| Born | 13 April 1889 Comber Co Down |
| Died | 21 September 1944, Comber. Co Down |
| Educated | Belfast Royal Academy |
| Occupation | Grocer |
| Debut | 26 June 1926 v Wales at Ormeau, Belfast |
| Cap Number | 329 |
| Style | Right-hand bat |
| Teams | North Down |
| History | A consistent opening batsman, Albert Anderson appeared for North Down for more than twenty years from 1913, being with Willie Andrews one of the mainstays of the batting. He played in fifteen NCU Cup Finals, being on the winning side in ten. The majority of these matches were under the autocratic but astute captaincy of Andrews. Generally, when the team failed to win a trophy, it was because Anderson and the captain failed. Their success insured victory. Thus against Waringstown in 1913, Andrews made 111 and Anderson 80 to set up an innings win. Other prominent performances by Anderson in Finals included 43 against NICC in 1919, when the Comber side won by 69 runs and a nail biting one wicket win over Waringstown in 1924, when Anderson's strong defence was seen to good advantage as he made a crucial 41. He was twice the Club's leading batsman, in 1921 he totalled 838 runs at 29.93 and in 1925, he avaraged 30.80 from 770 runs. The following year saw his solitary appearance for Ireland, though he had been unavailable on some previous occasions. This match was a high scoring draw with Wales at Ormeau. Two other North Down men, James MacDonald (95) and Jack Dearden (84) made their highest scores for Ireland, though the batting honours went to the Glamorgan amateur NVM Riches (259). Anderson, at 3 with 0 and 18 rather missed out on the run feast. Though still scoring heavily in NCU competitive fixtures, he was probably past his best. However, several less able batsmen were allowed second chances. Despite availability problems, he surely deserved one also. Edward Liddle, April 2007 |