George Freeman (cricketer) - Career

Career

Born in Boroughbridge, Yorkshire, England, Freeman was a right hand, round arm, fast bowler, who emerged after a few matches in 1865 and 1866 to jump straight to the top of the tree in 1867. He had tremendous “cut” from leg as well as pace, and on the rough, even stony pitches that prevailed before the advent of the heavy roller was a terror to even the best batsmen. Between 1867 and 1871 Freeman took 269 wickets in a mere thirty-seven first-class matches for a phenomenal average of 8.94 runs per wicket. In these five seasons he conceded only 26.8 runs for every 100 balls he bowled and took one wicket every 33 balls he bowled.

Freeman’s best analysis of 8 for 11 came against Lancashire in a Roses Match of 1868; however, his best match bowling record was thirteen wickets for 60 runs against Surrey in 1869 at Sheffield. In both these games Freeman and fellow fast bowler Tom Emmett bowled unchanged throughout both innings. Amongst other notable bowling spells are 6 for 44 against an “All England Eleven’, 5 for 36 against Cambridgeshire, 5 for 14 against Kent, 6 for 26 against the MCC, 7 for 29 against Middlesex, 7 for 30 against Nottinghamshire, 13 for 68 in a match against Richard Daft's XI, 7 for 45 against the “South of England”, plus 8 for 29 against Surrey.

After the 1868 season George Freeman went under Edgar Willsher to the United States and meant with tremendous success, taking twenty-seven wickets for twenty-four runs against Twenty-Two of Philadelphia, twenty wickets for thirty runs against Twenty-Two of Boston and in five games against odds taking ninety-three wickets for 201 runs.

Freeman appeared in a non first-class game for a “Miscellaneous All England Eleven” against 22 of Ireland in 1869, when he took 4 for 19 and 6 for 5, to register 10 for 25 in the match.

He also scored 918 runs at 13.70, with a top score of 53 for Yorkshire against Surrey and, over the course of career, also took twenty catches. His other half centuries came against Lancashire and the “United South of England Eleven”.