Allen Fisher Lissette (6 November 1919 – 24 January 1973) was a New Zealand

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 who played in two

Test matches Test match in some sports refers to a sporting contest between national representative teams and may refer to: * Test cricket * Test match (indoor cricket) * Test match (rugby union) * Test match (rugby league) * Test match (association football) ...

in 1956.

Cricket career

A left-arm orthodox spinner, Lissette played for Waikato in the Hawke Cup from 1938 to 1970. He was 35 when he made his first-class debut in 1954–55 for

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

. After taking 7 for 50 in Auckland's victory over

Otago Otago (, ; mi, Ōtākou ) is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local government reg ...

in the Plunket Shield in January 1956 and four wickets against the touring

West Indians A West Indian is a native or inhabitant of the West Indies (the Antilles and the Lucayan Archipelago). For more than 100 years the words ''West Indian'' specifically described natives of the West Indies, but by 1661 Europeans had begun to use it ...

in his next match, Lissette was selected for the first two Tests of the series against West Indies. He took three wickets, but New Zealand lost both matches by an innings, and he was not selected again. When the Northern Districts team was formed for the 1956–57 season he joined them and played for them until 1962–63, the season they won their first Plunket Shield. He captained Northern Districts in the 1957–58 season, and took five wickets in their first victory, over Central Districts that season. His best innings and match figures in first-class cricket came in the match against Otago in 1959–60, when he took 7 for 45 and 5 for 64; Otago nevertheless won by 72 runs.

Later life

Lissette was a squadron leader in the

Royal New Zealand Air Force The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) ( mi, Te Tauaarangi o Aotearoa, "The Warriors of the Sky of New Zealand"; previously ', "War Party of the Blue") is the aerial service branch of the New Zealand Defence Force. It was formed from New Zeala ...

. He served in Europe in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

as a fighter pilot with No. 126 Squadron,

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

. He was shot down while on operations in a Spitfire over Albania in January 1943 and captured, remaining a prisoner until the end of the war. In the 1966 Queen's Birthday Honours, he was appointed a Member of the Military Division of the Order of the British Empire. Lissette suffered a heart attack during a club game in October 1972 and died the following January, aged 53.'' Wisden'' 1974, p. 1076.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lissette, Allen 1919 births 1973 deaths New Zealand Test cricketers New Zealand cricketers Auckland cricketers Northern Districts cricketers People from Morrinsville New Zealand Members of the Order of the British Empire Royal New Zealand Air Force personnel Cricketers from Waikato New Zealand prisoners of war in World War II