Alan Edward Moss (14 November 1930 – 12 March 2019) 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 st ...

er, who played in nine

Tests Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film), ...

for

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

from 1954 to 1960. The cricket writer, Colin Bateman, opined, "Alan Moss was a thoughtful, enthusiastic swing bowler who, given the right conditions, could run through a team".

Life and career

Moss was the product of a London-based newspaper's 'find-a-player' scheme. During his spell of

National Service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The ...

, Moss conserved his leave allowance to enable him to play as often as possible for his county side. He was a tall right-arm fast-medium bowler, who mainly opened the bowling for

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbourin ...

in the 1950s and 1960s. Their playing strength was relatively weak over this period of time, and Moss sometimes struggled alone carrying the bowling attack. In 1954, he undertook his first overseas tour with the

Marylebone Cricket Club Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London. The club was formerly the governing body of cricket retaining considerable global influenc ...

(MCC) to the

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, and played his first Test. Spread over a six-year period, his nine Test appearances found Moss lacking in penetration, with only his final two appearances yielding much profit. In 1960 against

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at Lord's, Moss took 4 for 35 in their first innings. He followed this with a return of 3 for 36 in the second innings at

Trent Bridge Trent Bridge Cricket Ground is a cricket ground mostly used for Test, One-Day International and county cricket located in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England, just across the River Trent from the city of Nottingham. Trent Bridge is als ...

, but that was his last Test. In all first-class cricket, Moss finished with 1,301 wickets at under 21 each. He took 100 wickets in a season five times. His most successful season was 1960, when he took 136 wickets at 13.72, including his best innings figures of 8 for 31 to dismiss Northamptonshire for 58. He played in just three county one day matches. Following his retirement from

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officia ...

in 1963, he ran a printing business as Chief Executive of BPC Web Offset Corporation. He later became a self-employed printing consultant (1984–2002). He was a loyal member of the Middlesex County Cricket Club General Committee (1976–2005 and 2008-2008/09) and the Executive Board 2010–2012. He has served as Honorary Treasurer and Chairman of the Finance and Administration sub-committee (1984–1995), Chairman (1996–1999) and President (2003–2005). He was also a member of the ECB Disciplinary Standing Committee and a Middlesex life vice-president. He served as the Chairman of the Middlesex Cricket Board between 1996 and 2012, which ran the recreational game in the

County of Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbourin ...

. He died on 12 March 2019 at the age of 88.Alan Moss
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References

External links

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Alan Moss dies aged 88
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moss, Alan 1930 births 2019 deaths Chairmen of Middlesex County Cricket Club Combined Services cricketers English cricketers England Test cricketers Free Foresters cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Middlesex cricketers International Cavaliers cricketers Presidents of Middlesex County Cricket Club People from Tottenham Players cricketers North v South cricketers Cricketers from Greater London A. E. R. Gilligan's XI cricketers L. E. G. Ames' cricketers T. N. Pearce's XI cricketers 20th-century British military personnel