All Ten: The Ultimate Bowling Feat

126 Gubby Allen more goals for Liverpool, and he was capped twice for South Africa and three times for England. Maintaining pace and accuracy Allen had hit the stumps eight times, and in his last spell had taken seven for 13 in 11.3 overs. It is a measure of the quality of Allen’s bowling against a powerful Lancashire batting line-up that Haig, Robins and Peebles, already referred to above, and Jack Hearne and Jack Durston, a pair who also performed prolifically with the ball,, bowled 81 overs at the other end without success. Allen’s figures are still a Middlesex record, beating Albert Trott’s ten for 42 against Somerset in 1900. There was time for Middlesex to lose three cheap wickets, including nightwatchman Fred Price, on Saturday evening. However thanks to a century by nuggety opener Harry Lee they nearly reached first innings parity. Allen took just one wicket in the Lancashire second innings and with Hopwood making a century the northerners were able to set Middlesex 324 to win in three and a quarter hours. Thanks to another Lee century (none of his colleagues passed 40 in either innings) Middlesex came out of the match with a creditable draw. Lee’s experience was a little better than that of 44-year-old Lord Aberdare who made a pair in his penultimate county match. A decent batsman with six first-class centuries to his name, he had acceded to his title in February, having previously played as Clarence Bruce. Allen played six matches for Middlesex in 1929 and this was the only one in which he took more than three wickets in an innings. He made his Test debut against Australia the following summer and returned ‘home’ two years later to play in the infamous Bodyline series. His record in 1932 had been modest and his selection did not meet with universal approval but with 21 Australian wickets he vindicated his selection. He refused to bowl Bodyline, but as an amateur he was of course in a good position to defy his captain. And he was back in Australia four years later, this time as captain. England lost the series but, after the ill-feeling generated on the previous tour, at least he helped restore good relations. His Test career seemed to be over but in 1947/48, aged 45, he reluctantly came back to lead England in the Caribbean in an unequal struggle between an unrepresentative injury-hit England side and an emerging home side. Allen finished his Test career with a very creditable 81 wickets in 25 matches. His last match for Middlesex was in 1950 but, playing a match or two for Free Foresters each season, his career continued until 1954 and ended with 788 wickets. Allen’s career off the field was as impressive as it was on. At various times chairman of selectors, chairman of the MCC cricket committee, MCC president, and MCC treasurer, his influence was also felt in other ways: he led the move to make a number of professionals honorary MCC members, introduced decent coaching for boys who wanted it, and helped in stamping out the throwing epidemic of the late 1950s/early 1960s. Knighted for his services to the game in 1986, he died in his house overlooking Lord’s in 1987 having been in poor health after an operation. The former Q Stand at Lord’s had been renamed in his honour.