November 10 1942 Dashing openers are ten-a-penny in the modern age, but in the days when openers blocked and middle-order batsmen attacked, the West Indian left-hander Roy Fredericks, who was born today, was a revelation. His blistering 169 against Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson on a Perth flyer in 1975-76 was one of the most audacious innings ever played in a Test, and though Fredericks was only 5ft 6in tall, he gave the ball a fearful whack. He followed up that Perth ton with a very good tour of England in 1976, when he made 517 runs in the five Tests. Fredericks played 59 Tests in all, bowing out against Pakistan in Jamaica in 1976-77 with a typically flamboyant 83. He later became sports minister of his native Guyana. Fredericks died of cancer in New York in September 2000.
Posted on: Tue, 11 Nov 2014 10:59:50 +0000
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