David Allen, who has died aged 78, was an extremely accomplished cricketer, both for Gloucestershire and for England. A shrewd offspin bowler who maintained a tight line, with the subtlest of variations, he was also a determined lower-order batsman, and it was in this role that his most dramatic moment came.
The Lord's Test match of 1963 culminated in the West Indies fast bowler Wes Hall storming in for the final over with England nine wickets down and needing six runs to win. The England master batsman Colin Cowdrey returned to the crease with his recently broken forearm in plaster. He walked to the non-striker's end and would not necessarily have to face the bowling. But though Cowdrey emerged from the contest a hero, the man who really saved England, the batsman on strike as Hall roared in, was Allen: it was he who resolutely saw England to the draw.
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