More erratic than his brothers, especially WG, GF nevertheless had memorable moments at the crease. When just 19, he scored 189 not out for Gentlemen of the South against Gentlemen of the North. Although criticised as lacking the concentration to build big innings, and going for his favourite strokes impetuously, GF nevertheless had big hundreds to his name, 165* against Yorkshire and 180* against Surrey being the best of them. He could be a mean operator with the ball too, with his 8 for 67 routing the North batting at Trent Bridge in 1876.
However, his one outstanding deed in Test matches was the catch of George Bonnor. Selected for The Oval match, the first ever Test on English soil, he played alongside WG and EM, scored a pair and did not bowl. But when the giant frame of George Bonnor got stuck into a ball from Alfred Shaw, the resulting hit went into the stratosphere, and there was time for the batsman and his partner Harry Boyle to run three. However, in front of the gasometer at the Vauxhall End, GF got under the steepling skier and held a remarkable catch.
Two weeks later he contracted pneumonia while sleeping on a damp mattress and died at the age of 30.
At the time of his tragic untimely death, he was still studying for his medical degree. He had scored 6,906 runs at 25 and captured 329 wickets at 20 from 195 matches.
However, his one outstanding deed in Test matches was the catch of George Bonnor. Selected for The Oval match, the first ever Test on English soil, he played alongside WG and EM, scored a pair and did not bowl. But when the giant frame of George Bonnor got stuck into a ball from Alfred Shaw, the resulting hit went into the stratosphere, and there was time for the batsman and his partner Harry Boyle to run three. However, in front of the gasometer at the Vauxhall End, GF got under the steepling skier and held a remarkable catch.
Two weeks later he contracted pneumonia while sleeping on a damp mattress and died at the age of 30.
At the time of his tragic untimely death, he was still studying for his medical degree. He had scored 6,906 runs at 25 and captured 329 wickets at 20 from 195 matches.
More erratic than his brothers, especially WG, GF nevertheless had memorable moments at the crease. When just 19, he scored 189 not out for Gentlemen of the South against Gentlemen of the North. Although criticised as lacking the concentration to build big innings, and going for his favourite strokes impetuously, GF nevertheless had big hundreds to his name, 165* against Yorkshire and 180* against Surrey being the best of them. He could be a mean operator with the ball too, with his 8 for 67 routing the North batting at Trent Bridge in 1876.
However, his one outstanding deed in Test matches was the catch of George Bonnor. Selected for The Oval match, the first ever Test on English soil, he played alongside WG and EM, scored a pair and did not bowl. But when the giant frame of George Bonnor got stuck into a ball from Alfred Shaw, the resulting hit went into the stratosphere, and there was time for the batsman and his partner Harry Boyle to run three. However, in front of the gasometer at the Vauxhall End, GF got under the steepling skier and held a remarkable catch.
Two weeks later he contracted pneumonia while sleeping on a damp mattress and died at the age of 30.
At the time of his tragic untimely death, he was still studying for his medical degree. He had scored 6,906 runs at 25 and captured 329 wickets at 20 from 195 matches.
However, his one outstanding deed in Test matches was the catch of George Bonnor. Selected for The Oval match, the first ever Test on English soil, he played alongside WG and EM, scored a pair and did not bowl. But when the giant frame of George Bonnor got stuck into a ball from Alfred Shaw, the resulting hit went into the stratosphere, and there was time for the batsman and his partner Harry Boyle to run three. However, in front of the gasometer at the Vauxhall End, GF got under the steepling skier and held a remarkable catch.
Two weeks later he contracted pneumonia while sleeping on a damp mattress and died at the age of 30.
At the time of his tragic untimely death, he was still studying for his medical degree. He had scored 6,906 runs at 25 and captured 329 wickets at 20 from 195 matches.
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