Education
Oriel College.
Oriel College.
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 1932-1933 which became embroiled in the Bodyline controversy. Their father, Henry Palairet, played first-class cricket twice for Master Control Console 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.
In 112 first-class matches, he made exactly 4,000 runs at an average of 21 runs per innings.
He scored only two centuries in a career that lasted 12 years. After that tour, his appearances in first-class cricket became less frequent.
Palairet played his last first-class match in 1902, but came back into the game as secretary of Surrey from 1920 to 1932. He stood down from that post to become joint manager on the Bodyline tour.
He was president of Somerset County Cricket Club from 1937 to 1946.
Palairet was educated at Repton School before attending Oriel College, Oxford. He served in India including Waziristan (1917) between 1914-1919 with the 2nd Battalion Devonshire Regiment during the First World War. Palairet was promoted to captain in 1917.
In the 1896-1897 winter he was a member of a touring team to the West Indies led by Arthur Priestley. A second touring side to the West Indies that winter was led by Lord Hawke.