Mark Alleyne was born in London in May 1968, but brought up in Barbados
after his family moved during his childhood. He returned to England as a
teenager, originally to finish his schooling, but the lure of cricket was
strong and he followed his brother, Stephen, to Haringey Cricket College,
and then on to Gloucestershire. While Stephen captained the college, and
played for the County Second XI, Mark became the first of the Haringey
graduates to secure a first-class position.
Primarily a middle-order batsman and medium-pace bowler, Alleyne made his
first-class debut in 1986, against Kent in Gloucester. Later that season he
became the youngest player to score a century for Gloucestershire, against
Sussex at Bristol in just his eighth first-class game, and in 1990 the
youngest to hit a double century (256 against Northants at Northamptonshire)
for the club, winning his county cap in that 1990 season.
Meanwhile his all-round abilities were attracting wider recognition. In
1997 he represented England in a Cricket Max tournament in New Zealand. Alleyne's
leadership qualities were rewarded when he was made captain of the England A
team to Bangladesh and New Zealand in 1999-2000, and again in 2001 as they
progressed to the semi-final of the Busta International Shield in the West
Indies.
Alleyne made his full England debut at Brisbane, against Australia on 10
January 1999. Batting seven, and coming on as fourth change bowler, his
chances were limited, but he weighed in whenever possible and has even
reprised his role as a wicket-keeper for England upon occasion. Sadly he was
remembered most for an embarrassing, skidding piece of fielding, where he
failed to grasp the ball on several occasions. The footage was repeated with
monotonous regularity, and belied his true fielding ability. The highlight of his international career came against South Africa in East London, in March 2000 when he 3-55 and scored 53.
Alleyne's partnership with coach, John Bracewell, saw a marked resurgence
in Gloucestershire's form, as they clinched a remarkable five titles in two
seasons. His 112 in the Benson and Hedges Super Cup final of 1999 won him
the man-of-the-match award, and his club the Cup; their first silverware for
22 years. Later that summer they also won the NatWest Trophy, beating
Somerset in an all West Country final. In 2000 Gloucestershire did an
incredible treble, winning both knockout competitions and the National
League First Division. They came within a whisker of earning promotion into
the First Division of the County Championship, too. Alleyne was awarded a benefit season in 1999, and made one of Wisden's Five Cricketers of the Year for 2000.
Alleyne stood down from the championship captaincy in 2003 to take over as player-coach at the club following the departure of John Bracewell, but he continued to take the helm in limited-overs cricket. However, he experienced a season to forget in 2005 when Gloucestershire suffered relegation from both Frizzell County Championship Division One and totesport League Division One.
He retired from playing at the end of 2005, in order to concentrate on his coaching role at the club, but left by mutual consent in February 2008 with nine months of his contract remaining.
CricInfo Staff February 2008
