Alan Melville was a stylish right-hand opening batsman and leg-break bowler who played 86 matches between 1932 and 1936.
He scored 4,952 runs at an average of 39.62 including 12 centuries and took 38 wickets at 35.92 runs each including 5 wickets in an innings on two occasions. He scored 1,000 runs in a season twice and gained a blue at Oxford University in each of the seasons 1930 to 1933 and he captained the side in 1931 and 1932.
Capped by Sussex in 1934, he captained the side in 1934 and 1935 and headed the Sussex batting averages in 1935 and 1936. Returning to South Africa at the end of the 1936 season he captained the South African team which toured England in 1947 and played in 11 Test Matches from 1938-39 to 1948-49.