Richard Palairet

Who was Richard Palairet?

Richard Cameron North Palairet, born 25 June 1871 at Grange-over-Sands, then in Lancashire and died 11 February 1955 at Budleigh Salterton, Devon was a cricketer who played first-class cricket for Oxford University and Somerset. After his playing days, he became a prominent cricket administrator, acting as secretary at Surrey County Cricket Club and being joint manager, with Pelham Warner, of the English cricket team in Australia in 1932-33 which became embroiled in the Bodyline controversy.

As a cricket player, Palairet was overshadowed by his brother, Lionel, who played for the same two first-class sides and was regarded as one of the stylish batsmen of the 1890s and the early 1900s. Their father, Henry Palairet, played first-class cricket twice for MCC in 1868 and 1869.

Richard Palairet's first-class record indicates that he was a useful right-handed batsman, but probably no more than useful: as a schoolboy at Repton he had been more successful than Lionel, but a soccer injury at Oxford restricted his movement and his fluency. He often opened the innings, though less frequently for Somerset, where his brother was ensconced at No 1, than for Oxford.