Fred Rumsey
Encyclopedia
Frederick Edward Rumsey (born 4 December 1935, Stepney
, London
, England
) is an English
former cricket
er, who played five Test matches
for England in the mid 1960s. He is also notable for having played almost exclusively in one-day cricket for the last five years of his career. Purely a bowler, his batting was poor and he did not reach fifty once in more than 200 first-class
innings.
Rumsey played county cricket
for Worcestershire
, Somerset
and Derbyshire
. The cricket writer, Colin Bateman, noted, "built like a battering ram with finesse to match, Fred Rumsey crashed on to the Test scene for a few vividly entertaining performances of left-arm fast bowling when England were hit by injuries".
career for Worcestershire
against Cambridge University
in 1960
, his first wicket being that of future England captain
Tony Lewis
. He made a few more appearances over the next two years, but was largely confined to second-eleven cricket and for the 1963 season
he moved to Somerset
.
For six seasons Rumsey was a fixture in the Somerset side, taking a total of 547 first-class wickets at an average
of 20.14, and in three seasons (1963, 1965
and 1966
) reaching the 100-wicket mark. His best achievements came in 1965, when he took 8-26 against Hampshire
in a low-scoring game in which only 283 runs were scored for the loss of 33 wickets. He took 119 first-class wickets that season at an average of only 16.18, taking five or more in an innings on seven occasions.
Whilst at Somerset, Rumsey had made his Test debut in 1964
against Australia at Manchester
, his 2-99 from 35.5 overs fairly impressive in a match in which Australia piled up 656 for 8 declared, thanks to 311 from Bob Simpson
(indeed, both sides passed 600 in their first innings); he was, however, not retained for the fifth Test at the Oval
. In 1965, Rumsey played in all three Tests against the New Zealanders
, taking a career-best 4-25 in the second Test at Lord's
and claiming nine at 25.44 in the series as a whole. He kept his place in the team for the first Test against South Africa in late July, but despite six wickets in the match this was to prove his last appearance for England.
In 1969
, Rumsey moved counties again, this time to Derbyshire
. He was to remain there until his retirement after the 1973 season
, making just one first-class appearance in those five seasons (against his old county of Somerset at Bath in 1970
) but making many appearances in the limited-overs game. In 1970, he achieved his best one-day figures of 4-8 against Worcestershire at Derby, and in all he took 100 List A wickets at 18.44 for Derbyshire.
Rumsey's final game was against Nottinghamshire
in the John Player League
on 9 September 1973. After retirement he became involved with the Lord's Taverners
, and appeared in charity matches and other events.
Stepney
Stepney is a district of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in London's East End that grew out of a medieval village around St Dunstan's church and the 15th century ribbon development of Mile End Road...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
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...
) is an English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
former 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, who played five Test matches
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...
for England in the mid 1960s. He is also notable for having played almost exclusively in one-day cricket for the last five years of his career. Purely a bowler, his batting was poor and he did not reach fifty once in more than 200 first-class
First-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
innings.
Rumsey played county cricket
County cricket
County cricket is the highest level of domestic cricket in England and Wales. For the 2010 season, see 2010 English cricket season.-First-class counties:...
for Worcestershire
Worcestershire County Cricket Club
Worcestershire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Worcestershire...
, Somerset
Somerset County Cricket Club
Somerset County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Somerset...
and Derbyshire
Derbyshire County Cricket Club
Derbyshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the England and Wales domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Derbyshire...
. The cricket writer, Colin Bateman, noted, "built like a battering ram with finesse to match, Fred Rumsey crashed on to the Test scene for a few vividly entertaining performances of left-arm fast bowling when England were hit by injuries".
Life and career
Rumsey began his first-classFirst-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
career for Worcestershire
Worcestershire County Cricket Club
Worcestershire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Worcestershire...
against Cambridge University
Cambridge University Cricket Club
Cambridge University Cricket Club is a first-class cricket team. It now plays all but one of its first-class cricket matches as part of the Cambridge University Centre of Cricketing Excellence , which includes Anglia Ruskin University...
in 1960
1960 English cricket season
The 1960 English cricket season was marked by a throwing controversy which came to a head in the England v South Africa Test series. Umpire Syd Buller repeatedly called the South African fast bowler Geoff Griffin for throwing in the exhibition match staged following the early conclusion of the...
, his first wicket being that of future England captain
English national cricket captains
This is a list of all English national cricket captains, comprising all of the men, boys and women who have captained an English national cricket team at official international level. England played in the first Test match in 1877 and have played more Test matches, and had more captains, than any...
Tony Lewis
Tony Lewis
Anthony Robert Lewis CBE is a former Welsh cricketer, who went on to become the face of BBC Television cricket coverage in the 1990s, and become president of the MCC. Lewis attended Christ's College, Cambridge and played for Cambridge University. He also played county cricket for Glamorgan, and...
. He made a few more appearances over the next two years, but was largely confined to second-eleven cricket and for the 1963 season
1963 English cricket season
The 1963 English cricket season marked the beginning of limited overs cricket at List A level with the inauguration of the knockout competition that was originally called the Gillette Cup. It also included a memorable Test series against West Indies...
he moved to Somerset
Somerset County Cricket Club
Somerset County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Somerset...
.
For six seasons Rumsey was a fixture in the Somerset side, taking a total of 547 first-class wickets at an average
Bowling average
Bowling average is a statistic measuring the performance of bowlers in the sport of cricket.A bowler's bowling average is defined as the total number of runs conceded by the bowlers divided by the number of wickets taken by the bowler, so the lower the average the better. It is similar to earned...
of 20.14, and in three seasons (1963, 1965
1965 English cricket season
The 1965 English cricket season was the first season since the 1912 Triangular Tournament in which England played Test series against two touring sides. In the first half of a damp summer, New Zealand were the tourists, and England won all three matches...
and 1966
1966 English cricket season
The 1966 English cricket season featured an entertaining Test series between England and West Indies. The great West Indian all-rounder Gary Sobers had an outstanding series....
) reaching the 100-wicket mark. His best achievements came in 1965, when he took 8-26 against Hampshire
Hampshire County Cricket Club
Hampshire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Hampshire in cricket's County Championship. The club was founded in 1863 as a successor to the Hampshire county cricket teams and has played at the Antelope Ground from then until 1885, before moving to the County Ground where it...
in a low-scoring game in which only 283 runs were scored for the loss of 33 wickets. He took 119 first-class wickets that season at an average of only 16.18, taking five or more in an innings on seven occasions.
Whilst at Somerset, Rumsey had made his Test debut in 1964
1964 English cricket season
The 1964 English cricket season saw Australia retain The Ashes as Bob Simpson led them through a hard-fought series, with only one match coming to a definite result....
against Australia at Manchester
Old Trafford (cricket)
Old Trafford is a cricket ground situated on Talbot Road in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester. It has been the home of Lancashire County Cricket Club since its foundation in 1864, having been the ground of Manchester Cricket Club from 1857...
, his 2-99 from 35.5 overs fairly impressive in a match in which Australia piled up 656 for 8 declared, thanks to 311 from Bob Simpson
Bob Simpson (cricketer)
Robert Baddeley Simpson AO is a former cricketer who played for New South Wales, Western Australia and Australia, captaining the national team from 1963–64 until 1967–68, and again in 1977–78. He later had a highly successful term as the coach of the Australian team...
(indeed, both sides passed 600 in their first innings); he was, however, not retained for the fifth Test at the Oval
The Oval
The Kia Oval, still commonly referred to by its original name of The Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, in the London Borough of Lambeth. In the past it was also sometimes called the Kennington Oval...
. In 1965, Rumsey played in all three Tests against the New Zealanders
New Zealand cricket team
The New Zealand cricket team, nicknamed the Black Caps, are the national cricket team representing New Zealand. They played their first in 1930 against England in Christchurch, New Zealand, becoming the fifth country to play Test cricket. It took the team until 1955–56 to win a Test, against the...
, taking a career-best 4-25 in the second Test at Lord's
Lord's Cricket Ground
Lord's Cricket Ground is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and Wales Cricket Board , the European Cricket Council and, until August 2005, the...
and claiming nine at 25.44 in the series as a whole. He kept his place in the team for the first Test against South Africa in late July, but despite six wickets in the match this was to prove his last appearance for England.
In 1969
1969 English cricket season
The 1969 English cricket season saw the inauguration of the Sunday League , sponsored by the John Player tobacco company. All matches were played on Sundays with each of the 17 first-class counties playing each other once. They were of 40 overs a side...
, Rumsey moved counties again, this time to Derbyshire
Derbyshire County Cricket Club
Derbyshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the England and Wales domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Derbyshire...
. He was to remain there until his retirement after the 1973 season
1973 English cricket season
The 1973 English cricket season saw Hampshire win their second-ever title while a very strong Kent side continued to dominate the limited overs game.-Honours:*County Championship - Hampshire*Gillette Cup - Gloucestershire...
, making just one first-class appearance in those five seasons (against his old county of Somerset at Bath in 1970
1970 English cricket season
The 1970 English cricket season was marked by controversy when a tour by South Africa was forced to be abandoned in view of mounting opposition to the apartheid policy maintained by that country's then government...
) but making many appearances in the limited-overs game. In 1970, he achieved his best one-day figures of 4-8 against Worcestershire at Derby, and in all he took 100 List A wickets at 18.44 for Derbyshire.
Rumsey's final game was against Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club
Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Nottinghamshire, and the current county champions. Its limited overs team is called the Nottinghamshire Outlaws...
in the John Player League
National League (cricket)
The NatWest Pro40 League was a one-day cricket league for first-class cricket counties in England and Wales. It was inaugurated in 1999, but was essentially the old Sunday League retitled to reflect the fact that large numbers of matches were played on days other than Sunday.-Sunday League:The...
on 9 September 1973. After retirement he became involved with the Lord's Taverners
Lord's Taverners
The Lord’s Taverners is a thriving club, the official charity for recreational cricket and the UK’s leading youth cricket and disability sports charity whose objective is to 'give young people, particularly those with special needs, a sporting chance'.The Lord’s Taverners was founded in 1950 by a...
, and appeared in charity matches and other events.