Jimmy Allan

James Moffat Allan (2 April 1932 – 15 April 2005) was a Scottish cricketer. He was an all-rounder who bowled slow left-arm orthodox and batted right-handed and was described by his Wisden obituary as "the best all-rounder Scotland ever produced".

Allan played 39 first-class matches for Scotland between 1954 and 1972 as well as playing first-class cricket for Oxford University, Kent County Cricket Club and Warwickshire County Cricket Club.

Early life Allan was born at Leeds in Yorkshire and educated at Edinburgh Academy and Worcester College, Oxford. He was one of four sons of Walter Ramsay Allan, an Edinburgh general practitioner, and Elizabeth Brownlee (née Moffat) who had studied at Oxford University and was described as "a classical scholar". He was in the cricket XI at school and, aged 17, took 85 wickets at a bowling average of less than seven runs per wicket in 1950, captaining the team and with Magnus Magnusson as a bowling partner, and was picked for The Rest against Southern Schools at Lord's, opening the batting. He played for Scottish Wayfarers during the same season. Allan made his first-class debut in 1953, playing for Oxford University against Yorkshire. On debut he returned figures of one wicket for no runs from seven maiden overs, five of which were bowled to Len Hutton, one of England's leading batsmen. The following week he dismissed Keith Miller and Ian Craig in his opening over in a match against the touring Australians, and a run was not scored against him until the 11th over of his first-class career.

Senior cricket Initially a tail-end batsman at Oxford, he scored his maiden first-class century for the university in 1954, promoted to third in the batting order as a nightwatchman against Hampshire and scoring 118 runs. He followed this with a score of 153 against Sussex two matches later, suddenly promoted to opening the batting. In 2011 he was one of the twelve initial inductees into the Scottish Cricket Hall of Fame.

Playing style Described as a "very gifted" bowler who used "clever variations of pace", Allan Massie describes him as "one of the best Scottish cricketers of his generation, and indeed more than that";

As a batsman he was "gritty",

Allan coached youth cricket at Ayr and was considered a motivational force at the club. In 2004 a bronze bust of him by Evelyn Peffers was unveiled at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art in Edinburgh, the first of a cricketer at the gallery. After an illness, he died at Caithness General Hospital in Wick in April 2005 at the age of 73. He was survived by his wife Ann.