Alan Undy Payne (28 January 1903 – 16 August 1977) was an English

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

er. Payne was a right-handed batsman who bowled right-arm medium pace. He was born in

Witney Witney is a market town on the River Windrush in West Oxfordshire in the county of Oxfordshire, England. It is west of Oxford. The place-name "Witney" is derived from the Old English for "Witta's island". The earliest known record of it is as ...

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

and educated at St Edmund's School, Canterbury and

Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's full name is The College of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint John the Evangelist and the glorious Virgin Saint Radegund, near Cambridge. Its common name comes fr ...

. Payne made his first-class debut for

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

against

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...

in 1925. During the course of the 1925 season, he played a further six first-class matches, the last coming against

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. His awarding of a

Cambridge Blue A blue is an award of sporting colours earned by athletes at some universities and schools for competition at the highest level. The awarding of blues began at Oxford and Cambridge universities in England. They are now awarded at a number of other ...

at the end of that season proved controversial and was widely criticised. His batting average that season was just 10.75, with a high score of 27 *, while his bowling had yielded just one wicket. He was preferred to two batsmen on the team, one a previous blue and both established

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

players. His captain,

Tris Bennett Cecil Tristram ("Tris") Bennett (10 August 1902 – 3 February 1978) was an English first-class cricketer active 1922–28 who played for Middlesex County Cricket Club, Middlesex, Surrey County Cricket Club, Surrey, Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC ...

, explained that Payne was "the equal of any fieldsman in England" and was worth his place in the team for his fielding alone. Payne was a Minor counties cricketer for

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...

, who he debuted for in the 1923

Minor Counties Championship The NCCA 3 Day Championship (previously the Minor Counties Cricket Championship) is a season-long competition in England and Wales that is contested by the members of the National Counties Cricket Association (NCCA), the so-called national cou ...

against

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council wa ...

. He played Minor counties cricket for Buckinghamshire from 1923 to 1929, making 37 appearances. He later became a master at his old school, St Edmund's School, before undertaking the same role at

Felsted School (Keep your Faith) , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent day and boarding , religion = Church of England , president = , head_label = Headmaster , head = Chris Townsend , r_head_l ...

. Outside of cricket, he played

field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ci ...

to a high standard. His wife, Muriel Irene Payne, died on 19 September 1945, aged 43. Payne died in hospital in Braintree,

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

on 16 August 1977.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Payne, Alan 1903 births 1977 deaths People from Witney People educated at St Edmund's School Canterbury Alumni of Jesus College, Cambridge English cricketers Buckinghamshire cricketers Cambridge University cricketers English male field hockey players Schoolteachers from Oxfordshire Cricketers from Oxfordshire