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Women's cricket stalwart Collins dies
Audrey Collins, left, with Diana Rait Kerr, on the day in 1999 that they and eight other women were admitted to MCC
Audrey Collins OBE, one of the towering figures of women’s cricket in England, has died aged 94.
Collins was a famed player and administrator who championed the cause of the women’s game through the Women’s Cricket Association.
She was one of the first 10 female members admitted by the MCC, when it voted to allow women to enter the Long Room in 1999.
Born in India in 1915, Collins’ father was killed in the First World War, and her Australia-born mother decided to bring her three children to England in 1920.
Collins played in her first women’s cricket week aged 12, and went on to read Chemistry at the University of London.
She represented a number of women’s teams, most prominently Middlesex women and South women, before playing her one and only official Test against Australia in the 1937 Ashes.
In the drawn Test at The Oval, Collins scored 27 in the first innings batting at number eight. She put on 54 in half an hour with Betty Archdale, after the pair were told to “get on with the job!”
Collins moved to St Albans after the Second World War, played for the East and became secretary and later chairman of the WCA for six years.
Her term as WCA president, from 1983 to 1994, was the longest in the history of the organisation, which eventually merged with the ECB in 1998.
All Collins’ work for the WCA was on a voluntary basis, and as such, she is credited with steering the WCA through lean times, and helping to lay the foundations for the healthy interest in cricket amongst women today.
In later years, Collins was best known for her services to various chocolate firms in her unstinting efforts to raise funds in continued support of women's cricket.
Official site of the England and Wales Cricket Board
Your comments
What a great and lovely lady Audrey was. She was cricket through and through. She was so happy when her beloved Vagabonds were saved and found a new home at Radlett back in the 1990s. That they are now prospering is testament to Audrey's determination. Long may they continue to flourish. Anyone who knew her will be greatly saddened at her passing and cliche though it is, we will never see her like again.God Bless you Audrey
Mark Blundell on 19/02/10
What a grand Lady Audrey was. Always thinking of others and so keen to keep her beloved Vagabonds alive and kicking. That they still survive and, I believe, now flourish is thank to Audrey and her work in the1990s when the Club was all but finished. I hope RadlettCC are true to Audrey's memory and ensure the club lives on.
Mark Blundell on 19/02/10
What a wonderful lady! I recall the billboard on the corner of the Cromwell Road and Pembroke Road in Kensington, it must have been around 1999. It was enormous and to see Audrey's stern expression looking down was quite a shock to behold! Thankfully she was not half so fierce in the flesh, but she was larger than life, a real character. I am sure everyone who met her will have fond memories, and like me, will have shed a tear. Bless her.
Lyn Ibbitson RWCC (now Twickenham)
lyn ibbitson on 18/02/10
What a wonderful character. We'll miss you at Cricket Week, Audrey.
Alison McCreedy on 18/02/10
What an amazing lady she was. Such a strong , large as life character who i hope will be always noted as an integral part of English women's cricket history ........ Fond memories of my mum scrabbling around in her purse for money whenever she saw her even though none of us really ate the chocolate !!
Kathryn Leng on 17/02/10
Audrey will also be sorely missed by her fellow members of Soroptimist International - the global women's organisation. Audrey joined in 1972 and was President of the St Albans club in 1978 see : www.soroptimist-gbi.co.uk
On Audrey's 90th birthday she was presented with a cake decorated as a cricket pitch saying "90 not out" and was thrilled to be presented with a cricket bat signed by the England women's team. Audrey was always telling us how lucky she was to have had such a wonderful life with wonderful friends and family, and we can only say how lucky we were to know her.
Jane Slatter on 17/02/10
Bless you Audrey, you are very much loved and missed by your fellow players at Radlett Cricket Club (Vagabonds). We have all benefited from your commitment and your love of the game. Your scorebook was never to be forgotten, even when you used light yellow pencil too. We have lovely memories of your last indoor game with us in 2007, batting, you tripped, the hall went silent, you picked yourself up to run again before the ball reached the stumps. If only other were made of the same stuff Audrey!
We won the indoor league this year - and dedicate that win to you.
Michele Verroken on 17/02/10
RIP Audrey, fondest memories of the chocolate seller regularly seen on the sidelines at all major womens cricket matches all over the country, and such a character to boot.
Debbie Stock on 16/02/10