Bill Fairservice

Bill Fairservice
Personal information
Full name William John Fairservice
Born (1881-05-16)16 May 1881
Nunhead, London
Died 26 June 1971(1971-06-26) (aged 90)
Canterbury, Kent
Batting style Right-handed
Bowling style Right arm offbreak
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1902–1921 Kent
Career statistics
Competition First Class
Matches 302
Runs scored 4,939
Batting average 15.29
100s/50s 0/9
Top score 61*
Balls bowled 44,889
Wickets 859
Bowling average 22.60
5 wickets in innings 39
10 wickets in match 7
Best bowling 7/44
Catches/stumpings 164/–
Source: Cricinfo, 24 February 2016

William John Fairservice (16 May 1881 – 26 June 1971), known as Bill Fairservice, was an English professional cricketer who played first-class cricket for Kent County Cricket Club between 1902 and 1921.[1] He was a right-arm medium-pace off-break bowler and batted as a tail ender who played over 300 first-class cricket matches in his career.

Fairservice was born at Nunhead in what was then part of Surrey. After his cricketing career he coached cricket and was a scorer. His son, Colin Fairservice, played for Kent and Middlesex from 1929 to 1936.

Cricket career

Fairservice played for Kent's Second XI in 1901 and made his first-class but for the county in May 1902 against MCC at Lord's.[2][3] He played in two matches in 1902, taking five wickets[4]

Fairservice is often credited with taking the wicket of W.G. Grace as his first wicket in first-class cricket.[5][6] Fairservice did bowl Grace twice in the same match in May 1903, again against MCC at Lord's, but his first wickets do seem to have occurred in the same fixture in 1902 in which Grace did not play.[7]

Fairservice played regularly from 1903 until the start of World War I during the period in which Kent won four County Championship titles.[3][8] He 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.[4][5] He was awarded his county cap in 1903.[9]

Fairservice continued playing for Kent after the war and had his most productive season 1920, taking 113 wickets at an average of 17.46.[5][6] He played his last first-class matches in 1921 before playing for Northumberland between 1924 and 1926.[10]

In retirement Fairservice coached cricket and acted as the scorer for Kent's Second XI. He died in Canterbury in 1971 aged 90.[5][6]

References

  1. ↑ "Player Profile: Bill Fairservice". www.cricketarchive.com. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
  2. ↑ Miscellaneous matches played by Bill Fairservice, CricketArchive. Retrieved 2016-03-01.
  3. 1 2 First-class matches played by Bill Fairservice, CricketArchive. Retrieved 2016-03-01.
  4. 1 2 First-class bowling in each season by Bill Fairservice, CricketArchive. Retrieved 2016-03-01.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Obituaries in 1971 - Fairservice, William John, Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, 1972. Retrieved 2016-02-01.
  6. 1 2 3 Kent cricket star's memorabilia at auction, BBC News website, 2010-06-16. Retrieved 2016-02-24.
  7. ↑ Mukherjee A (2015) Sir Arthur Conan Doyle set on fire while batting at Lord’s, Cricket Country, 2015-04-29. Retrieved 2016-03-01.
  8. ↑ A brief history, Kent County Cricket Club. Retrieved 2016-03-01.
  9. ↑ Bill Fairservice - Profile, CricketArchive. Retrieved 2016-03-01.
  10. ↑ Minor Counties Championship matches played by Bill Service, CricketArchive. Retrieved 2016-03-01.

External links

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