As a scorer and statistician, he was out there on his own. Amongst his other duties, he would often remind the others on Test Match Special to keep their eyes (and their commentary) on the cricket, like an old-school head master would do.
I didn’t even know that he was ill. I cannot remember anybody else doing the scoring, coming up with reams of information at the drop of a hat - or insisting that the scoreboard was wrong - and then having it changed as the Test Match adjudicator agreed that yes - Bill Frindall’s account of the score was indeed correct.
Of course he was.
What on earth will the TMS crew now do?
To say that Mr Frindall was ‘irreplaceable’ - now that sounds almost disrespectful.
Test Match Special now has need of
a scorer;
a statistician:
an historian;
a schoolmaster to keep the boys (and girl) in order;
an occasional commentator;
a curmudgeon and -
last but not least - a man who went about his business with none of the fanfare, little of the kudos and surprisingly few accolades that might have been due Mr Frindall - given his lifetime's service to cricket.
Where does one begin to find such a man?