Fred Root

Charles Frederick (Fred) Root (16 April 1890 – 20 January 1954) was an English cricketer who played for England in 1926 and for Derbyshire between 1910 to 1920 and for Worcestershire between 1921 and 1932.

Early career

Root was born in Somercotes, Derbyshire and initially served on ground staff of Leicestershire before beginning his first-class career for Derbyshire, making his debut in the 1910 season. He played for five seasons for Derbyshire before cricket was suspended in England because of World War I, doing very little apart from a couple of promising performances in 1913. During the war, Root was hit in the chest while serving as a dispatch rider, but recovered and resumed his cricketing career after the war.

Worcestershire

Root moved to Worcestershire in 1921 after two seasons in league cricket. After a season and a half when he failed to establish himself as an orthodox fast-medium bowler, Root became an exponent of the leg theory style of bowling, and achieved great success with it. His ability to swing the ball in and make it gain pace off the ground made him very difficult on anything like a fiery pitch, whilst his powerful physique and consequent stamina made Root respected even on pitches giving bowlers no assistance. In 1923 he took 170 wickets for 20.53 each and 153 for less than 17 each in 1924, but spoilt his chances of going on that winter's Ashes tour with a poor performance for the Players at the Oval on a pitch that should have suited him.