He had made his
first-class cricket debut in 1945 for an Under 33s team against the Over 33s at
Lord's before going on to make his debut for Kent in 1946 and playing for Oxford in the 1947 and 1948
University matches. He toured Canada with
MCC in 1951 and played for a variety of teams throughout a career which lasted, at first-class level, until 1954. Mallett played squash to a high level and reached the finals of the
1949 Men's British Open Squash Championship. He has been described as "intensely competitive" in his approach to sport. ==Teaching career==