George Paine

Who was George Paine?

George Alfred Edward Paine was an English cricketer who played in four Test matches in 1934-35.

A tall lower-order right-handed batsman and an orthodox left-arm spinner, Paine played in five first-class matches for Middlesex in 1926, but then qualified by residence to play for Warwickshire, making his debut in 1929.

Inclined in his first two seasons to be expensive, he developed in 1931 into a top-class spinner, adding extra flight and spin to his delivery. He took 127 wickets in that season and passed the 100 wickets mark in each of the next five seasons, with a best performance of 156 wickets in 1934, when he was top of the first-class averages. He was picked as a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in the 1935 edition of Wisden Cricketers' Almanack.

In 1934-35, he was chosen, with his county colleague Eric Hollies, for the MCC tour of the West Indies and there he played his only Test matches. He took more wickets, 17, than any other England bowler and also hit the highest score, 49, in England's innings of 226 in the third Test match, having been sent in as a nightwatchman.