Alan Shirreff

Squadron Leader Alexander Campbell Shirreff (12 February 1919 – 16 December 2006), known as Alan Shirreff, was an English pilot who served in the Royal Air Force during the after the Second World War. Shirreff was also an amateur cricketer who played first-class cricket either side of the Second World War. He played as an all-rounder, taking over 300 wickets with his medium pace deliveries.

Alan Shirreff
Personal information
Full nameAlexander Campbell Shirreff
Born(1919-02-12)12 February 1919
Ealing, Middlesex
Died16 December 2006(2006-12-16) (aged 87)
West Wickham,
London Borough of Bromley
BattingRight-handed
BowlingRight-arm medium
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1939Cambridge University
1946–1957Combined Services
1946–1947Hampshire
1950–1956Kent
1958Somerset
Career statistics
Competition First-class
Matches 119
Runs scored 3,887
Batting average 21.71
100s/50s 1/20
Top score 115*
Balls bowled 19,656
Wickets 304
Bowling average 31.49
5 wickets in innings 11
10 wickets in match 0
Best bowling 8/111
Catches/stumpings 88/–
Source: CricInfo, 28 February 2010

Early life

Shirreff was born at Ealing in Middlesex in 1919.[1] He was educated at Dulwich College where he played cricket in the school XI as well as playing for the Public Schools team.[2] As a schoolboy he was described as one of the "best bowlers" in Public Schools cricket in 1938[3] and as a "tower of strength" for Dulwich.[4] He captained Dulwich in 1937 and 1938.[5]

He went up to Cambridge University in 1939, making his first-class cricket debut for Cambridge University Cricket Club against Northamptonshire as a freshman, going on to win his Blue the same year.[6] Shirreff played 12 matches for the University, all in 1939, his University career interrupted by the start of the Second World War.[2]

Service career

Shirreff joined the Royal Air Force during the war. He served in No. 19 Squadron of the Royal Air Force, flying North American P-51 Mustang fighter planes over Norway from RAF Peterhead in Scotland.[7]

After the war Shirreff continued to serve in the RAF, rising to the rank of Squadron Leader.[6] He played cricket for RAF and Combined Services sides until 1963, captaining the RAF side.[8][9]

Cricket career

Shirreff played for Surrey Second XI in the summer of 1939, making five appearances in the Minor Counties Championship during the University long vacation. After the war he played for Combined Services, the Royal Air Force and Hampshire County Cricket Club during 1946. He played 12 times for Hampshire in 1946 and 1947, making his County Championship debut against Surrey.[2]

Shirreff played 40 times in first-class matches for Combined Services between 1946 and 1957 and continued to play for the side until 1963. He joined Kent County Cricket Club in 1950, playing 46 first-class matches from 1950 to 1956.[2] He played infrequently in county matches due to his RAF career, although he won his county cap in 1952.[6]

Shirreff coached Somerset for a brief time, making two first-class appearances for the county in 1958 as well as playing regularly for the Second XI. He left the county after falling out with Somerset captain Maurice Tremlett.[2][6]

Shirreff also made four first-class appearances for MCC and two for Free Foresters.[2]

Later life

Shirreff died at West Wickham in Bromley in December 2006 aged 87.[1]

References
  1. Alan Shirreff, CricInfo. Retrieved 2018-06-02.
  2. Alan Shirreff, CricketArchive. Archived on 2015-10-23, retrieved 2018-06-02.
  3. Winterbotham H (1939) Public School Cricket in 1938, Wisden Cricketers' Almanack 1939, p.681. Retrieved from Schools Cricket Online, 2018-06-02.
  4. Winterbotham, op. cit., p.690.
  5. Podmore A, Winterbotham H (1938) Public School Cricket in 1937, Wisden Cricketers' Almanack 1938, p.686–687. Retrieved from Schools Cricket Online, 2018-06-02.
  6. Shirreff, Alexander Campbell, Obituaries in 2006, Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, 2007. Retrieved 2018-06-02.
  7. Sqn. Ldr. A. C. Shirreff, Wartime Memories Project. Retrieved 2018-06-02.
  8. Trueman F (2004) As it was: the memoirs, p.144. Pan Macmillan: London. ISBN 0 330 42705 9.
  9. Group Captain Maurice David Fenner, The Old Maidstonian, 20, Summer 2016, p.14.
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