Editing Gubby Allen (section)

==First-class cricketer==
===Cambridge University===
Allen played for [[Cambridge University Cricket Club|Cambridge]] in 1922.<ref name=S47>Swanton, p. 47.</ref> He was left out of the team's first game; as the university was playing Middlesex, he played for the opposition instead and took six for 13.<ref name=Sw47-9/> Around this time, he began to bowl [[Fast bowling|fast]] for the first time.<ref name=S48>Swanton, p. 48.</ref> After success in the following games—including ten wickets in the game against [[Sussex County Cricket Club|Sussex]]—Allen was awarded his [[Blue (university sport)|blue]] by being selected for the [[The University Match (cricket)|University Match]] against [[Oxford University Cricket Club|Oxford]] at Lord's.<ref name=figures/><ref name=Sw47-9>Swanton, pp. 47–49.</ref> In that game, he had match figures of nine for 78 in a comfortable Cambridge victory.<ref name=S51>Swanton, p. 51.</ref> This was Cambridge's last game of the season—Allen had taken 49 first-class wickets at an average of 15.<ref name=S51/> There were suggestions in the press at the time that Allen illegally [[Throwing (cricket)|threw]], rather than bowled, the ball. In his biography of Allen, [[E. W. Swanton]] writes that these rumours were neither widespread nor repeated later in Allen's career, and that they may have resulted from a one-off lapse.<ref name=S48/> Towards the end of the season, Allen returned to the Middlesex team and his 15 wickets placed him at the top of the county's bowling averages.<ref>Swanton, p. 52.</ref>

Allen played rugby for the Trinity team before resuming cricket for the 1923 season.<ref name="Swanton, p. 57">Swanton, p. 57.</ref> He began well, reaching fifty in a first-class match for the first time against Middlesex, in which he shared a stand of 120 for the ninth wicket with [[Ralph Huband]], and taking six for 89 in the same game.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/10/10750.html|title=Cambridge University v Middlesex, 1923|publisher=CricketArchive|accessdate=2022-01-10|url-access=subscription}}</ref> Further bowling success followed but before the University Match, he once more injured his rib muscles. Persuaded to play anyway, Allen could only bowl short spells which lacked incisiveness and Cambridge lost heavily.<ref>Swanton, pp. 54–55.</ref> Several critics, including some teammates, believed he did not try.<ref name=S63/> During the match, Allen consulted a specialist over his frequent rib injuries; the specialist's treatment and a period of rest cured the problem for the remainder of his career.<ref name=S56>Swanton, p. 56.</ref> Allen's Cambridge season was further marred by differences with his captain, [[Claude Ashton]], over team selections and tactics.<ref>Swanton, p. 54.</ref> The 1923 University Match was his final game for Cambridge as Trinity, unhappy with his lack of academic work, [[Rustication (academia)|rusticated]] him in the summer.{{refn|Had the cricket team elected Allen as their captain for the following season, another Cambridge college would have taken him, but he was passed over for the position. He had been appointed the cricket team's secretary after the 1922 season, a position which was often a stepping-stone to the captaincy.<ref name=S53>Swanton, p. 53.</ref> Before the election for 1924, Allen had discussed the position with Ashton, who was to nominate his successor before voting; Ashton misunderstood Allen's comments, told the meeting that Allen was "happy not to be appointed", and nominated [[Tom Lowry]], who was subsequently elected.<ref name=S56/>|group=notes}}<ref name=S56/>

Later in the 1923 season, Allen was recalled by Middlesex and played five games for the county.<ref name=figures/><ref name="Swanton, p. 57"/> At the end of the season, he was chosen in two [[Scarborough Festival]] games; one of these was the prestigious [[Gentlemen v Players]] match, in which he appeared for the amateur "Gentlemen".<ref name=figures/><ref name=S58>Swanton, p. 58.</ref> This was the first of Allen's 11 appearances for the Gentlemen in this fixture between 1923 and 1938.<ref>Marshall, p. 336.</ref> In the whole season, he took 66 wickets at 19.50 and scored 528 runs at an [[Batting average (cricket)|average]] of 24.00.<ref name=fcbatting>{{cite web| url = https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/0/559/f_Batting_by_Season.html| title = First-class Batting and Fielding in Each Season by Gubby Allen| website = CricketArchive| access-date = 23 March 2013}}</ref><ref name=fcbowling>{{cite web| url = https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/0/559/f_Bowling_by_Season.html| title = First-class Bowling in Each Season by Gubby Allen| website = CricketArchive| access-date = 23 March 2013}}</ref>

===Middlesex===
In late 1923, having decided not to return to Cambridge, Allen took a job in [[City of London|the City]] (London's financial district) working for the [[Royal Exchange Assurance Corporation]] as an [[Underwriting|underwriter]].<ref name=S58/> Not particularly well-off financially,<ref name=S65>Swanton, p. 65.</ref> he had to work full-time and throughout his career could not afford to take too much time away from business.<ref>Marshall, p. 113.</ref> He played cricket as often as he could in the summer; when unable to play for Middlesex, he played weekend club cricket—including for the [[Marylebone Cricket Club]] (MCC)—and country house cricket.<ref name=S65/>

Allen was free to play regularly for Middlesex in 1924.<ref name=S58/> The team was involved in a close race for the [[1924 County Championship|County Championship]] with [[Yorkshire County Cricket Club|Yorkshire]],<ref name=S58/> and Allen had several successful matches.<ref name=S63>Swanton, p. 63.</ref> He ended the season with 568 runs at 21.84 and 50 wickets at 17.48.<ref name=fcbatting/><ref name=fcbowling/> Playing less often in 1925, he scored 392 runs, took 39 wickets,<ref name=fcbatting/><ref name=fcbowling/> and scored his maiden first-class century in the Gentlemen v Players match at [[the Oval]].<ref>Swanton, pp. 68–69.</ref> He was also chosen for the first time to represent the Gentlemen against the Players at Lord's, where he scored 52, and his reputation grew steadily.<ref>Swanton, pp. 70–71.</ref> By the beginning of the [[1926 English cricket season|1926 season]], he and fellow fast bowler [[Harold Larwood]] were tipped in the press to be chosen for the [[England cricket team|England team]] against Australia that summer. Allen began well for Middlesex but was less successful in a trial match to help choose the England team. Larwood was chosen for the [[Australian cricket team in England in 1926|Test series]]; Allen was not.<ref>Swanton, pp. 72–73.</ref> In county cricket, Allen scored his first century for Middlesex,<ref>Swanton, p. 74.</ref> and began to open the bowling occasionally, having been the third or fourth bowler in previous seasons.<ref>Swanton, pp. 72, 74.</ref> Overall, he scored 771 runs, the highest seasonal aggregate of his career, at an average of 29.65 and took 44 wickets at 28.27.<ref name=fcbatting/><ref name=fcbowling/>

During the northern winter of 1926–27, Allen toured Argentina to play first-class cricket with an MCC team.<ref>Swanton, pp. 75–77.</ref> When he returned to England, he played eight matches before the end of June,<ref name=figures/> including a game for the MCC against the [[New Zealand cricket team in England in 1927|touring New Zealand team]] in which he scored a century and took ten wickets.<ref name=S77>Swanton, p. 77.</ref> In total, he scored 482 runs at an average of 43.81 and took 19 wickets;<ref name=fcbatting/><ref name=fcbowling/> this was his last regular cricket until 1929.<ref name="Swanton, pp. 77–78">Swanton, pp. 77–78.</ref> He declined an invitation to tour South Africa with an MCC team,<ref>Swanton, p. 95.</ref> and work limited him to two first-class games for Middlesex in 1928.<ref name=figures/><ref name="Swanton, p. 79">Swanton, p. 79.</ref>

Through [[Vivian Smith, 1st Baron Bicester|Vivian Hugh Smith]], the father of some old school-mates, Allen had the opportunity to work in France. He moved to [[Lyon]]s for 18 months to work for a silk company.<ref name="Swanton, pp. 77–78"/> During his time there, Allen became aware that the firm's finances were unsound; he warned Hugh Smith, who after some enquiries, withdrew from the business, along with his fellow investor [[Richmond baronets|Sir Frederick Richmond]]. The latter subsequently offered Allen work at [[Debenhams]], of which he was chairman.<ref>Swanton, pp. 78–79.</ref> Allen worked at Debenhams until 1933, initially as first assistant to the Works Department manager, then as the assistant to the assistant general manager.<ref>Swanton, p. 142.</ref>

While at Debenhams, Allen was allowed leave to play cricket.<ref name="Swanton, p. 79"/> During his first appearance of the 1929 season he performed well but suffered a strain in his next game, which reinforced an impression in the press—articulated by Pelham Warner among others—that he was injury-prone and inclined to hypochondria.<ref>Swanton, pp. 80–81.</ref> His next appearance came a fortnight later, at Lord's against [[Lancashire County Cricket Club|Lancashire]];<ref name=figures/> that team had won the County Championship every year since 1926.<ref name=S81>Swanton, p. 81.</ref> Owing to work commitments, Allen arrived by prior agreement around 20 minutes after play started.<ref name=Williamson>{{cite web|last=Williamson|first=Martin|title=The shop assistant who took all ten| url=http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/375242.html| publisher=ESPNCricinfo|access-date=31 March 2013| date=25 October 2008}}</ref> He took the first three wickets, but Lancashire were batting comfortably at 215 for three wickets.<ref name=Williamson/> Around the tea interval, Allen took the last seven wickets in 69 [[Delivery (cricket)|deliveries]] while conceding 13 runs from his bowling, including the last four wickets in five balls.<ref name=Williamson/><ref name=S82>Swanton, p. 82.</ref> In total, he took all ten wickets at a cost of 40 runs, to become only the second man to take all ten wickets in a first-class match at Lord's since 1874, and the last to date.<ref name=S82/><ref>{{cite web|title=Ten Wickets in an innings in First-Class matches|url=http://www.wisdenrecords.com/Records/First_Class/Overall/Bowling/Best_Bowling_in_an_Innings.html|publisher=Wisden|access-date=31 March 2013}}</ref> He was praised in the press, although the ''[[The Guardian|Manchester Guardian]]'' correspondent suggested that a weak batting performance helped him, and ''Wisden'' merely described this as one of several good performances in the game.<ref name=Williamson/> Despite his success, the England selectors preferred Larwood in the Test team against South Africa; even when Larwood was injured, Allen was passed over.<ref>Swanton, pp. 82–85.</ref> Swanton suggests that Allen's bowling was inconsistent throughout the season;<ref>Swanton, p. 84.</ref> he finished with 31 wickets at 25.87 and scored 544 at 45.33.<ref name=fcbatting/><ref name=fcbowling/>