9 for 50 against Derbyshire at Ilkeston in 1930 (match figures of 12 for 210)
Freeman even did well against the 1930 Australians, taking 5 for 78, but he was never selected for a home Ashes Test. He averaged as little as 11 runs per wicket against Leicestershire, but more than 26 against the strong Surrey batting lineups.
In 1934 and 1935, although he was still the leading wicket-taker in England, Freeman fell away gradually. His average rose from around 15 to over 21 runs per wicket, and he was rarely as successful as before when the ground helped him or against weak batting - though his work rate still earned him many wickets. In early 1936, Freeman was again strong, and he took 70 wickets in the first fourteen matches. But his performance deteriorated thereafter, with only 33 wickets in the next fourteen games, so that Kent did not engage him for 1937. Freeman played for Walsall in the Birmingham And District League for a few years after that. He was granted life membership of MCC
Marylebone Cricket Club
Marylebone Cricket Club is a cricket club in London founded in 1787. Its influence and longevity now witness it as a private members' club dedicated to the development of cricket. It owns, and is based at, Lord's Cricket Ground in St John's Wood, London NW8. MCC was formerly the governing body of...
in 1949. After retirement Freeman opened a chain of sports retail shops in partnership with his old Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
team mate Jack Hubble
Jack Hubble
Jack Hubble was an English cricketer. He was a right-handed batsman and wicket-keeper who played for Kent and Marylebone Cricket Club during a 25-year career....
. He christened his retirement cottage "Dunbowlin'".
In the Reliance ICC Test Player Bowling Rankings , he was:
- Highest Bowling Rating - 762 on 27 July 1929 (v South Africa, Old Trafford, 4th Test)
- Highest Bowling Ranking - 1st on 27 July 1929 (v South Africa, Old Trafford, 4th Test)
Records
The many bowling records he holds include:- taking 1673 wickets in six consecutive seasons from 1928 to 1933 - in each of these seasons he took over 250 wickets, something no other bowler has done even once since 1901
- ten wickets in an inning on three occasions - in 1929, 1930, and 1931
- seventeen wickets in a match twice - in 1922 and 1932
- the three highest totals of balls bowled in a season in 1928, 1930 and 1933
- ten or more wickets in a match on 140 occasions - more than 50% ahead of his nearest rival Charlie ParkerCharlie Parker (cricketer)Charles Warrington Leonard "Charlie" Parker was an English cricketer, who stands as the third highest wicket taker in the history of first-class cricket, behind Wilfred Rhodes and Tich Freeman.-Life and career:Parker took no serious attention to cricket in his childhood, preferring to concentrate...
- 48.6% of his 3776 first-class wickets were taken without assistance (either bowled, caught and bowled, leg before wicket, or hit wicket).
Second only to Wilfred Rhodes
Wilfred Rhodes
Wilfred Rhodes was an English professional cricketer who played 58 Test matches for England between 1899 and 1930. In Tests, Rhodes took 127 wickets in and scored 2,325 runs, becoming the first Englishman to complete the double of 1,000 runs and 100 wickets in Test matches...
in his aggregate of first-class wickets, Freeman accumulated his in little more than half as many matches.