Sporting allrounder Alan Walker dies

Alan Walker, who played for Nottinghamshire and New South Wales as a fast left-arm bowler immediately after the war, has died at the age of 79.

Walker, who also won five Test caps for Australia at rugby, played for four seasons with New South Wales, and then, between 1954 and 1958, a further four seasons in England with Nottinghamshire.

In 1949-50 he was included in Lindsay Hassett's side which toured South Africa, taking 25 wickets in 15 matches, but he ranked behind Keith Miller, Ray Lindwall and Bill Johnston, and was unable to get into the reckoning for a Test place.

As a rugby player, Walker made his Test debut in 1947, doing enough to win selection for the tour of Britain and France in 1947-48, where he played two internationals, and was the top try-scorer on the trip with 19. Against England at Twickenham, he scored a memorable try which captivated the crowd and ended up in diagrams in match programmes and books for years to come. He went on to play two Tests against the visiting British and Irish Lions in 1950 before concentrating on cricket.

"There are certain characters who will always hold a special place in the game's history, and Alan Walker was one of them," said Paul McLean, the Australian Rugby Union president. "Playing five Tests and 21 matches for Australia in rugby is a remarkable achievement in itself, but to also represent Australia in cricket shows how enormously talented he was."