Obituary by

Gerry Wolstenholme

BILL ALLEY, one of Blackpool Cricket Club's greatest ever professionals, passed away on 26 November 2004.

Born in the Sydney suburb of Brooklyn in 1919, Alley felt: "a place to England with Bradman's 1948 Australians was by no means out of the question."

But when he was overlooked he said" "I swapped the warmth and open spaces of Australia for the industrial landscape of northern England with its chimney pots and drab little houses" and he signed as professional for Lancashire League club Colne for the 1949 season.

He stayed there four seasons before coming to Blackpool where he set the Northern League alight with his explosive batting and more than useful seam bowling. He found it "a comfortable way to make a living" and even turned down the opportunity to join Somerset in July 1954 because he was "not prepared to swap this for the insecurity of full-time professional cricket."

He went on to score 4,845 runs in league cricket for Blackpool at an incredible average of 115.36 and he also took 179 wickets.

But Somerset were not to be denied and at the age of 38 he moved into the county game but he did say: "Had Blackpool even come close to equalling Somerset's bid then I am sure I would have taken the easy way out and stayed at Stanley Park."

He didn't and Somerset and their supporters were delighted for he scored 3,017 runs in his Indian summer of 1961, as well as taking 62 wickets, and then he completed the double in 1962.

Ever one for a gamble he wagered £50 at 10-1 prior to the start of the season and he gleefully collected his winnings after scoring 1,915 runs and taking 112 wickets.

He did return to Stanley Park for Somerset and made a half-century in 1959 as he went on to score almost 20,000 first-class runs and take 768 wickets.

He later became a first-class umpire, appearing in the role at his beloved Stanley Park in August 1984, his final umpiring appointment, as well as officiating in one Lord's final.

He is a great loss to the cricket world and it is unlikely that Blackpool Cricket Club will see his like again.