Alan Townsend (26 August 1921 – 27 January 2014) 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

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...

from 1948 to 1960. Townsend was a constant member of the Warwickshire team for 13 seasons, batting in the middle order, bowling medium pace and off-spin, and fielding in the

slips Slips (or SLIPS) may refer to: *Slips (oil drilling) *SLIPS (Slippery Liquid Infused Porous Surfaces) *SLIPS (Sri Lanka Interbank Payment System) *Slip (cricket), often used in the plural form *The Slips, a UK electronic music duo See also

* ...

. His most successful season with the bat and in the field was 1953, when in 30 matches he scored 1227 runs at an average of 29.92 and took 46 catches. Of his performances that year ''

Wisden ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', or simply ''Wisden'', colloquially the Bible of Cricket, is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom. The description "Bible of cricket" (or variations thereof) has been applied to ''Wi ...

'' remarked that he "at last justified expectations with the bat and he brought exciting moments to many games by his extraordinary catches in the slips". His highest score was 154 in the first match of the 1957

County Championship The County Championship, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Rothesay County Championship, is the only domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales. Established in 1890, it is organised by the England and Wales Cri ...

, made in just under five hours, against

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...

. His best innings bowling figures were 7 for 84 against

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

in 1949, a match that Essex nevertheless won by an innings. His best match bowling figures were 10 for 95 (6 for 67 and 4 for 28) against

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

in 1957. Townsend was awarded a

benefit match A benefit is a match or season of activities granted by a sporting body to a loyal sportsman to boost their income before retirement. Often this is in the form of a match for which all the ticket proceeds are given to the player in question. Howeve ...

in 1960,''Wisden'' 1961, p. 595. but he retired later that year after a season of moderate form.

References

External links

Alan Townsend at CricketArchive
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Townsend, Alan 1921 births 2014 deaths English cricketers Warwickshire cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Cricketers from Stockton-on-Tees Durham cricketers Cricketers from Yorkshire 20th-century English sportsmen