Paul Allott was born in Altrincham, Cheshire on 14th September 1956 and was educated at the Altrincham Grammar School and Durham University. Following Minor County experience with Cheshire in 1976, he played first-class cricket for Lancashire from 1978 to 1991 and for Wellington (in New Zealand) in 1986-1987. He was awarded his County Cap in 1981 and was awarded a benefit in 1990. He was 6' 4" in height, batted right handed and bowled right-arm fast medium. He represented England in 13 tests between 1981 and 1985. He scored a memorable 52 not out on his test debut versus Australia at Old Trafford in 1981.He played in 245 first-class matches, scoring 3360 runs in 262 innings with a highest score of 88; took 136 catches and took 652 wickets at an average cost of 25.55 per wicket. His best bowling performance was 8-48 versus Northamptonshire at Northampton in 1981 and he took five wickets in an innings on thirty occasions.In retirement, he has become a highly successful cricket commentator with the BBC and Sky Sports.
