Description
Woodborough, Wiltshire born Frederick Gale became famous as a cricket writer in later years, often using the nom de plume “Old Buffer”. His books included The Game of Cricketand the ghost-written memoirs of Robert Grimston and as a journalist and columnist he contributed to Baily’s Magazine of Sports and Pastimes, continuing to write until his death in April 1904 aged 80. Living for many years at Mitcham in Surrey, he took a keen interest in Surrey County Cricket Club and was a visitor at The Oval until the year before his death.
As a cricketer he attended Winchester College and played in the Winchester cricket XI and later as an amateur cricketer for a variety of teams, including teams representing Surrey, but his two matches for Kent against Nottinghamshire at Canterbury in June 1845, and The Gentlemen of Kent against The Gentlemen of England at Lord’s in June and July 1845 are the only ones to have been accorded first class status. In these matches he only got off the mark in one of his three innings, making 13 runs.