Lives in Cricket No 18 - FR Foster

Foreword by M.J.K.Smith, OBE One major regret I have is that in my early playing days I didn’t seek out and question older players about their contemporaries. In Warwickshire’s case that would very much have been Sydney Barnes and Frank Foster. Present in their playing days was ‘Tiger’ Smith who being their keeper arguably knew more about their bowling than anyone else, and Tiger was very much a presence at Edgbaston when I started. Foster and Barnes never played together for Warwickshire, but their performances, with Tiger keeping wicket, in Australia in 1911/12 were quite phenomenal. In the five Tests they accounted for 66 out of the 95 wickets taken – over two-thirds – and The Ashes were won. Had they both been available for the county, surely Warwickshire would have won more than their first Championship in 1911. Frank Foster never played after the war due to injury, so his career ended at 25. What a loss. Robert sets out his record. He achieved two ‘doubles’ of 1,000 runs and 100 wickets in a season: he was the first man to captain the county to the Championship; and he scored the county’s first triple-century, 305 not out, at quicker than a run a ball. What might he have achieved after the Great War with a full career? In cricketing terms he was still a young man, but sadly he was brought down by a serious injury in a road accident, later compounded by a major breakdown in his health. We don’t have the benefit of film footage: what a pity. Left arm fast-medium, probably a bit quicker, a good high action, pronounced nip off the wicket, the ability to swing and cut the ball, all allied to accuracy. Wickets were uncovered so that conditions would on occasions be in his favour. That he and Barnes did so well in Australia demonstrated on their good, hard tracks it was not a requirement that you had to be fast. The basics of accuracy and movement will always be the bottom line. Today’s players would be intrigued by his method, round the wicket from wide of the crease with the keeper standing up – very awkward for Tiger. There was no limitation of leg-side fielders then, but since he could cut the ball back the slips would be in business. I gather he was a good slip catcher himself, so with his batting ability he was always going to be in the game. His scoring rate, making time in three-day matches made his runs even more valuable. Have no doubt, with this ability Frank Foster would still be a major player today and a crowd-puller. We don’t have him on film and have only his outstanding record as witness. In some ways, of course, I am happy that I 6