Phillip DeFreitas
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 England (Eng) |
||
 |
||
| Batting style | Right-handed batsman (RHB) | |
|---|---|---|
| Bowling type | Right-arm fast-medium (RFM) | |
| Tests | ODIs | |
| Matches | 44 | 103 |
| Runs scored | 934 | 690 |
| Batting average | 14.82 | 16.04 |
| 100s/50s | 0/4 | 0/1 |
| Top score | 88 | 67 |
| Overs bowled | 1639.4 | 952 |
| Wickets | 140 | 115 |
| Bowling average | 33.57 | 32.82 |
| 5 wickets in innings | 4 | 0 |
| 10 wickets in match | 0 | n/a |
| Best bowling | 7-70 | 4-35 |
| Catches/stumpings | 14/0 | 26/0 |
|
As of 15 June 2005 |
||
Phillip Anthony Jason "Daffy" DeFreitas (born 18 February 1966 in Scotts Head, Dominica) was an England cricketer. One of a number of his generation saddled with the tag "the next Ian Botham", he failed to live up to the hype, certainly with the bat where his performances often disappointed when set alongside his sometimes impressive domestic form (he made ten first-class hundreds), but he nevertheless had a reasonably successful career as a seam bowler and was a superb fielder.
DeFreitas made his first-class debut for Leicestershire in 1985 against Oxford University and recorded the startling innings 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. He remained part of England's plans until the advent of Dominic Cork in the mid-1990s, but was generally much less successful abroad than at home. His two best Test series were in 1991 against West Indies and in 1994 against New Zealand when he took 22 and 21 wickets respectively. His top Test score of 88, during which he hammered Craig McDermott for 42 runs off three overs with the new ball, helped England to a win against Australia in Adelaide and earned him the Man of the Match award. DeFreitas was named as a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1992.
In the course of his 21 seasons in first-class cricket, DeFreitas had a somewhat nomadic county career, playing for Leicestershire from his debut in 1985 until 1988, then Lancashire from 1989 to 1993, and Derbyshire from 1994 to 1999. In 2000 he returned to Leicestershire, averaging over 45 with the bat that season, and captained the side in 2003 and part of 2004. He also played for South African side Boland in 1993/94 and 1994/95.
DeFreitas announced in April 2005 that he would retire from cricket at the end of that season, meaning 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." De Freitas has the honour of being the 100th player in Test cricket to take 100 wickets.
| Englishmen with 100 or more ODI caps |
|---|
|
Alec Stewart 170 | Darren Gough 157* | Graham Gooch 125 | Marcus Trescothick 123* | Allan Lamb 122 | Graeme Hick 120 | Andrew Flintoff 118* | Ian Botham 116 | Paul Collingwood 116* | David Gower 114 | Phillip DeFreitas 103 | Nick Knight 100 |
