Fred Holland

Who was Fred Holland?

Frederick Charles 'Fred' Holland was an English cricketer who played for Surrey between 1894 and 1908. He was a batsman, a very occasional slow bowler, and a slip fielder. His Wisden obituary said of his batting: "Of graceful style, he showed to special advantage in cutting and hitting to leg..." He exceeded one thousand runs in a season on four occasions. During his time with Surrey they won the County Championship in 1894, 1895, and 1899, though only in 1895 did he make a significant contribution.

He had seven elder brothers who encouraged him to join in their games of cricket from when he was only three years old. He joined the Surrey ground staff when he was 17. He made a successful debut for the county, aged 18, in his only first-class appearance of the 1894 season, in a non-Championship fixture. He scored 76 in his only innings.

The following season, he played in 22 matches and scored 832 runs at an average of 33.28. This would prove to be one of only two times that his season's batting average exceeded 30. He made his first two centuries, including his career highest score of 171 against Cambridge University. He and Bobby Abel added 306 for the third wicket.