Alan Fairfax

Fairax suffered health problems from an injury incurred during the war. He fell ill just before Christmas 1954 and died in May 1955 at age 48.

After the war he worked for a London Sunday newspaper and continued to coach all year round at schools, running clinics. He returned to Australia over the 1950–51 summer to cover the Ashes for English newspapers. He also attended games during the 1953 Ashes and continued to write on cricket matters.

In World War II he was a pilot officer in the RAF. He wound up a patient in a sanitorium, where he met the King in June 1946.

In 1937 he coached at Eton College. He worked for Sir Julius Cahn's private team and was a critic of Don Bradman's captaincy.

In 1934 Fairfax set up an indoor cricket school in London which he run until 1937 when it shut down. In 1934 he played his last first class game for the Gentlemen against the Players, scoring 15 and taking 0–102.

Fairfax had a rapid rise to international honours, making his test debut the same season as his first class debut. His test career was cut short when he emigrated to England in 1932 to play in the Lancashire League as a professional.

He only played two first class games in Australia that summer both for NSW, one against Queensland (1-21 and 2-24, 5) and the touring South Africans (0-62 and 0–5, 3). He was not available for the tests against South Africa – Ron Oxenham took his place. It was a relatively uncontroversial decision at the time – something Don Bradman brought up in 1932–33 when he was much criticised for considering an offer to play league cricket.

Fairfax played in the Lancashire League for two summers. In 1932 he made 738 runs at 32.08 and took 43 wickets at 20.11. In 1933 he made 952 runs at 52.88 and took 51 wickets at 16.45.

Fairfax had been unable to find a job in the Depression. In November 1931 it was announced he had signed a deal to play as a professional for Accrington in the Lancashire League at £20 a week. He was to leave in March but he ruled himself out of international cricket.

Fairfax was selected in the Australian squad that toured England in 1930, despite his underwhelming batting that summer. It was thought his bowling would be effective on English pitches.

It had been an excellent tour for Fairfax, who scored 150 test runs at a healthy average of 50 (helped by two not outs) and 536 first class runs at an average of 25.52 (with three half centuries). He took 12 test wickets at 27 and 41 first class wickets at 29.70 (making him Australia's fourth highest wicket taker after Grimmett, Hornibrook and Wall, outbowling the specialist Alec Hurwood). In November 1930 Don Bradman praised Fairfax as the best all rounder in Australia and said he always saved his best for the test matches.

In 1930–31 Fairfax began the summer well for NSW against South Australia, scoring 62 and 6, and taking 0-12 and 4-54. He was picked in an Australian XI to play "the rest" taking 1-52 and 1-24 and scoring 39. He played for NSW against the touring West Indies (3-42 and 1-57, 9 and 32) and Queensland (3 and 18, 0-76).

Good form early in 1928–29 saw him selected for NSW Colts in October 1928. He scored 107 against Queensland Colts.

His form improved over the 1927–28 summer, scoring a century against Cumberland.

Alan Geoffrey Fairfax (16 June 1906 – 17 May 1955) was an Australian cricketer who played in ten Test matches from 1929 to 1931. He was an all rounder.