Former Australia pacer Peter Allan passes away

Queensland [Australia], June 22 (ANI): Former Australian pacer Peter Allan passed away at the age of 87 on Thursday. He featured in a single Test match for Australia and he is one out of three players to have taken 10 wickets in a Sheffield Shield innings.

During the 1965-66 Ashes series, Allan played his sole Test match for Australia against England in his home ground the Gabba. In that match, he took two wickets, which included the wicket of the English skipper Mike Smith.
He would have had more appearances for the Australian team as he was a part of the Caribbean tour with Australia in 1965 but he could not play a Test due to illness.

Even though he only played only a single match for his national team, in less than a month he took 10 wickets in an innings for Queensland against Victoria in a Sheffield Shield match at the MCG in March 1966.

He became the second player to achieve such an impressive feat after Tim Wall did it for New South Wales in 1933. After a year Australia’s Ian Brayshaw completed this feat against Victoria.

His first-class career lasted for a decade from 1959 to 1969. During this period he bagged 206 wickets at an average of 26.10. His wicket tally in 57 matches includes 12 five-wicket hauls and three 10-wicket hauls. His Sheffield Shield career tally of 182 wickets at 25.29 was the all-time record at the time.

Queensland Cricket Chairman Chris Simpson honoured Allan after his passing and said, “Peter had great skill as a bowler which was also mixed with determination — he typified that strike bowler role in the teams he played for,'” he said as quoted by Queensland Cricket.

“He served on the executive committee of the Queensland Cricket Association from 1985 to 1991 and was generous with his time and insights for any aspiring player who sought him out. His feat of taking 10 wickets in an innings remains a high point in Australian cricket,” Simpson added.

“Peter made a wonderful contribution to cricket in Queensland and on behalf of Queensland Cricket, we thank him for his service to the game,” Simpson signed off saying.