William John Fairservice was an English professional cricketer who played first-class cricket for Kent County Cricket Club between 1902 and 1921.
11 Facts About Bill Fairservice
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Bill Fairservice was a right-arm medium-pace off-break bowler who batted in the lower order and played over 300 first-class matches in his career.
3.
Bill Fairservice was born at Nunhead in what was then part of Surrey in 1881.
4.
Bill Fairservice was the son of toy maker William Fairservice and his wife Lucia, whose family had moved to Tonbridge in Kent by 1902.
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Bill Fairservice first played for Kent's Second XI in 1901 and made his first-class cricket debut for the county in May 1902 against MCC at Lord's.
6.
Bill Fairservice played in two matches in 1902, taking five wickets.
7.
Bill Fairservice did bowl Grace twice in the same match in May 1903, again against MCC at Lord's, but his first wickets were taken in the same fixture the previous year in which Grace did not play.
8.
Bill Fairservice played fairly regularly from 1903 until the start of World War I during a period in which Kent won four County Championship titles.
9.
Bill Fairservice took at least 35 wickets in every season other than 1912, although his opportunities were limited as Kent had spin bowlers Colin Blythe and Frank Woolley as regulars in the team at this time.
10.
Bill Fairservice is believed to have been stationed in the UK throughout the war and appeared for KFE cricket teams alongside fellow Kent professionals Colin Blythe, David Jennings and Claud Woolley in 1916.
11.
Bill Fairservice was an umpire and for four years the groundsman at Sevenoaks Vine and later acted as the scorer for Kent's Second XI until he was 87.