Frank Allan of Victoria, hailed by W.G. Grace and others as 'the bowler of the century', sent a telegram two days before the first Test telling the selectors he could not play because it was carnival week in Warrnambool and his friends were in town. He never played in the inaugural Test and ended up with a single Test cap two years later.
Allan had been recognised as a great bowler since his intercolonial debut for Victoria in 1869. He was a slim, tall left-armer with a bowling action ahead of his time, capable of moving the ball both ways at medium pace.
Allan was named in the original All-Australian XI for Melbourne. The trip from Warrnambool to Melbourne was a long one in 1877. The Warrnambool Show — the regional carnival week — fell on the same dates as the Test.
Allan was 27, a Crown Lands officer at Warrnambool in western Victoria, and the most feared bowler in the colonies. He was a left-arm medium-pacer with a peculiar swerve, and his career analysis at intercolonial level — 83 wickets at 11.98 — would be the equal of any contemporary. He had agreed to play for Australia in March 1877, but two days before the start sent a telegram saying he had to remain in Warrnambool because it was carnival week and 'I expect to meet many friends I have not seen for a long time'. The selectors, dismayed, replaced him at the last moment with the Tasmanian Tom Kendall, who took 7/55 and won the match. Allan eventually made his only Test appearance in January 1879 against Lord Harris's tourists, taking 4/80. W.G. Grace later said Allan was the most difficult bowler he ever faced. The Warrnambool excuse — possibly the most genteel withdrawal in Test history — has remained a quirk of cricket folklore.
Allan named in XI for first Test
Two days before, sends telegram withdrawing
Kendall called up as replacement; takes 7/55 to win match
Allan plays only Test in Jan 1879, takes 4/80
W.G. Grace later calls him 'most difficult bowler I ever faced'
Dec 1849
Born in Geelong, Victoria
1869
Intercolonial debut for Victoria
13 Mar 1877
Sends telegram withdrawing from first Test
Jan 1879
Only Test cap; 4/80 vs Lord Harris's England
Feb 1917
Dies in Warrnambool, aged 67
“I was on a visit to Warrnambool, where the show was on, and I did not feel inclined to leave my friends.”
“Frank Allan was the first of the long line of great Australian bowlers.”
Allan toured England with the 1878 Australian side but bowled little; injuries and a temperate disposition limited his Test career to the single 1879 fixture. He returned to public service at Warrnambool, lived to 67, and died there in 1917.
One of the strangest withdrawals in Test history. Allan ducked the inaugural Test for the Warrnambool carnival; the selectors found Kendall, who took 7/55 to win the match.
Allan is the prototype of the great bowler with a tiny Test record. His 'bowler of the century' tag, given by Wisden and several contemporaries, sits oddly with his 4-wicket Test career. The Warrnambool withdrawal remains a Test trivia favourite.
Zimbabwe vs England
1996-12-22
The first Test between Zimbabwe and England at Bulawayo in December 1996 ended in a draw with the scores level — the first ever in Test history. Coach David 'Bumble' Lloyd, frustrated by Zimbabwe's defensive tactics, told a press conference 'we flippin' murdered em'. He was reprimanded by the ECB.
England vs Australia
4 August 1975
On 4 August 1975, during the second Ashes Test at Lord's, a 24-year-old merchant seaman from Liverpool named Michael Angelow leapt the boundary fence wearing only socks and trainers, hurdled both sets of stumps to the amusement of the players, and was wrestled to the ground by police. He had taken a £20 bet from his shipmates. He was fined £20 in court the next morning, and the BBC commentary by John Arlott — "we have got a freaker, not very shapely, and it is masculine — and I would think it has seen the last of its cricket for the day" — became one of the most replayed pieces of cricket commentary of the decade.
Australia
1981-12-12
Australian captain Greg Chappell, the most prolific batsman in the country, made four ducks in a row across Tests and ODIs during the 1981-82 home summer — and seven ducks across the season — earning the temporary nickname 'Chappello'.