THORNBURY Cricket Club president and former England cricketer David Allen has died at the age of 78.

Off-spinner David played in 39 Test matches for England, taking 122 wickets at an average of 30.97, and is best remembered for when he played out the last over from Wes Hall in the 1963 Test against the West Indies at Lord’s to salvage a draw, protecting Colin Cowdrey, who came in with a broken arm.

He also played for Gloucestershire in a 19-year career and claimed 1,209 wickets at 23.64 in 456 first class appearances.

Once his professional career was over David played for Almondsbury for five years and then Thornbury, where he eventually went on to become chairman and later club president.

He lived just a two-minute walk away from the club’s ground in Alveston and coached the juniors and seniors at the club.

David was chairman of the Gloucestershire committee between 1989 and 1990 and returned to the club for a two-year stint as president in 2011, while he was also president of the West of England Premier League.