Herbert Alan Peach (6 October 1890 – 8 October 1961) was an English

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

er who played for

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

. He was an

all-rounder An all-rounder is a cricketer who regularly performs well at both batting and bowling. Although all bowlers must bat and quite a handful of batsmen do bowl occasionally, most players are skilled in only one of the two disciplines and are cons ...

: a right-handed batsman and a right-arm medium pace bowler. Alan Peach was born in

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, l ...

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

delayed his first-class debut until 1919, when he was already 28, but in a career that extended until 1931 he still managed to take 795 wickets at 26.58 and score 8,940 runs at 23.71. The highest of his four hundreds was 200 not out, made against

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...

at Northampton in 1920, when he shared in a stand of 171 in forty-two minutes with

Percy Fender Percy George Herbert Fender (22 August 1892 – 15 June 1985) was an English cricketer who played 13 Tests for his country and was captain of Surrey between 1921 and 1931. An all-rounder, he was a middle-order batsman who bowled mainly leg ...

.Wisden Cricketers' Almanack 1962 Edition, "Obituaries in 1961"
Retrieved 1 Sept 2022 A notably hard striker of the ball, he struck deliveries from William Bates of

Glamorgan Glamorgan (), or sometimes Glamorganshire ( or ), was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It is located in the South Wales, south of Wales. Originally an ea ...

and Jack Newman of

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

out of

The Oval The Oval, currently named for sponsorship reasons as the Kia Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, located in the borough of Lambeth, in south London. The Oval has been the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club sinc ...

in 1924. During the same season, he dismissed four

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

batsmen with consecutive balls, also at The Oval, finishing with eight wickets for 60, his best innings analysis. He made six appearances for the Players against the Gentlemen between 1923 and 1928. According to David Lemmon "he launched himself at the game with a zest, and the crowd loved him for it".David Lemmon, ''The History of Surrey County Cricket Club'', Christopher Helm, 1989, , p167. He was Surrey coach from 1935 to 1939 and discovered

Alec Alec or Aleck is a Scottish form of the given name Alex. It may be a shortened form of the name Alexander or a given name in its own right. Notable people with the name include: People * Alec Aalto (1942–2018), Finnish diplomat * Alec Acton ...

and

Eric Bedser Eric Arthur Bedser (4 July 1918 – 24 May 2006) was a cricketer who played for Surrey County Cricket Club. He was the elder identical twin brother of Alec Bedser (1918–2010), widely regarded as one of England's top bowlers of the 20th century ...

. He died at North End, Newbury,

References

*
Wisden obituary
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Peach, Alan English cricket coaches English cricketers Surrey cricketers 1890 births 1961 deaths Players cricketers Berkshire cricketers English cricketers of 1919 to 1945 20th-century English sportsmen Players of the South cricketers C. I. Thornton's XI cricketers Lord Hawke's XI cricketers A. E. R. Gilligan's XI cricketers Cricketers from Maidstone