Albert John "Allan" Watkins (21 April 1922 – 3 August 2011) was a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

er, who played for

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in fifteen

Tests Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film), ...

from 1948 to 1952.

Life and career

Born in

Usk Usk ( cy, Brynbuga) is a town and community in Monmouthshire, Wales, northeast of Newport. It is located on the River Usk, which is spanned by an arched stone bridge at the western entrance to the town. Usk Castle, above the town, overlooks th ...

, Monmouthshire, Allan Watkins made his debut for Glamorgan just three weeks after his seventeenth birthday in 1939, as

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

loomed. He served in the war as a firefighter in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

.''

Wisden ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', or simply ''Wisden'', colloquially the Bible of Cricket, is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom. The description "bible of cricket" was first used in the 1930s by Alec Waugh in a ...

'' 2012, pp. 228–29. He was an

all-rounder An all-rounder is a cricketer who regularly performs well at both batting and bowling. Although all bowlers must bat and quite a handful of batsmen do bowl occasionally, most players are skilled in only one of the two disciplines and are consi ...

: a left-handed batsman, a medium to fast-medium left-arm bowler and a brilliant close fielder, particularly at short leg. He was the first Glamorgan cricketer to score a century in Tests for England, and played for the county until 1961, when he was 39 years old and struggling with

asthma Asthma is a long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wheezing, co ...

. Watkins toured South Africa in 1948-49 and India and Pakistan in 1951-52 with the English Test team, and also participated in the 1955-56 'A' Tour to Pakistan. In 1953–54, he played with the Commonwealth XI in India, returning home early through injury. He was voted Indian Cricket Cricketer of the Year after a successful Test series there in 1951–52. During that series Watkins battled his way to a nine-hour-long, unbeaten 137, in

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders ...

, his best Test score. Watkins' best Test performances were overseas, as his five home Tests did not provide a single innings above fifty. His other Test century came in the Fourth Test at Johannesburg in 1948–49, when he made 111. Watkins scored 1000 runs in an English season 13 times, and also took 100 wickets in 1954 and 1955, thus achieving the

double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * ...

in those two seasons. He also played football for Cardiff City and Plymouth Argyle, and

Rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

for Pontypool. He played

Minor Counties cricket The National Counties, known as the Minor Counties before 2020, are the cricketing counties of England and Wales that do not have first-class status. The game is administered by the National Counties Cricket Association (NCCA), which comes unde ...

for Suffolk in 1965 and 1966. Watkins went on to successfully

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

school cricket, most notably at

Oundle School Oundle School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) for pupils 11–18 situated in the market town of Oundle in Northamptonshire, England. The school has been governed by the Worshipful Company of Grocers of the City ...

and

Framlingham College Framlingham College is a public school (independent day and boarding school) in the town of Framlingham, near Woodbridge, Suffolk, England. Together with its preparatory school and nursery at Brandeston Hall, it serves pupils from 3 to 18 ye ...

. He died in

Kidderminster Kidderminster is a large market and historic minster town and civil parish in Worcestershire, England, south-west of Birmingham and north of Worcester. Located north of the River Stour and east of the River Severn, in the 2011 census, it ha ...

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see H ...

, on 3 August 2011, following a short illness.

References

External links

*
Allan Watkins
at CricketArchive {{DEFAULTSORT:Watkins, Allan 1922 births 2011 deaths England Test cricketers Welsh cricketers Glamorgan cricketers Royal Navy personnel of World War II Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Players cricketers North v South cricketers Commonwealth XI cricketers Suffolk cricketers Welsh cricket coaches People from Usk Welsh footballers Pontypool RFC players Cardiff City F.C. players Plymouth Argyle F.C. players English Football League players Association football wing halves Royal Navy sailors