Eric Walter "Fritzy" Freeman (13 July 1944 – 14 December 2020) was an Australian
cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...
er who played in 11
Test matches from 1968 to 1970. He was also a leading
Australian rules footballer with
Port Adelaide Football Club, playing 116 games between 1964 and 1972, kicking 390 goals, and playing in their
1965 premiership team.
Life
Born in
Semaphore, South Australia
Semaphore is a northwestern suburb of Adelaide in the Australian state of South Australia. It is located on the Gulf St Vincent coastline of the Lefevre Peninsula about from the Adelaide city centre.
History
Semaphore was first surveyed for ...
, Freeman played cricket for South Australia from 1964–65 to 1973–74. He toured with Australian teams to New Zealand in 1966–67, England in 1968, and India and South Africa in 1969–70. His only first-class century was 116 for the Australians against Northamptonshire in 1968, scored in 90 minutes with five sixes and 13 fours. His best bowling figures were 8 for 47 for South Australia against the New Zealand team in 1967–68 (11 for 97 in the match).
Freeman was the first batsman in test history to get off the mark in his test career by scoring a six.
Following his retirement from playing, Freeman was a commentator and statistician on cricket and football for
ABC Radio in Adelaide until his retirement in 2010.
In the
2002 Queen's Birthday Honours
Queen's Birthday Honours are announced on or around the date of the Queen's Official Birthday in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. The dates vary, both from year to year and from country to country. All are published in su ...
Freeman was awarded the
Medal of the Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...
for "service to sport, particularly cricket as a player, administrator and commentator".
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Freeman, Eric
1944 births
Australia Test cricketers
South Australia cricketers
Port Adelaide Football Club (SANFL) players
Port Adelaide Football Club players (all competitions)
Australian rules footballers from South Australia
Australian cricketers
Cricketers from Adelaide
Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia
2020 deaths
Port Adelaide cricketers