After working as a clerk in Christchurch, Alec Grant enlisted in the First World War and served as a corporal in the New Zealand Medical Corps on the hospital ship Marama.

[1] An album of photographs he took during his service in Europe and the Middle East is in the National Library of New Zealand.

He played his first match for Canterbury in 1920–21, and then was one of the leading batsmen in the 1921–22 Plunket Shield, with 226 runs at an average of 56.50.

Grant moved to the Manawatū District in 1922, where he captained the Manawatu cricket team and also represented Wellington.

After the MCC toured New Zealand in 1922–23, their captain, Archie MacLaren, singled Grant out as a player of particular promise, and suggested him as a member of the New Zealand side that might tour England in 1925.