for 77. His subsequent inclusion in the squad of 13 for that game was not particularly well received by the press. On the morning of the match, Larwood was unfit and Allen played. England batted first, and Allen scored three runs before being dismissed on the first afternoon. On the second morning, an article in the Daily Express by Trevor Wignall, a popular journalist who wrote sensational sports stories, suggested that the crowd's enjoyment of the day was marred by Allen's inclusion on the grounds of his Australian birth. Wignall claimed that the public felt Allen should have been omitted, and that the selectors were rumoured to be ignorant of his birthplace. That day, Allen opened the bowling for England; after a slow start, the Australian openers added 162 runs before the first wicket fell. Like the other bowlers, Allen then rapidly conceded runs to Donald Bradman, who scored 254 runs. Australia scored 729 for six declared in reply to England's 425, and Allen returned bowling figures of none for 115 from 34 overs. England lost early wickets in their second innings, and when Allen came in to bat, the score was 147 for five wickets, still 167 behind the Australians. He scored 57 and shared a partnership of 125 with his captain, Percy Chapman, to take England into the lead but Australia won the match by seven wickets. In contrast to the reaction to his bowling, Allen's innings was praised in the press. This was his only Test of the series. Allen was unsuccessful in the Gentlemen v Players game, but performed effectively with the ball for Middlesex. He continued to struggle when batting, and his highest innings of the year was 77 runs scored in the end-of-season Scarborough Festival. In total, he scored 281 runs at 17.56 and took 42 wickets at 22.19. He was not invited on the MCC tour of South Africa. Success Allen's cricket remained limited in 1931. Despite all-round success in several early games for Middlesex, he was initially omitted from the team for the first Test against the New Zealand team. When Larwood withdrew with an ankle injury, Allen was added to the team; according to Anthony Meredith, writing in The Cricketer in 2002, Pelham Warner made this decision himself without consulting his fellow selectors, to their considerable annoyance. Allen did not have a particularly good match as a bowler, but was successful