St George DCC 1st Grade Player No.19 - Alan Fairfax
St George Cricket Club | April 11, 2025
Alan Fairfax was the first St George Junior Cricketer to represent Australia in Test Cricket and the 2nd St George DCC player to do so behind Sir Donald Bradman.
Born in Summer Hill in June 16, 1906, Fairfax was a child prodigy as a player, breaking records for Kogarah School. At age 14 he made 1,942 runs and took 130 wickets over the summer.
He made his 1st Grade debut for St George in its first season of 1st Grade in 1921-22.
His Wisden Obituary read - Alan Geoffrey Fairfax, who died in London on May 17, aged 48, played as an all-rounder in ten Test matches for Australia from 1929 to 1931. He had been in indifferent health following a serious injury received during the Second World War, after which he joined the staff of a London Sunday newspaper. Progressing through grade cricket, Fairfax reached Inter-State rank following an innings of 107 for New South Wales Colts against Queensland Colts in 1928-29 and he made his first appearance as a steady and somewhat restrained stroke-player for Australia in the fifth Test match against A. P. F. Chapman's team that season. In the first innings he scored 65, sharing in a stand of 183 with D. G. Bradman (123) which set up a record for the fifth Australian wicket. He visited England under W. M. Woodfull in 1930, taking part in four of the Test Matches. With 53 not out his best innings, he averaged 50 against England, and in all first class games during the tour scored 536 runs, average 25.52, and, with right-arm medium-pace bowling from a good height, took 41 wickets for 29.70 runs each. Next season in Australia he played in all five Test Matches against West Indies, being third in the batting averages with figures of 48.75 for six innings. He returned to England in 1932 as professional to Accrington in the Lancashire League and afterwards until the outbreak of War ran an indoor cricket school in London.
– In First Grade for St George DCC he made his debut at just 15 years of age and all up scored 2515 runs across 102 innings including 4 centuries and a highest score of 109. He claimed 63 wickets in First Grade and 7 in Second Grade.
He played 56 First Class games scoring 1910 runs at 28.93 with 9 half centuries and 1 century – 104. With the ball he took 134 wickets with a best of 6-54.
In 10 Tests for Australia he scored 410 runs with a highest score of 65 and an impressive average of 51.25. With the ball he took 21 wickets with a best of 4-31.
