In 1913, Fender was a regular member of the Sussex county side. In the first two months of the season, he made a considerable impact; in 21 innings with the bat, he scored six fifties and one century. His reputation as an exciting, big-hitting batsman grew quickly, and he was chosen in the representative Gentlemen v Players matches at Lord's and The Oval. His performances for the Gentlemen, a team of amateurs, were unsuccessful, and the failure affected his form for the rest of the season. "Wisden Cricketers' Almanack" commented that he was not worth his place in the team in these latter months. Even so, he reached 1,000 first-class runs in a season for the first time: 1,163 runs at an average of 23.73. He also took 34 wickets at 35.08.