Bill Frindall was nicknamed the Bearded Wonder 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.
27 Facts About Bill Frindall
1.
2.
Bill Frindall was born in Epsom, Surrey, and named after Victorian journalist William Howard Russell.
3.
Bill Frindall was an enthusiastic cricketer from his early years and played cricket for the RAF.
4.
Bill Frindall 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.
5.
Bill Frindall continued as an effective fast bowler in club cricket for many years, particularly in charity matches, although his batting was somewhat agricultural.
6.
Bill Frindall ran a touring team, the Malta Maniacs, and played for the Elvinos and the Lord's Taverners.
7.
Bill Frindall 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.
8.
Bill Frindall 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.
9.
Bill Frindall replaced the previous scorer, Arthur Wrigley, who had been the BBC scorer from 1934 up to his death in October 1965.
10.
Bill Frindall speculatively wrote to the BBC, pointing out that they would need a new scorer, and secured the job.
11.
Bill Frindall 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.
12.
Bill Frindall was known for producing scoring charts for many of his tours with England.
13.
Bill Frindall 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.
14.
Bill Frindall met Ferguson in 1953, when he was 14 years old.
15.
The concentration needed to maintain such consistently high-quality work was immense, and Bill Frindall believed it was his time in the RAF that prepared him for the task.
16.
Bill Frindall's work was so meticulously accurate that the commentators would habitually trust his figures if they differed from the official scoreboard.
17.
Bill Frindall last appeared for Test Match Special at England's Test against India at Mohali in 2008.
18.
Bill Frindall was known for staunchly defending his beliefs about cricket statistics.
19.
Bill Frindall was briefly a correspondent for the Mail on Sunday.
20.
In 1998, Bill Frindall was made an honorary Doctor of Technology by Staffordshire University, for his contribution to statistics.
21.
Bill Frindall was appointed an MBE for services to cricket and broadcasting in the 2004 Queen's Birthday Honours.
22.
Bill Frindall received several awards from the Beard Liberation Front, including "Beard of the Year".
23.
Bill Frindall was the first president of British Blind Sport, a charity co-ordinating sport for the blind and partially sighted.
24.
Bill Frindall married Maureen Wesson in 1960, and they had two sons and a daughter together.
25.
Bill Frindall died at the Great Western Hospital in Swindon on 29 January 2009, following a short illness after contracting Legionnaires' disease during a charity cricketing tour of Dubai with the Lord's Taverners.
26.
Bill Frindall was survived by his third wife, Debbie, who used to deliver his lunch to the commentary box each day, and his four children.
27.
Bill Frindall's funeral was held at St Michael and All Angels Church, Urchfont on 13 February 2009.