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Gubby Allen

Personal information
Full name	George Oswald Browning Allen
Born	31 July 1902(1902-07-31) Bellevue Hill, New South Wales, Australia
Died	29 November 1989 (aged 87) St John's Wood, London, England
Nickname	Gubby
Batting style	Right-hand
Bowling style	Right-arm fast
Role	All-rounder
Test debut	27 June 1930 v Australia
Last Test	1 April 1948 v West Indies
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1921–1950	Middlesex
1922–1923	Cambridge University
1923–1953	MCC
Career statistics
Competition	Tests	FC
Matches	25	265
Runs scored	750	9233
Batting average	24.19	28.67
100s/50s	1/3	11/47
Top score	122	180
Balls bowled	4386	36189
Wickets	81	788
Bowling average	29.37	22.23
5 wickets in innings	5	48
10 wickets in match	1	9
Best bowling	7/80	10/40
Catches/stumpings	20/0	131/0
Source: [[4]], 28 March 2008

Sir George Oswald Browning "Gubby" Allen, CBE (31 July 1902 – 29 November 1989) was a cricketer who played for Middlesex, Cambridge University, MCC and England. Australian-born, Allen was a fast bowler and hard-hitting lower-order batsman, who captained England in 11 Test matches. He later became an influential cricket administrator.

Career

Educated at Eton College and Trinity College, Cambridge, where he was awarded two blues, Allen played all of his cricket as an amateur. Between 1921 and 1950, he played for Middlesex and in 1930 was called to make his Test debut, in the second Test against Australia at Lord's. During the famous Bodyline series, Allen strongly disagreed with the controversial tactics of Douglas Jardine, the English captain, and refused to bowl leg theory; he still took 21 wickets in the series. The professionals on the tour, paid rather less money than the 'amateurs' received as 'expenses', did not have the luxury of the right to refuse.

Allen still holds the England Test record partnership for the 8th wicket, 246 against New Zealand in 1931, made with Leslie Ames. He also took all ten wickets in an innings for only 40 runs playing for Middlesex against Lancashire in 1929 in front of a crowd of 20,000 at Lord's. He took the last four wickets in just five balls, having taken the field twenty minutes late due to working in the morning ^[1]. Due to his work commitments in the City, he made only 146 appearances for Middlesex in three decades on the playing roster.

After Middlesex career

After retiring from the county game for Middlesex game in 1950, Allen remained an influential figure in cricket. He played until 1954 and scored an unbeaten first-class century (143*) against Cambridge University for the Free Foresters in 1953 ^[2].

Allen chaired the selection panel for the England cricket team between 1955 and 1961. As a selector has been criticised for having been "...happiest in the company of clipped accents and a background that incorporated all the social graces"^[3].

Allen was knighted for 'services to cricket' in 1986. During his retirement he was regularly to be seen at Lord's Cricket Ground and around the Middlesex team. The MCC rented a house to him maintained by the groundstaff: a personal gate led from his garden into the ground, and he was granted his own key to the pavilion.

External links

• Cricinfo page on Gubby Allen
• Cricket Archive
• Online collection of Gubby Allen - State Library of NSW

References