Frank Tuff

Frank Noel Tuff (26 November 1889 – 5 November 1915) was an English first-class cricketer. The son of a Conservative Party Member of Parliament, Tuff played first-class cricket for Oxford University and the Free Foresters, before serving in the First World War, in which he was killed from wounds sustained during a bomb accident while taking part in the Gallipoli Campaign.

Frank Tuff

Personal information
Full name	Frank Noel Tuff
Born	26 November 1889 Rochester, Kent, England
Died	5 November 1915(1915-11-05) (aged 25) Imtarfa, Malta
Batting	Right-handed
Bowling	Right-arm medium-fast
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1910–1911	Oxford University
Career statistics
Competition First-class Matches 11 Runs scored 188 Batting average 14.46 100s/50s –/– Top score 35 Balls bowled 1,359 Wickets 25 Bowling average 26.80 5 wickets in innings 2 10 wickets in match – Best bowling 7/47 Catches/stumpings 6/–
Source: Cricinfo, 2 June 2019

Life, cricket and WWI service

Tuff was born at Rochester, Kent in November 1889, the son of Charles Tuff and his wife, Mary Ann Tuff.[1] He was educated at the Abbey School in Beckenham, before going up to Malvern College, where he played for the college cricket team for three years.[1] From Malvern he went up to Brasenose College, Oxford, where he studied law.[1] While studying at Oxford he made his debut in first-class cricket for Oxford University against the Gentlemen of England at Oxford in 1910.[2] He made eight further first-class appearances for Oxford University across the 1910 and 1911 seasons,[2] scoring 128 runs with a high score of 34 not out,[3] while with his right-arm medium-fast bowling he took 18 wickets at an average of 30.55, with best figures of 5 for 28.[4] Tuff also represented the combined Oxford and Cambridge Universities cricket team in a first-class match against a combined Army and Navy cricket team at Aldershot in 1910,[2] in which he also took a five wicket haul with figures of 7 for 47 in the Army and Navy first-innings.[5] He gained a blue in 1910.[1] In addition to playing cricket for the university, he also played football for Oxford University A.F.C. and Corinthians.[1] He married Muriel Mary Smith in 1912.[1] He made a final appearance in first-class cricket for the Free Foresters against Oxford University in 1914.[2]

Tuff served in the British Army during World War I, enlisting with the Royal East Kent Mounted Rifles as a Second Lieutenant in June 1915.[6] He saw action during the Gallipoli Campaign and was seriously wounded in a bomb accident at Cape Helles. He was evacuated to Malta, where he died from his wounds on 5 November 1915.[1] He was buried at the Pietà Military Cemetery.[1]

References

1. McCrery, Nigel (30 July 2015). Final Wicket: Test and First Class Cricketers Killed in the Great War. Pen and Sword. p. 168. ISBN 1473864194.
2. "First-Class Matches played by Frank Tuff". CricketArchive. Retrieved 2 June 2019.
3. "First-class Batting and Fielding For Each Team by Frank Tuff". CricketArchive. Retrieved 2 June 2019.
4. "First-class Bowling For Each Team by Frank Tuff". CricketArchive. Retrieved 2 June 2019.
5. "Army and Navy v Oxford and Cambridge Universities, 1910". CricketArchive. Retrieved 2 June 2019.
6. "No. 29192". The London Gazette (Supplement). 11 June 1915. p. 5738.

External links

• Frank Tuff at ESPNcricinfo