Paul John Walter Allott (born 14 September 1956) is a former English

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

er who played county cricket for

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, Minor Counties cricket for

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

and first-class cricket in New Zealand for

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

, as well as thirteen Test match appearances and thirteen

One Day International One Day International (ODI) is a format of cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of fifty overs, with the game lasting up to 7 hours. The World Cup, generally held every four yea ...

appearances for

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. He was a powerfully built, skilful right-arm medium-fast swing bowler, who could also bat adequately at number 9. He was part of a Lancashire side that was successful in

List A List A cricket is a classification of the Limited overs cricket, limited-overs (one-day) form of the sport of cricket, with games lasting up to eight hours. List A cricket includes One Day International (ODI) matches and various domestic competit ...

cricket, winning five trophies between 1984 and 1990, including the Refuge Assurance League in 1989. Allott helped to clinch the latter triumph with some late order hitting in the deciding fixture. A consistent county performer, he was at his best in English conditions, but lacked that extra zip to enjoy more than a respectable Test career. He scored his maiden first-class half century on his Test debut against Australia at Old Trafford in 1981, also taking four wickets in the match. For three years he was in and out of the side, then had his best Test series in 1984 against the

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, taking his best Test figures of 6/61 at

Headingley Headingley is a suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, approximately two miles out of the city centre, to the north west along the A660 road. Headingley is the location of the Beckett Park campus of Leeds Beckett University and Headingley ...

. However, England lost every match in that series. He was forced home from the 1984–85 tour of India due to back trouble, and this effectively curtailed his progression in the Test match arena. He struggled in his last test series against Australia in 1985, and was replaced with Richard Ellison, who was instantly more successful. Sheepishly, he recollected: "They dropped me and picked Richard Ellison, so in a way I won

the Ashes The Ashes is a Test cricket series played biennially between England and Australia. The term originated in a satirical obituary published in a British newspaper, '' The Sporting Times'', immediately after Australia's 1882 victory at The Oval, ...

for England". In Tests he took 26 wickets at 41.69 each. Allott left his job as a commentator for

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to become director of cricket at

for the 2018 season. He left this role at the end of the 2021 season.

References

1956 births Living people Directors of Cricket English cricket commentators English cricketers England One Day International cricketers Cricketers at the 1983 Cricket World Cup England Test cricketers Lancashire cricketers Wellington cricketers Sportspeople from Altrincham Cricketers from Greater Manchester Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Staffordshire cricketers Cheshire cricketers English male non-fiction writers Alumni of the College of St Hild and St Bede, Durham Test and County Cricket Board XI cricketers D. B. Close's XI cricketers 20th-century English sportsmen {{England-cricket-bio-stub