It might have been short but it was certainly to the point when Wisden published an obituary for George Alpen.
"Alpen, George R: One of the best known cricketers of Belgium has been killed in the war, 1916, but no particulars are obtainable. He was an Australian by birth."
Surviving both the First World War and a Wisden obituary might seem heavily against the odds, but survive them George did. What's more he batted on for the then Brussels Cricket Club until well into the 1920s. His last season seems to have been 1926, a year when he scored 51 not out against Folkestone in the club's first match of a UK tour.
We have no way of knowing whether he carried the obituary around in his wallet, proudly producing it for all and sundry after a beer or two, but it seems likely that he didn't actually know about his 'death'. In fact Wisden is still carrying the obituary online.
"He owes me a bottle of wine," said a well-known Belgian First World War researcher who had trawled the databases in a vain effort to discover George's fate.
By now, of course,a report of George's death is no doubt correct. Or is it? George, if you're reading this...
