TEST MATCH SPECIAL - Dubbed `The Bearded Wonder' by the late Brian Johnston, Bill Frindall, the BBC's scorer and statistician, is the longest serving member of Radio's Test Match Special commentary team. Since making his debut in 1966, he has scored 375 Test matches, including all 246 played in England.

BACKGROUND - William Howard Frindall was born in Epsom, Surrey, on the first day of the Timeless Test at Durban and was a record eleven days old when it ended (as a draw). At ten he joined his first cricket club after being taught to score by a schoolmaster during a rainy sports afternoon. Educated at Reigate Grammar School, he studied Architecture at the Kingston School of Art before converting National Service into six and a half cricket seasons in the RAF (including two with NATO and two as an Accountant Officer). He became a full time freelance cricket statistician in 1966.

SCORING SYSTEM - Devised his own linear scoring system, based on a method invented by John Pendlington and first used in 1893, and publishes and retails his personally designed and drawn scoresheets to international, county, club and individual scorers throughout the cricketing world.

PUBLICATIONS - Author/compiler/editor of the Playfair Cricket Annual (23 editions), The Wisden Book of Test Cricket (five editions), The Wisden Book of Cricket Records (four editions), Frindall's Score Book (six editions), Guinness Cricket Facts and Feats (four editions), England Test Cricketers, The Playfair Cricket World Cup Guide (two editions), Ten Tests for England, Gooch's Golden Summer, A Tale of Two Captains and Limited-Overs International Cricket (two editions). Contributor to many other titles, he was responsible for the Cricket Records section of 22 editions of the Wisden Cricketers' Almanack and 17 of The Guinness Book of Records, He also provides statistics for the England and Wales Cricket Board and various sponsors. He is cricket statistician to The Times and cricket archivist to the late Sir Paul Getty's Estate. His memoirs, 'BEARDERS - MY LIFE IN CRICKET', published in 2006, celebrated the 40th anniversary of his TMS debut and was nominated for the Cricket Society Book of the Year award. A paperback edition was published in 2007.

CRICKETING CAREER - Founder of The Maltamaniacs, he led them on ten overseas missions that included Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Malaysia and Singapore. A right-handed medium-fast bowler and mid-order batsman, he played most of his club cricket for Banstead (Surrey) before representing the MCC, Singapore, France, Hampshire 2nd XI, the Lord's Taverners, the Cricket Society, the Wiltshire Queries, and the Clergy of Oxford and Salisbury (as `Father William'). He toured California and British Columbia with MCC teams and has been President of the BBC Cricket Club since 1998. He still plays occasionally but the run-up is considerably shorter and his injuries more frequent.

AWARDS/APPOINTMENTS - Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians' 'Statistician of the Year' 1996. Inaugural President of British Blind Sport 1984-2004. Awarded Honorary Degree of Doctor of Technology for his contribution to the field of statistics by Staffordshire University 1998. Appointed MBE in the 2004 Queen's Birthday Honours. Appointed Patron of the German Umpires and Scorers Association 2005. Appointed Patron of the German Cricket Board (Deutscher Cricket Bund) 2006.

GUEST SPEAKING/COMMENTATING - A professional speaker since 1968, he specialises in anecdotes from the TMS commentary box and impressions of its occupants, past and present. His speaking venues include all the current home Test match grounds (and several major soccer stadia), as well as Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, India, Sri Lanka, USA, Canada, Singapore, Malaysia, Malta and Germany. Commentator on British Telecom's Cricket Call (1987-90), he has provided the public address commentary at Lord’s Taverners’ matches in addition to PCA and other charity/benefit games, as well as at major matches at Arundel, Finals Day of the National Under-15 Club Cricket Championship and the annual County Challenge match in Guernsey.
Click here to visit the After Dinner Speakers website.

FAMILY - Lives in a Wiltshire village with his wife, Debbie, twelve-year-old daughter, Alice Katharine, and a hat-trick of cats.