Gubby Under Pressure

well enough to drive 216 miles to Mount Cook in one day and then back again the next day to be in time for the official dinner and his fifty-third speech of the tour, Allen did not play in this first match. 28 At Wellington: 24, 25 and 27 March, 1937. ¹ MCC 427 [R.E.S.Wyatt 144, L.E.G.Ames 97, G.O.B.Allen 88]: New Zealand XI 265 [H.G.Vivian 88, M.L.Page 50, W.Voce 4-50, G.O.B.Allen 4-56] and following on, 163 [W.A.Hadlee 82, J.M.Sims 4-35]. Match drawn. There were serious efforts made to up-grade the second match to Test match status, but the MCC Cricket Committee would not agree. Even so, the game was played seriously enough to see Allen return to top form, bowling 29 overs while taking five wickets and cracking a brisk 88 in under two hours. New Zealand just saved the match by exceeding the MCC score in the last minutes of the final day. 29 At Auckland: 1, 2 and 3 April. ¹ Auckland and Wellington 183 [P.E.Whitelaw 99*, H.Verity 4-64] and 123 [H.Verity 5-42]: MCC 205 [R.E.S.Wyatt 56, J.Hardstaff 51, A.H.Matheson 4-60] and 102-3. MCC won by seven wickets. Allen has nothing to say in letters about any of the cricket played in New Zealand during their visit, confining most of their contents to details of sightseeing, socialising and plans for his holiday in Hollywood, Washington and New York. He played in this, the last of the three game itinerary, only bowling a couple of overs and making a brief visit to the wicket. Arriving in Los Angeles on 17 April, the whole party were supposed to enjoy a day touring the film studios. Ex-England captain C.Aubrey Smith, now well established in Hollywood for his portrayal of stiff upper-lip characters in several successful films, had been asked by Allen to set it up, but problems with customs authorities made them two hours late and their visit was cut short. Smith suggested they stay over for a couple of days and play at the Hollywood Cricket Club in Beverly Hills on Sunday and he would arrange for them all to fly afterwards to New York in time to catch the Queen Mary on which they were booked for their voyage home. Apparently it was alright for amateurs like Allen and Robins to be given dispensation by MCC to take to the air, but it would not agree for the professionals to put their lives at risk, citing an agreement with their county clubs to ban air travel. So, at the end of their day, off they went by train, leaving a saddened Allen behind who was ‘terribly sorry to say goodbye to the team. They were so very kind to me and nice.’ The Sunday matches at the Hollywood Cricket Club were the social focus for the film world and regularly attended by club members Ronald Colman, Errol Flynn, Cary Grant, David Niven, Boris Karloff, Raymond Massey, P.G.Wodehouse and numerous other British ex-pats. Allen was able to play twice during his two week stay and in one game impressed everyone, particularly the ladies, including Vivian Leigh, Merle Oberon and Mary Astor, with a fine innings of 77. The cricket 61