Lives in Cricket No 1 - Allan Watkins

when a reception was held for the post-apartheid South Africans to which those who had played against the old Springboks were invited. “I won’t know anyone. No one will want to talk to me,” they heard him plead, but once he found a few old chums there was no stopping him. “And when the time came to drag him away, forget it!” Judith says. It has been the same story in more recent times when his children have encouraged Allan to attend Glamorgan’s former players’ gatherings. He sets off wracked with doubts, but in no time he is surrounded by friends, swapping stories of old times and casting a critical eye over the shortcomings of the modern game with its noise and histrionics. This is Allan in his element. He is seldom happier than when offering an opinion, invariably touching on some aspect how the game has changed. “I can’t understand with the fast bowlers of today why they’re breaking down with bad backs, bad ankles and bad knees. There must be something wrong with their actions. In my day fast bowlers were always taught to show the shoulder first. That went up and that brought the swing. But now they’re coming up square on to the wicket, and they’re just arming the ball. ‘Go Back to What You Love’ 104 Molly and Allan: the last picture of the couple together.