I learned a
bit about his family and his early cricket career. He
had a critical assessment of his own ability which
rather understated his achievements. He played 636
times for the Club and we surmised it’s not impossible
that we played the best part of 500 matches together.
Heavily built with thickset forearms and strong wrists
he bowled at a good pace with a metronomic action
and accuracy. He favoured bowling a leg stump line
just short of a length getting the ball to cut or swing to
middle but it was an away movement he used to good
effect outside off stump. He gripped the ball with first
and second fingers either side of the seam but with
his thumb on the side whereas conventional fast bowlers placed the thumb underneath. When asked
he said he had no idea whether this affected getting the ball to move; he thought the pitch condition
and a one-sided shiny ball were bigger factors. If we were bowling second with the used ball already
shined on one side Alan would often be preferred to open the bowling. Difficult to score off he had the
stamina to bowl long spells for few runs and the patience to wait for batsmen to make mistakes. He
knew what fields he wanted and we always posted catching positions at extra cover and short mid-
wicket. Invariably batsmen would attempt to get after him without quite getting to the pitch of the ball.
Consistency was Alan’s hallmark but one variation was a twenty-three-yard delivery. Undetectable in
that he didn’t appear to change his run-up. It was his version of a slower ball and often had a batsman
playing it early. In a game versus Riverside we were needing to break an established partnership and
Alan signalled to me to drop back for his twenty-three-yarder. I took a spiralling catch at extra cover.
Alan then gave me nod to stay deep as, the batsmen having crossed, he was going to bowl another
twenty-three-yarder in a double bluff. To our delight it induced another mishit and I bagged a second
catch. Two wickets in two balls and their best batsmen gone! Memorable because it was a plan that
succeeded – they don’t always. Alan went on to finish with 7-67 off 21 overs.
I took my first ever catch off Alan’s bowling as a fifteen-year-old and remember being somewhat
startled to see Alan charging towards me in celebration. It was typical of Alan’s enthusiastic support if
you did well but woe betide you if you did something stupid. Against Leybourne last man Simon
Beatty went in to face the last ball with 7 needed to win. Impossible, Alan who was captain, instructed
Simon to simply block it to avoid defeat but he took an ugly swing and was bowled. What Alan said is
not repeatable.
As a batsman Alan was cultured looking with a classic cover drive but his distinguishing stroke was a
delicate late cut. A shot very few batsmen master – not at Grenfell anyway. He felt he should have got
more runs in his career but at the same time, he was frustrated by lack of opportunity. Predominantly
a front foot, off-side player by his own admission he did not handle short-pitched bowling well because
he didn’t have the back foot strokes. Consequently, he did not make a good tail-end batsman being
uncomfortable when it was reduced to a slog. Ironically, he could be aggressive and hard-hitting once
settled in.
Alan who died 11 January 2025 was born 11 September 1935 the youngest of three with an older
sister (Lilian) and older brother (Norman). He had long ago lost contact with both. His father was

almost seventy years old and some thirty-five years older than his mother when Alan was born and
died when Alan was just fifteen. He knew his father had been married twice before and he knew of a
half-sister (Minnie) and half-brother (Sidney) around forty years older than him but wouldn’t have been
surprised if there were more.
Always keen on sport he played football at full-back for his youth club, St Catherine from 1950 and the
same group of lads would play a knock-about version of cricket on the New Cross Streets. It wasn’t
until he was conscripted for National Service that Alan played any organised cricket. A fellow
conscript was professional footballer Dave Dunmore and as is often the case with top sportsman
Dunmore proved a very good cricketer and encouraged Alan to join in practice trials. Selection for the
unit meant relief from other duties which naturally appealed to Alan but it was as a batsman he
impressed- not a bowler. As a first-year recruit he made selection as a lower middle order batsman
but a few modest scores saw him settle higher at number five. Also making the team at the same time
as Alan was fellow South-East Londoner, Peter Jones an all-rounder who went on to first-class cricket
with Kent. As an inexperienced eighteen-year-old Alan didn’t make much impression but thought he
did alright and made progress, beginning to bowl on a few occasions. Soldiering wasn’t something he
took to; time served on jankers or in clink for indiscipline and misdemeanours combined to extend his
National Service from two years to nearly three. In this respect the apple had fallen a long way from
the tree. Although Alan didn’t know a lot about his family history he knew his grandfather, who’d died
a decade before Alan was born, was a career soldier and had the good fortune to spend his last years
as a Chelsea Pensioner. Alan believed that it was grandfather’s service in the Royal Artillery that
brought the Couplands to Woolwich, South East London.
On demob, having kept in contact with his friends at St Catherine youth club, Alan resumed football
with them and at the same time they formed a proper cricket club. It lasted only two seasons and
when Alan started work at Royal Victoria Dockyard in 1957 he played for them. Alan Cartwright was
employed by the dockyard in 1959 and persuaded Alan to switch clubs to Grenfell.
Aged just twenty-three he was an emerging all-rounder for the Dockyard but Grenfell was a step up
and he found few batting opportunities in a strong batting line-up. Conversely, an aging bowling line-
up saw him frequently called upon. Indeed, he finished second to Pete Cocklin with 43 wickets (av.
13.29) with an increasing workload after taking his first five wicket haul, 5-11 v Glovers C C, in
midsummer.
Peter Cocklin and Alan Cartwright remained the principal bowlers for the next three seasons although
Alan topped the bowling averages for the first time with 36 wickets (av. 9.97) in 1962. That same
summer he scored his first
fifty. A career best. 64 v
Old Colfeians on 11 June
was consolidated later that
season when given a
surprise promotion to
number three he scored
51 in a stand of 96 with
John Strelley against a
strong Private Banks
team. The following
season he took over fifty
wickets for the first time
(53 at 9.41), a feat he was
to repeat five times in the
ensuing six seasons
culminating with 82
(av.10.70) in 1969 and
was the backbone of our
bowling attack throughout
those seven years.

1966. Standing: Tozer, Ron Stevens, Homer, Holman,
Cartwright, Vernon, Greg Stevens, Chisnell, Len Johnson.
Squatting: Val Coupland, Cocklin, Gorham, Duffell, Strelley
and Alan Coupland

Among the highlights in this period was a hat-trick v Burt, Bolton & Hayward on 23.06.1963- final
analysis 5 -12 and the all-rounders match double of fifty runs and five wickets with, 53 and 6-24 v
Peek Frean 31.07.1965.
In 1968 he had bowled 360.2 overs in just 22 matches. The statistics will astonish today’s players;
averaging just short of 17 overs per game, an economy rate of 2.31 runs per over and his 69 wickets
(av.12.10) represented more than 3 wickets per match. He had 4 five wicket analyses the best of
which was 7-30 v Castle. 398.2 overs in 1969 were at an economy rate of 2.20 runs per over.
His best bowling analysis, 8-12 came in 1966 v Moss Bros CC. It led to simple ten wicket win for us
and a ‘beer’ match that lasted longer than the actual game with 20 overs each. In 1967 he ruined
another game when he took 7-8 v Old Colfeians CC. The same seven years saw him established as a
middle order batsman with 306 runs (av. 18.00) in 1967 his best so far.
After three years as vice-captain he was elected captain for 1971 and 1972. I know from later year’s
conversations that he felt that he didn’t do it well and therefore didn’t enjoy it. He was glad to get
another chance when he got vice-captaincy in the eighties. After five years under Stan Chisnell, a
captain he much respected, he confessed that he was too keen to emulate Stan. He regrets that he
wasn’t bold enough to use spin and poor Alan James, who was introduced to us by Lesley (Cocklin)
as a bowler, played a dozen matches under him without getting a bowl and Pete Bowers left after just
4 overs in 4 games when he was trying to make a comeback after two years out with injury and Alan
wasn’t encouraging. That Alan could name these two after fifty years reflects how haunted he was by
what he perceived as his failures. He was much more relaxed and less demanding the second time
around.
As a bowler under his own captaincy, he also fell into the trap of underusing himself taking only 45
and 34 wickets in his two seasons in charge. However, he led by example with his batting, 310 runs
(av. 12.91) in 1971 and fourth in the averages in 1972.
His career then hit a hiatus. Only five matches in 1973. He was out of work, made redundant from his
job as a gas fitter and his marriage to Val broke up. He found a new relationship which although it
didn’t last long he had two sons, Nicholas and Graeme, both born in 1974 less than a year apart. Not
surprisingly we didn’t see him at all in 1974 and only 2 matches in 1975. He managed 16 in 1976 but
his domestic life was still in turmoil as his partner abandoned the boys to Alan’s custody. We lost
contact with him at this stage but in 1977 my job took me to Maidstone near to where Alan had been
living and I tracked him down. He was now working for Lucas Batteries in Rochester. He was without
transport but I was able to pick him up and his comeback began with 4 matches at the end of 1977.
The arrangement continued in 1978 but as I was only playing one game a weekend Alan had to do
the same. If his batting was a bit rusty
those 13 matches yielded 39 wickets (av.
11.43) with 3 five-wicket hauls.
By 1979 Alan was in a much happier
place, he had met and married Vera who
was very supportive, It gave Alan three
stepchildren, Rosemary, Elizabeth and
David who together with Vera
accompanied him along with Alan’s sons
to most games. In 30 matches he was our
leading wicket-taker bowling 354.5 overs
and taking 66 wickets (av. 14.40) with 5
five-wicket analyses and a best return of
7-9 against strong opponents West Kent
Wanderers in Greenwich Park. With such
a workload his batting was not considered
and he languished in the bottom four. He
didn’t mind. His stepson David played his

1981 Standing: Heinson, Finch, Dave Angelo,
Waddell, Griffiths, Stevens, Duffell
Kneeling: Mark Mullens, Nash, Alan Coupland,
Len Johnson

first matches for us and Alan was happy for him bat above himself.
His renaissance continued through 1980, still overlooked as a batsman he played more games than
anyone and his 33 matches produced another 66 wickets (av. 13.73) from 341 overs. In 1981 with 46
wickets (av. 16.89) from 281.2 overs in 23 games he was still our leading wicket-taker.
In 1982 I was captain, Alan continued as Sunday vice-captain. At age 46 it proved to be Alan’s best
ever season for both runs and wickets. I knew Alan was a capable batsman and restored him to the
middle order and he responded; 36 matches 352 runs (Av. 15.30), 1 fifty, 10 catches, 88 wickets (av.
13.26) from 493.3 overs, economy rate 3.24, 6 five-wickets including 7-16 v East Peckham and 7-42 v
Raglan. He was rewarded with the Founders Trophy ‘Payer of the Year’. This same year he
introduced 16-year-old Bruce Wheeler, a friend of David’s.

Six weekends were lost to the weather in 1983, a
season that saw the introduction of several other
teenagers and the side relied heavily on the
performance of senior players, a role Alan relished.
Modestly successful with the bat, 157 runs (av. 12.08)
and still the leading wicket-taker with 35 wickets (av.
19.49).
1984 was the last summer where Alan was able to
average over 10 overs an innings, although we didn’t
enter league cricket until 1986 the 1985 season was
influenced by the introduction for some matches of the
40 over game with 10 over limit per bowler. Another
good season with the bat, 222 runs (Av.18.50), 55
wickets (av.15.72) from 327overs in 27 games, 4 five-
wicket analyses the most satisfying being 6-33 v Met
Police coming 22 years after he took 5-35 against
them.
Our 50 th anniversary season was our last out of league
cricket and Alan was still our leading wicket taker with
48 (av. 16.37), 3 five-wicket hauls and a respectable 187 runs (av.10.38). His family all came with him
on the anniversary tour. It was also the year Elizabeth’s boyfriend Barry Feist played his first games
for the club.
We rightly didn’t expect much from ourselves on entry to the Metropolitan League in 1986 knowing we
were an aging side and at fifty years old Alan certainly didn’t expect to make any impression and yet
46 wickets (av. 16.86) put him second in the averages to Keith Finch and second to Keith Secrett with
wickets taken.
Happy to be playing with his now stepson-in-law, Barry, Alan was still delivering although mostly for
the Sunday XI. His 26 wickets (av.10.76) placed him second in the 1987 Averages.

The moment captured
when Alan, who always
closely followed his
statistics , claimed his
1000 th victim v Midland
Bank sometime in 1982. It
was caught by Bruce
Wheeler at second slip.

After the match Alan treated his
1000 th victim to a pint !!

1988 was a curious season in that we experimented with a second eleven for which Alan just played 5
matches taking 8 wickets. In 1989 we entered a second team into the League and although he
thought he’d hung up his boots he was persuaded otherwise to play in 6 League games taking 13
wickets (av.14.38). The second XI folded after just 3 matches in 1990, Alan’s sole wicket was his
1,251 st

Highly regarded as a cricketer Alan will be remembered as much for his rascally humour and sharp
wit as for his cricketing achievements. Always a great presence in the changing room any incident on
the field would be unlikely to escape Alan’s observational wit. On a bitterly cold April day opening
match Vic Mason was removed from the slips to square leg to where he ambled with his hands in his
pockets. He had only just positioned himself when the ball was turned towards him with his hands still
in his pockets. He fielded it okay but at the end of the game, as we changed, the moment was not
going to avoid some comment with Alan remarking, “that’s Vic for yer all right, his hands in his
pockets in the field … but not in the bar”.
There were also some on-field exchanges, notably with umpires and batsmen. Getting fed up with a
batsman letting the ball go, Alan approached him
“how much do yer want for yer bat?”
“Why do you want my bat?”
“Well, you’re not using it”
A similar one was,
“I’ll take yer bat off yer hands mate if you’re not goin’ use it”
With umpires he was never shy of expressing his view of their decisions. Against Clayhall C.C. he had
a catch behind turned down off a blatant snick, Two balls later an lbw was turned down so when Alan
cleaned bowled the batsman next ball he turned to the umpire with, “fucking nearly had ‘im that time!”.
1991: Alan’s last appearance. An early season inter-club game, League XI v Veterans
XI. Standing; Greg Stevens, Phil Blake, Waddell, Barlow, Tony Haylock, Perry, Ron
Stevens, Burghi, Briant, Finch, Ken Angelo, Alan Coupland, Emmison, Stone,
Cockram
Kneeling: Danny Demarzo, Dean Johnson, Simon Stevens, Dave Demarzo, Heinson,
O’Donoghue. (Duffell missing from the picture). In the match, Alan, now aged 55,
bowled 10 overs taking 3-45

We were tour when Alan was especially disappointed by a catch behind being refused;
Alan, “are you blind?”
Umpire, “what did you just say?” daring him to repeat it, clearly spoiling for a confrontation. But Alan
was only being jocular when he sparred with umpires and it was usually apparent from his grin and
misdeanour. It seemed this one might misfire but Alan’s risky response was delivered with such
obvious mischievous intent it made us all laugh including the umpire,
Alan, “don’t tell me, deaf as well!”
Another, more comic than caustic, occurred against Phoenix Sports. The umpire had turned down
three or four shouts for lbw with excuses like “going down legside”, “too high”, “too far forward”, “hit
outside off”. Alan trapped the batsman once more and turned to the umpire,
“Go on then, what was that missing?”
“Nothing”
Alan was almost incredulous, “so it was out?”
“Are you asking me or telling me?”
Alan gave him a long, silent glare in which we all began to fear for the umpire’s safety when suddenly
Alan launched into what is best described as a demented war dance, circling with legs pumping, arms
waving and loudly singing, “Owazee, Owazee, Owazee”. The umpire raised his finger and the
batsman was long gone when Alan finally stopped. Facing the umpire, they were both grinning, he
said,
“I’m asking”
My personal favourite was when Alan was keeping score against Defiance C C in our 1981 cricket
week. The two Johns, Heinson and Duffell opened the batting. Of similar height and build the other
scorer confessed she had difficulty distinguishing between them.
“It’s easy,” Alan explained, “Duffell’s the one wearing contact lenses”.
It was a remarkable career; the bowling statistics impressive, 6,047 overs at an average of 9.3 overs
a game, an economy rate of 2.86 runs per over, 1,251 wickets just shy of an average of 2 per game
and a mind-blowing 67 five wicket analyses. Alan was pleased by his achievements but modest about
it. Although his record tells us otherwise he would fend off compliments arguing he wasn’t the best
bowler in the club’s history and would single out those he thought were better.
Among them is Peter Cocklin, the number one bowler when Alan started out. He regarded Peter as
something of a mentor and there was a moment between them on the 1970 Devon Tour that I
enjoyed. Our game was rained off but we’d booked a coach so a large crowd of us persuaded the
driver to take us to Buckfast Abbey. Looking around the church Alan spotted Peter looking inside the
confessional box. Sliding in the other side, Alan surprised Peter
“Forgive me father for I have sinned”
“For what do you seek forgiveness?”, Peter played along
“I’ve let down a lot of people, yesterday I scored a duck”
Peter laughed and responded
“I’m sorry, my son, but that’s unforgivable!”

It was on coach outings and any other time there was a piano get together that Alan would display
one of his passions outside of cricket. He had a good baritone voice and enjoyed ensemble singing

and musical drama. It was an interest he very much shared with Vera but before then we were often
treated to Alan’s version of the song Blue Moon which he began,
“Blue Moon,
you saw me standing alone there,
with my bat in my hand,
without a stump in the ground”
I struggle to get my head around the fact that I played cricket with Alan from a young fifteen years old
to a veteran forty-four years old. They were some of the most significant years of my life and Alan was
there, throughout. I’m thankful for the many, many fond memories he leaves me with, only some of
which I’ve included here. Alan’s association with the club didn’t finish with the end of playing days,
however. He continued financial support for the club through our various fundraising and attended
club events or reunions including our impromptu lunches at The King’s Head in Bexley and taking
advantage of our Oval tickets.
He lost Vera some years ago and it cannot have been easy for him without her. She was the love in
his life and a stabilising influence that enabled Alan to enjoy a cricket career longer than most.
Our thoughts are with his family, Rosemary, Mick, Elizabeth. Barry, David, Nicholas. Graeme and their
families.

Career Record:
Matches: 636
Cap Number: 28
Runs 4626 (av. 10.91)
Fifties: 6
Wickets 1251 (av. 13.80)
Five wicket analyses: 67
Catches: 117
“Founders Trophy” Player of the Year 1982.
Captain 1971,
Vice-captain 1968/69/70 and (Sunday) 1980/81/82 and 1984/85.
Life Member: 1984