Jim Allenby joined Glamorgan in 2009 – initially on loan from Leicestershire – having previously played for the East Midlands side since 2006. During his time at Grace Road, the Australian-born all-rounder produced some useful performances, including a spell of four wickets in four balls in their Twenty20 match against the Lancashire Lightning at Old Trafford in 2008.
He instantly established a regular place in Glamorgan’s line-up in both four-day and one-day cricket, and won his Glamorgan cap in 2010. From a position usually at number six in the batting order, he duly produced several telling performances, including an unbeaten 125 against Kent at the SWALEC Stadium which laid the foundations for a comprehensive victory in the closing match of the 2012 season – a summer which also saw Jim win the prestigious Wetherall Award from The Cricket Society for being the leading all-rounder in English cricket that summer.
After agreeing a four-year contract with the Welsh county, Jim continued to show good form with both bat and ball, amassing over 2,000 runs in all forms of cricket in 2013, besides winning the Man-of-the Match Award in the Yorkshire Bank40 semi-final against Hampshire at the Ageas Bowl as the Welsh county clinched a place in the final of the 40-overs competition at Lord’s. In 2014 Jim also led Glamorgan in the NatWest T20 Blast, as the Welsh county came within a run of a place at Finals Day, besides posting a fine century in the T20 contest against the Middlesex Panthers at Richmond. He also established a productive opening partnership in one-day cricket with Jacques Rudolph, whilst Jim completed the double of over 500 runs and 50 wickets in first-class cricket during 2014.
During the Autumn of 2014, Jim requested release from his contract with Glamorgan, and in mid-November, it was confirmed that he had signed for Somerset. He subsequently played for the West Country side until 2017.
ALLENBY, James
Born – Perth, Western Australia, 12th September 1982
Best performances for Glamorgan
In First-class cricket – 138* v Leicestershire at Grace Road, 2013; 6/54 v Hampshire at Sophia Gardens, 2014.
In List A cricket – 85 v Unicorns at Garon Park, Southend-on-Sea, 2013; 3/16 v Scotland at Sophia Gardens, 2012.
In T20 cricket – 105* v Middlesex at Richmond, 2014; 3/23 v Gloucestershire at The SWALEC Stadium, 2010.
| M | I | NO | RUNS | AV | 100 | 50 | CT | ST | |
| First-class | 78 | 126 | 15 | 4653 | 41.92 | 8 | 32 | 82 | – |
| List A | 48 | 48 | 3 | 1203 | 26.73 | – | 6 | 17 | – |
| T20 | 57 | 53 | 6 | 1478 | 31.45 | 1 | 10 | 10 | – |
| Balls | M | R | W | AV | 5wI | 10wM | |
| First-class | 11002 | 463 | 4775 | 198 | 24.12 | 4 | 1 |
| List A | 1723 | 13 | 1395 | 37 | 37.70 | – | – |
| T20 | 811 | – | 1068 | 24 | 44.50 | – | – |