F is for Fabulous Trivia Quiz

Answer: Roy Fredericks

His most famous test match innings was a score of 169 at the WACA in Perth, not generally a happy hunting ground for visitors. When his playing days were done he became a politician and served in the Guyanese government. The only one of the wrong answers that's well known in sporting circles was Frankie Fredericks, a Namibian who was for a time one of the world's leading sprinters.

Answer: Charles Fry

Charles Burgess Fry, born in 1872, scored over 30,000 first class runs at an average of 50, and his test match highlights included a score of 144 against Australia, and a 79 in difficult conditions at The Oval that settled the outcome of that match. Nine years later, when Warwick Armstrong's Australian side thoroughly disarranged England's plans one idea that was seriously considered was recalling the 49 year old Fry as captain.

Answer: Andrew Flower

Andrew Flower scored over 4,500 test runs at an average of 51 with a best of 232 not out. As a head coach he oversaw three successful Ashes series, in 2009, 2010-11 and 2013, the middle one of which was England's first series win in Australia since 1986-7. Grant Flower is a brother of Andrew's who also played international cricket. Tony Forrester played international bridge for Britain. Grant Fox was a New Zealand rugby international in the 1980s.

Answer: Keith Fletcher

Keith Fletcher scored almost 38,000 first class runs, with 63 centuries. His test career yielded 3,272 runs at 39.90, with seven centuries and a best of 216. He was an England coach at one time.

Answer: Aubrey Faulkner

Aubrey Faulkner played 25 test matches scoring 1,754 runs at 40.79 and taking 85 wickets at 26.58. He batted right handed and bowled leg spin. After his playing days were done he ran a coaching school in London.

Answer: Ben Foakes

Ben Foakes started with Essex, moved to Surrey and has been consistently brilliant for that county, and has hardly done badly when given the opportunity by England.

Ben Foster is a former professional footballer who played in goal for various clubs. Foulkes and Ffolkes are both homophones of Foakes (there is an establishment in Hillington, Norfolk called the Ffolkes Arms which is named in honour of a once prominent local family).

Answer: Percy Fender

Percy Fender scored 19,034 runs at 26.65, took 1,894 first class wicket at 25.05 and pouched 602 catches in his 557 match professional career. I regard his hyper-aggressive approach, as exemplified by that 35 minute century (against Northamptonshire, when he and Alan Peach shared an unbroken stand of 171 in 42 minutes, of which his share was 113 not out) as ideal for someone at number seven in a strong line-up - he will often be coming in with a "licence to kill".

Answer: Frank Foster

Frank Foster batted right handed and bowled left arm fast medium. The 11 test matches he played saw him take 45 wickets at 20.57 a piece and average 23 with the bat. That included the 1911-12 Ashes in Australia when he and Sydney Barnes (32 and 34 wickets respectively) spearheaded a 4-1 win for England.

Answer: Wilfred Flowers

Flowers averaged 20.07 with the bat, including nine centuries, in FC cricket, while his 1,188 wickets at that level cost a mere 15.89 each. With two leg spinning all rounders having cast iron places I wanted someone who could spin the ball the other way, and he was the best fit.

Answer: George Freeman

George Freeman's 44 first class matches yielded him 288 wickets at 9.71 a piece - over six and a half wickets per match, and so cheaply that his career averages were the right way round, though no one with a batting average of 13 could be labelled an all rounder. WG Grace, the undisputed champion batter of that era, considered Freeman one of the most challenging bowlers he ever faced. George Francis played for the West Indies in their early days, but was past his best by the time they gained test status. George Ferris was also a West Indian pacer, but never played at international level. George Ford is an English rugby player.

Answer: Jack Ferris

A left arm swing bowler, Jack Ferris played nine test matches in the early days of that format, taking 61 wickets at 12.70 a piece. His England appearances came on a private tour of South Africa, where matches against South Africa were subsequently given test status.

Answer: Freeman

Freeman's record is all the more astonishing because a combination of Kent's spin strength and world war I meant that by the time he turned 30 he had taken a mere 29 first class wickets. In the next 17 years after that he would add a further 3,749 scalps to his tally, including 304 in 1928 alone.

Answer: James Foster

James Foster played 289 first class matches, averaging almost 37 with bat and achieving over 900 wicket keeping dismissals. He helped Essex to the 2017 county championship.

Answer: Andrew Flintoff

Andrew Flintoff's two year peak included the 2005 Ashes, in which series he was magnificent, including an 18 over spell at The Oval that played a major role in settling the destination of the series. By the 2006-7 Ashes he had over-bowled himself against Sri Lanka in the final match of the home summer and was struggling with the captaincy, given to him after Michael Vaughan was sidelined by injury.

In 2009 he bowled a matchwinning spell at Lord's and his last intervention as an international cricketer was to run out Ricky Ponting with a direct hit at The Oval.

Answer: Kenneth Farnes

Kenneth Farnes took 690 first class wickets at 21.45. The 15 tests he was picked for in the late 1930s yielded him 60 wickets at 28.65, and that included the series in South Africa that culminated with a 'timeless match' which had to be abandoned for England to catch the boat home.

The scores in that ridiculous game were South Africa 530 and 481, England 316 and 654-5, needing a further 42 to win.