Lives in Cricket No 1 - Allan Watkins

As he would find in later life, Allan, with his thoughtful and analytical approach to the game, and his passion for it, had a gift for coaching. However, the trip to South Africa was not repeated. It meant a winter away from his family, and it was not the financial success he had hoped. “It could have been worth it,” he reflects, “if I had been like Dai, because Dai never moved out of the pub where we both lived. He was a homely sort of a chap. He just sat in the bar. He never went to the pictures or anything. But I had friends in Johannesburg and I used to go out and see them.” With the off spinners of Jim McConnon adding a new bite to the attack, Glamorgan rose to fifth in the table in 1951 and had the distinction of becoming the only county to beat the South Africans that summer. This match was memorable for the bowling of Muncer and McConnon, who spun the tourists to a 64-run defeat, claiming all ten second innings wickets for only 29 more runs after the opening pair had added 54. For Allan the match brought back memories of his catch to dismiss Nourse at Durban: “Dudley loved playing the ball off his pads and he came to Swansea and I’m damned if I didn’t do him again.” Among Allan’s five catches in the match he twice snapped up Nourse off the bowling of Muncer. Back on the County Circuit 59