38 Facts About Alan Kippax

Alan Falconer Kippax was a cricketer for New South Wales and Australia.

Alan Kippax was an "impeccably correct and elegant batsman, [with] an upright, easy stance at the wicket; like his schoolboy idol Victor Trumper, he rolled his sleeves between wrist and elbow and excelled with the late cut", who was probably at his peak during the 1920s.

Alan Kippax was well into his thirties by the time he became a consistent selection for the Test team.

The third son of Arthur Percival Howell Kippax and his wife Sophie Estelle, Alan Kippax was born in the inner-city Sydney suburb of Paddington.

Alan Kippax attended both Bondi and Cleveland Street Public schools.

At 14, Alan Kippax joined Waverley and was a regular in the first-grade team within three years.

Therefore, Alan Kippax's opportunities were restricted for a number of seasons.

Alan Kippax played a lot of baseball with the Waverley Baseball Club and represented Australia against touring teams from American universities.

Alan Kippax was offered a tour of New Zealand in the autumn of 1921.

Alan Kippax quickly won the respect of his fellow players and the spectators for his approach to the game.

Ray Robinson thought that Alan Kippax's batting "had a silky quality not seen in any other player of his time or since"; he captivated the crowds with his late cut when he, "made a lissom bow over the ball and stroked it away with the bat's face downward, as if to squeeze the ball into the ground".

The subsequent omission of Alan Kippax from the touring team is a famous blunder in Australian cricket history.

Alan Kippax's captaincy "welded with wit, kindness and some practical joking a raw team into a formidable unit, nurturing such youngsters as Archie Jackson, Stan McCabe and Donald Bradman".

Australia slipped to two heavy defeats and Alan Kippax's place was not in jeopardy.

Early in Australia's first innings, Alan Kippax had nine runs on the board, when:.

Alan Kippax followed up with 41 in the second innings, as Australia fell to their third consecutive defeat in the rubber and lost the Ashes.

Alan Kippax completed the series with scores of 3 and 51 at Adelaide, and 38 and 28 in Australia's only winning effort, at the MCG.

Alan Kippax hit a century in each innings of the match with Sussex.

Alan Kippax shared two big partnerships with Bradman: 192 in the second Test at Lord's and 229 in the third Test at Leeds.

Essentially a stylist, Alan Kippax was in every sense a great batsman, for he could suit his game to the needs of the occasion.

Alan Kippax made 84 in the third Test at Brisbane, sharing a partnership of 193 with Bradman.

However, Wisden called Alan Kippax's knock "unsteady" and he failed in his remaining three Test innings.

Alan Kippax missed the second Test through injury, while his replacement Keith Rigg scored an impressive century on debut.

Alan Kippax came back for the third Test at Melbourne and rewarded the faith of the selectors by scoring 52 and 67, his two highest first-class innings of the season.

Alan Kippax batted "serenely" to top score with an elegant 42.

Alan Kippax secured his Test place with 179 against Queensland at the Gabba in mid-November 1932.

Outspoken in his criticism of Bodyline, Alan Kippax combined with the cricketer and physician Eric Barbour to write the book Anti Body-Line, released just months after the tour ended.

Alan Kippax was the third selector on tour, and was out-voted by his fellow selectors, so the press speculated that the decision caused disharmony within the team.

Australia won the game and Alan Kippax failed in the next two tour matches, so he missed out on the next Test at Lord's, which was lost.

The experienced Alan Kippax replaced the struggling youngster Len Darling in the middle order, for what proved to be his last Test.

The way the game unfolded, Alan Kippax had little responsibility with the bat.

Six days later, Alan Kippax celebrated by making 250 against the Sussex bowling attack, his highest score in England and his first double century for more than five years.

When his opportunity did come, Alan Kippax proved a real stalwart.

Unquestionably, the line of Trumper and Alan Kippax has much to do with the grace and elegance which is more frequently associated with players from NSW than from other States.

Alan Kippax captained NSW in 45 first-class matches, winning 19, drawing 17 and losing only nine.

In February 1949, Alan Kippax was awarded a joint testimonial with his old teammate, wicketkeeper Bert Oldfield.

In later years, Alan Kippax was an A-grade golfer at The Lakes course in Sydney and a club champion lawn bowler at Double Bay.

Alan Kippax was an uncle of the theatre critic Harry Kippax.