Alan Marshal

Alan Marshal (12 June 1883, Warwick, Queensland, Australia – 23 July 1915, Imtarfa Military Hospital, Malta) was a cricketer who played first-class cricket for Queensland and for Surrey County Cricket Club.

Marshal was a hard-hitting middle-order batsman and a fast-medium bowler who got some spin off the pitch.

Marshal had played just a handful of games for Queensland – at that time not part of the Sheffield Shield competition – when he arrived in England in 1905. He proceeded to make more than 2,700 runs in club cricket, principally for W. G. Grace's London County Cricket Club, and also played a few first-class matches for amateur teams. In 1906, he did even better: in all cricket, he scored more than 4,300 runs in the season. Qualified by residence to play Championship cricket for Surrey in 1907, he passed 1,000 runs at a respectable average of almost 25 runs per innings.

But in 1908, his career took off: he scored 1,931 runs at an average of more than 40 runs per innings, and his clean hitting – he was particularly strong at driving – made him the sensation of the county cricket season. He was duly named as a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1909.

Marshal was unable to repeat the success of 1908, however. He scored 1,000 runs again for Surrey in 1909, but at a much reduced average, and was suspended for some games by the club committee. After a handful of games at the start of the 1910 season, his contract was ended. He returned to Australia, where he again appeared in occasional matches for Queensland, but with limited success.

In World War I, he was one of the Australian troops sent to Gallipoli, where he caught enteric fever. He was evacuated to Malta, but died there. Alan Marshal was a great-uncle of actor Alan Marshal (1909-1961).