Allan LAMB

Allan Lamb, with British parents and a South African accent that could cut butter, would probably have been snapped up by the African Test side long before he qualified for England had it not been for isolation. Young Lamb, whose father Michael played in the B Section of the Currie Cup, had played for Western Province as an 18 year-old and it was clear on his debut for Northamptonshire in 1978 that here was a rare talent. He did not qualify for England until 1982 and, as so often in similar cases, the England selectors treated him as a world-beater rather than a newcomer and rushed him into the Test side at number three.

He made 107 against India at the Oval in his third Test but could not live up to immediate expectations. He made scores of 46, 56 and 72 under the captaincy of Bob Willis in Australia in 1982-83 and got two centuries against New Zealand the following year. He showed his true potential against West Indies in 1984, making 110 at Lord's, 100 at Headingley and 100 not out at Old Trafford against the fast bowlers at their peak, after which he made 107 against Sri Lanka at Lord's. A poor 1985 season was followed by a top score of 43 in Australia in 1986-87 and he dropped out of the team for a while. In the 1983 World Cup he made 102 against New Zealand at the Oval in his first match for England and made 45 in the 1987 World Cup final against Australia. (Bob Harragan)

Allan Lamb returned to form and rebuilt his Test career with a century against West Indies at Lords in 1988, following that with 64 not out at Headingley and 63 against Sri Lanka. At 5ft 8in and 12 stone he was a pocket battleship of a batsman, and he always seemed to be at his best and most determined when facing the West Indian fast bowlers. He made 125 against Australia at Headingley the next year but missed much of the series. As Gooch's vice-captain in West Indies in 1990 he made 132 in the first win, taking part in a long partnership with Robin Smith which broke the hearts of the opposition. He took over the captaincy for the last two Tests when Gooch was injured, scoring 119 in Barbados.

He scored two centuries against India in 1990, then made 91 in Perth in a 1990-91 Ashes series, when he again captained England in the first Test when Gooch cried off through injury. He made a century and 93 in the series in New Zealand which preceeded Graham Gooch's World Cup attempt. He was a losing World Cup finalist again in 1992, although he missed much of the campaign through a leg injury. He played for Orange Free State in South Africa's domestic competition in the late 1980s, and was appointed captain of Northamptonshire in 1989. He made 294 for Orange Free State against Eastern Province at Bloemfontein in 1987-88. (Bob Harragan)