Alan Lewis

Alan is the third most capped player in the history of Irish Cricket. He might well be higher up the list but for an arm injury sustained against M.C.C. in 1996 which meant he was out of the side for the next 8 matches. He is another who has emulated his father in being capped for Ireland. His father, Ian, was capped 20 times in all. Alan's debut for Ireland came in a match against West Indies in 1984. His career started in the way many another batsman's has - with a duck, in his case falling to falling to a cathc by Big Bird Joel Garner. He did not, however, let this set him back as can be seen not alone from his figures but also from the fact that he has captained Ireland on no less than 35 occasions. He captained Ireland in the 1994 I.C.C. Trophy in Kenya, succeeding the unluckly Stephen Warke who broke his elbow on the day before the first Irish match in the competition. Indeed, but for the injury he sustained this year, as a result of which Justin Benson took over the captaincy, he might well have been the captain for the 1997 I.C.C. Trophy also.

Alan has won both the Gold Award in the Benson & Hedges Cup and the Man of the Match award in the NatWest Trophy - the only one to achieve this double for Ireland.

Alan's forte, as can be seen from the figures, in in his batting. He is the third highest aggregate scorer for Ireland. His bowling sees him more in the role of an occasional wicket-taker thought one with the undoubted ability to break partnerships.

Alan's sporting abilities are not confined to the Cricket Pitch. While his rugby career was cut short at an early stage with injury, he turned to refereeing with notable success and is now a member of the Irish International Referee's panel and has refereed at International level. With rugby now becoming a more and more year round sport, and with the top referees being in demand also on a year round basis, he may shortly be forced to chose between his two sports.