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Bill Frindall
William Howard Frindall, MBE (3 March 1939 – 30 January 2009) was an English cricket scorer and statistician, who was familiar to cricket followers as a member of the Test Match Special commentary team on BBC radio. He was nicknamed the Bearded Wonder (shortened to Bearders) by Brian Johnston for his ability to research the most obscure cricketing facts in moments, while continuing to keep perfect scorecards and because he had a beard. Angus Fraser described Frindall as "the doyen of cricket scorers" in his obituary in The Independent.
Frindall was born in Epsom, Surrey, and named after Victorian journalist William Howard Russell. He was educated at Tadworth county primary school and Reigate Grammar School and studied architecture at the Kingston School of Art.
A schoolmaster introduced Frindall to cricket scoring one rainy sports afternoon when he was a boy. After joining the RAF as a National Serviceman in 1958 (he called it "training in advanced shirking"), and rising to the rank of corporal, he was commissioned as an accountant officer in the secretarial branch in November 1963. Two of his six years' service were spent at NATO headquarters at Fontainebleau, outside Paris, and on leaving the RAF in 1965 he developed his handlebar moustache into a full beard.
Frindall was an enthusiastic cricketer from his early years and played cricket for the RAF. He later played one match for the Hampshire Second XI in 1972, 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 cricket 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 became a freelance statistician in 1966, and took over the scoring for Test Match Special on 2 June 1966, at the First Test against West Indies at Old Trafford. He went on to become the longest-serving member of the TMS team, covering more than 350 Test matches, which he considered the only "proper" form of the game.
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. The concentration needed to maintain such consistently high-quality work was immense, and Frindall believed it was his time in the RAF that prepared him for the task. Writing honed by his training to be an architect meant that each page was beautifully laid out and easy to read. Every scorecard, like the wagon-wheels he produced to show where a batsman scored his runs after playing a significant innings, was a work of art. Frindall's work was so meticulously accurate that the commentators would habitually trust his figures if they differed from the official scoreboard.
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 nine 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 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.
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Bill Frindall
William Howard Frindall, MBE (3 March 1939 – 30 January 2009) was an English cricket scorer and statistician, who was familiar to cricket followers as a member of the Test Match Special commentary team on BBC radio. He was nicknamed the Bearded Wonder (shortened to Bearders) by Brian Johnston for his ability to research the most obscure cricketing facts in moments, while continuing to keep perfect scorecards and because he had a beard. Angus Fraser described Frindall as "the doyen of cricket scorers" in his obituary in The Independent.
Frindall was born in Epsom, Surrey, and named after Victorian journalist William Howard Russell. He was educated at Tadworth county primary school and Reigate Grammar School and studied architecture at the Kingston School of Art.
A schoolmaster introduced Frindall to cricket scoring one rainy sports afternoon when he was a boy. After joining the RAF as a National Serviceman in 1958 (he called it "training in advanced shirking"), and rising to the rank of corporal, he was commissioned as an accountant officer in the secretarial branch in November 1963. Two of his six years' service were spent at NATO headquarters at Fontainebleau, outside Paris, and on leaving the RAF in 1965 he developed his handlebar moustache into a full beard.
Frindall was an enthusiastic cricketer from his early years and played cricket for the RAF. He later played one match for the Hampshire Second XI in 1972, 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 cricket 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 became a freelance statistician in 1966, and took over the scoring for Test Match Special on 2 June 1966, at the First Test against West Indies at Old Trafford. He went on to become the longest-serving member of the TMS team, covering more than 350 Test matches, which he considered the only "proper" form of the game.
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. The concentration needed to maintain such consistently high-quality work was immense, and Frindall believed it was his time in the RAF that prepared him for the task. Writing honed by his training to be an architect meant that each page was beautifully laid out and easy to read. Every scorecard, like the wagon-wheels he produced to show where a batsman scored his runs after playing a significant innings, was a work of art. Frindall's work was so meticulously accurate that the commentators would habitually trust his figures if they differed from the official scoreboard.
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 nine 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 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.