Allan Joseph Lamb was born on 20 June 1954 and is a South African-born former English cricketer, who played for the first-class teams of Western Province and Northamptonshire.
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48 Facts About Allan Lamb
1.
2.
Allan Lamb served as captain of Northamptonshire, and captained England in three Test matches.
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3.
Allan Lamb was born to British parents in Langebaanweg, Union of South Africa.
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4.
In January 1973, Allan made his first team debut at the age of 18 when he played for the Western Province in the Currie Cup.
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5.
Allan Lamb batted at number three and made 59 and 36 against the Eastern Province.
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6.
Allan Lamb then had a two-year absence from the game and joined the National Service in the South African Air Force building airfields before returning to the club.
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7.
Allan Lamb then had one year playing for Orange Free State, where he scored his highest first-class score of 294, before moving back to the Western Province for the rest of his South African domestic career.
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8.
Allan Lamb came to England along with two young other cricketers, Peter Kirsten and Garth Le Roux, in search of fame and a county contract and it was Northamptonshire who signed Allan Lamb as a relatively unknown overseas player in 1978.
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9.
Allan Lamb ended the 1980 season with 1,797 runs and first place in the national batting averages with 66.
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12.
Allan Lamb spent 18 seasons at the County Ground between 1978 and 1995, and scored more than 30,000 runs in 600 appearances for the club across first-class and limited overs cricket.
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13.
Allan Lamb retained his place for the next two Tests, scoring his maiden Test century in the 3rd Test.
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15.
Allan Lamb scored 48 in 6 innings, beginning a low run of scores against them.
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16.
Allan Lamb scored 392 in the 4 Tests, the second most in the series with an unbeaten century in the first and last Tests.
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17.
Allan Lamb's poor run of form continued as he scored 78 runs in 5 innings.
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18.
Allan Lamb bowled one over and captured his only Test wicket when he had Manoj Prabhakar lbw in the Third Test.
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19.
Allan Lamb was the second highest English run scorer with 254 at 42.
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20.
Allan Lamb returned for the one-off Test against Sri Lanka and scored 63 in the win.
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21.
Allan Lamb scored 132 in the opening Test, which England won by 9 wickets.
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22.
Allan Lamb was captain for the Fourth Test and scored 119 as England lost by 164 runs.
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23.
Allan Lamb was captain for the Fifth and final Test which the West Indies won by an innings and 32 runs.
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26.
Ironically Allan Lamb would have his worst series against West Indies only averaging 12.
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27.
Allan Lamb began the series with 93 and finished it with 142 his highest Test score.
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28.
Allan Lamb was the leading run scorer of the series with 338 at 67.
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29.
Allan Lamb's style of play was well suited to the limited over game and he was a staple of the English side for 10 years.
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30.
Allan Lamb quickly enjoyed success in the format, making 99 in his second match, making him only the second man to be dismissed for 99 in a one-day international.
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31.
Allan Lamb's first World Cup innings was a century against New Zealand at The Oval.
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33.
Allan Lamb was involved in media allegations and legal action relating to ball-tampering in cricket.
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34.
Allan Lamb only made his Test debut at 28 and would be a lynchpin of the English middle order for the next 10 years.
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35.
Allan Lamb played 122 One Day internationals of which England won 64, lost 55, tied 1 with 2 abandoned.
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36.
Allan Lamb only enjoyed 2 Test wins against the West Indies, but as of May 2022 still holds the England record for the most Test centuries against the West Indies, joint with Andrew Strauss, Alastair Cook and Colin Cowdrey.
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37.
Unlike these other players, Allan Lamb scored these centuries at a time when the West Indies were clearly the best Test team in the world.
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38.
Allan Lamb relished the big stage and in the World Cup scored 656 runs at 50.
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39.
Allan Lamb was a member of two successful Ashes campaigns, but did not score a century in either series.
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40.
Allan Lamb captained England in 3 Tests and lost them all, but he did score a century on debut as captain.
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41.
Allan Lamb captained England in four one-day internationals, of which they won one.
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42.
At the Lord's test in 1984 against the West Indies, Allan Lamb became the fourth man to bat on all five days of a Test match.
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43.
Since retiring from all forms of cricket in 1995, Allan Lamb has published his autobiography called Silence of the Allan Lamb, which he released in 1996.
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44.
In 1996 Allan Lamb was involved in an unsuccessful libel action with Ian Botham against the former Pakistan cricketer Imran Khan relating to articles written about ball-tampering in cricket.
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45.
Allan Lamb has been involved television work including working on the British TV channels Sky Sports and Channel 5 as an analyst.
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46.
Allan Lamb starred in the instant classic 'What Rats Won't Do' a film which starred Samantha Bond, Charles Dance and Harry Enfield.
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47.
Allan Lamb was a contestant on a special Cricketers Edition of The Weakest Link, where he was voted off in the second round.
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48.
Allan Lamb created a sporting events and global travel company called Lamb Associates.
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