Phillip DeFreitas

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Phillip DeFreitas
Personal information
Full name
Phillip Anthony Jason DeFreitas
Born (1966-02-18) 18 February 1966 (age 58)
Scotts Head, Dominica
NicknameDaffy
Height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
BattingRight-handed
BowlingRight arm fast-medium
RoleBowler
International information
National side
Test debut (cap 522)14 November 1986 v Australia
Last Test11 June 1995 v West Indies
ODI debut (cap 91)1 January 1987 v Australia
Last ODI24 May 1997 v Australia
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1985–1988
Boland
1994–1999Derbyshire
2000–2005Leicestershire
Career statistics
Competition Test ODI FC LA
Matches 44 103 372 479
Runs scored 934 690 10,991 5,181
Batting average 14.82 16.04 22.75 18.56
100s/50s 0/4 0/1 10/54 0/13
Top score 88 67 123* 90
Balls bowled 9,838 5,712 72,073 23,007
Wickets 140 115 1,248 539
Bowling average 33.57 32.82 27.89 27.92
5 wickets in innings 4 0 61 7
10 wickets in match 0 0 6 0
Best bowling 7/70 4/35 7/21 5/13
Catches/stumpings 14/– 26/– 127/– 101/–
Medal record
Men's Cricket
Representing  England
ICC Cricket World Cup
Runner-up 1987 India and Pakistan
Runner-up 1992 Australia and New Zealand
Source: Cricinfo, 20 August 2009

Phillip Anthony Jason "Daffy" DeFreitas (born 18 February 1966)

ODIs. Cricket writer Colin Bateman noted that "DeFreitas was an explosive hitter when the mood took him, an aggressive pace bowler, inclined to pitch everything short and a spectacular fielder".[1] He was a part of the English squad which finished as runners-up at the 1987 Cricket World Cup and as runners-up at the 1992 Cricket World Cup
.

DeFreitas is the only player in the history of the County Championship to take a five-wicket haul against each of the 18 first-class counties.[2]

Early career

DeFreitas went to Willesden High School, in Willesden, London, where he played football and cricket. He had trials at Luton Town F.C., but although offered an apprenticeship, wanted to play cricket.[3]

Domestic career

DeFreitas made his first-class debut for

bowling analysis of 3.4–2–3–3 as the students collapsed to a humiliating 24 all out. The following year he had a wonderful season, taking what was to remain a career high of 94 wickets and scoring his maiden century (at number 9) against Kent, and he was selected for the successful Ashes tour in 1986/87.[1]

In the course of his 21 seasons in

Boland
, in 1993/94 and 1994/95.

With Lancashire he was part of the team that won both the

man of the match
in the final of the latter.

DeFreitas announced in April 2005 that he would retire from cricket at the end of that season. This meant that had England not beaten

the Australians that summer, there would be no remaining Englishmen in first-class cricket who had played in a victorious Ashes side, but this did not happen. On hearing the news, Mike Gatting, who had captained that 1986/87 team, told the BBC
: "He's one of those guys you want in the game. It's sad he's going to retire but he's been good for the game."

Before retiring DeFreitas achieved the increasingly rare milestone of scoring first-class 10,000 runs and taking 1,000 first-class wickets in his career.

International career

Making his

World Series Cup later that winter.[5] He would later play in four more Ashes
series, but never again finished on the winning side in an Ashes series.

He remained part of England's Test plans until the advent of

Man of the Match award.[6]

DeFreitas was named as a

New Zealand (also making 51 not out in the same match at Trent Bridge).[10]

DeFreitas also played in the 1987 Cricket World Cup. During his first match in the tournament against West Indies played in Pakistan, while attempting to bowl DeFreitas had to stop in the middle of his run-up in order to vomit. He had not been feeling well and the searing heat had made the affliction worse. Anxious not to lose his place, he had not mentioned his illness to the captain, preferring to try and see the day through instead. He managed this without compromising his teammates. DeFreitas went onto play for England in the final against Australia, taking England close to victory with some late hitting before falling short.[11]

DeFreitas had the honour of being the 100th player in test cricket to take 100 wickets. He played his 44 Tests over nine years, and was hampered in fulfilling his early promise by injury, inconsistency, and varied selection policies; in 1988, for instance, he was dropped from the England test team three times in a single summer. In one-day internationals, DeFreitas seldom let England down – but bowled more economically than penetratively until his second Australian tour. In the World Series Cup that season, DeFreitas was often punished by the powerful Australian top order particularly Dean Jones. He performed creditably despite a persistent groin strain in the Cricket World Cup of 1992 but form was beginning to desert him by this stage. He was notoriously thrashed all over the ground by Sanath Jayasuriya in the 1996 World Cup quarter final – by no means alone – in a game where England were thrashed and ended up making their tournament exit. As of 2022, DeFreitas remains one of only four England players - along with Botham, Graham Gooch and Allan Lamb - to have played in more than one Cricket World Cup final.

He played his last full international for England, a

one-day international, in 1997 against Australia.[12]

Personal life

As well as making irregular television appearances, DeFreitas became a cricket master at Oakham School in January 2009, under the school's director of cricket, Frank Hayes. As of 2009 he taught at Magdalen College School, Oxford.[13]

DeFreitas sought and in October 1995 obtained legal redress when a July 1995 article appearing in the Wisden Cricket Monthly questioned the commitment of players of foreign origin to the England cricket team.[14] DeFreitas, England and then Derbyshire colleague Devon Malcolm, and others, the writer opined, were not "unequivocal Englishmen".[15] According to subsequent recollection this recalled typecasting of Malcolm and Gladstone Small by politician Norman Tebbit in 1990.[15] DeFreitas recalled that the writer "suggested [we] were interlopers. That was so out of order, so wrong".[15] DeFreitas and Malcolm, issued writs for defamation; DeFreitas settled outside of court while Malcolm accepted libel damages through the High Court.[14]

His autobiography, "Daffy: My Life in Cricket", was published on 16 June 2012. DeFreitas is also a fan of English football side Manchester City.[16]

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 1-869833-21-X
    .
  2. ^ Phil DeFreitas biography
  3. ^ Davies, Gareth (19 January 2009). "Phil DeFreitas chose Leicestershire ahead of Luton Town". The Telegraph. Retrieved 24 January 2009.
  4. ESPNCricinfo
    . Retrieved 21 June 2002.
  5. ESPNCricinfo
    . Retrieved 21 June 2002.
  6. ESPNCricinfo
    . Retrieved 21 June 2002.
  7. ESPNCricinfo
    . Retrieved 21 June 2002.
  8. ESPNCricinfo
    . Retrieved 21 June 2002.
  9. ESPNCricinfo
    . Retrieved 21 June 2002.
  10. ESPNCricinfo
    . Retrieved 21 June 2002.
  11. ESPNCricinfo
    . Retrieved 21 June 2002.
  12. ESPNCricinfo
    . Retrieved 21 June 2002.
  13. ^ Gareth A Davies (19 January 2009). "Phillip DeFreitas 'concerned' about school cricket". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 9 October 2009.
  14. ^
    Cricinfo
    . Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  15. ^
    Cricinfo
    . 24 November 2018. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  16. ^ "Blue dream come true for DeFreitas". manchestereveningnews.co.uk. Manchester Evening News. 15 February 2007.


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