Alec Skelding

Alexander Skelding (5 September 1886 – 18 April 1960) was a first-class cricketer and umpire.

The fast bowler

After playing for local clubs, he joined the Leicestershire County Cricket Club ground staff as a fast bowler in 1905 but, because he wore spectacles, was not re-engaged at the end of the season. He then joined Kidderminster in the Birmingham League and achieved success, in 1912 the county re-signed him and he continued with them until he retired in 1929. He made his debut in county cricket in 1912, and played fairly regularly in the two seasons before the first world war. It was in the middle and late 1920s, however, when he was around his 40th year and past the retirement age of most bowlers of his pace, that he showed remarkable skill as a fast bowler. He was at times considered the fastest bowler in the country.