Nigel Paul (cricketer)

Nigel Aldridge Paul (31 March 1933 – 23 August 2022) was an English cricketer active in the 1950s, making seven appearances in first-class cricket as a batting all-rounder.

Paul was educated at Cranleigh School, where he played for the school cricket team from 1949–1951.[1][2] He made his debut in first-class cricket when he was selected to play for Warwickshire against the touring Canadians at Edgbaston in 1954.[3] He made three further first-class appearances for Warwickshire in 1955, playing two university matches against Oxford and Cambridge, and once against the Combined Services,[3] but did not feature in any County Championship matches. He played a first-class match for the Free Foresters in 1956, and followed this up with two matches at The Saffrons in 1958 for DR Jardine's XI against Oxford University and Cambridge University.[3] In seven first-class matches, Paul scored a total of 157 runs, averaging 15.70, with a high score of 40.[4] As a bowler he took just 3 wickets, which came at an expensive average of 65.33 runs apiece.[4] He was one of the tallest first-class cricketers of the time, standing nearly two metres tall, which he used when batting to hit the ball hard, and score at a fast rate which was unusual for the times.[2] His height helped when he was bowling, generating pace which forced the batsman onto the back foot.[2]

Paul was a leading figure within the Old Cranleighan Cricket Club, a cricket club for former pupils of Cranleigh School. Following the Second World War, the club was virtually defunct, but he re-formed the club in the mid-1950s.[2] He was club captain from 1958–1964 and president from 1981–1985.[2]

Paul died on 23 August 2022, at the age of 89.[5]