William Collins (cricketer, born 1848)

William Edmund Wood Collins (16 June 1848 – 7 January 1932) was a Welsh first-class cricketer and author.

William Collins
Personal information
Full nameWilliam Edmund Wood Collins
Born16 June 1848
Cheriton, Glamorgan, Wales
Died7 January 1932(1932-01-07) (aged 83)
Heacham, Norfolk, England
NicknameColenso[1]
BattingUnknown
BowlingLeft-arm fast
Career statistics
Competition First-class
Matches 7
Runs scored 157
Batting average 19.62
100s/50s –/2
Top score 56*
Balls bowled 977
Wickets 19
Bowling average 23.57
5 wickets in innings 3
10 wickets in match –
Best bowling 6/35
Catches/stumpings 3/–
Source: Cricinfo, 5 August 2019

The son of the essayist William Lucas Collins,[2] he was born in Glamorgan at Cheriton in June 1848. Collins was educated at Radley College,[2] before going up to Jesus College, Oxford.[3]

He did not feature in first-class cricket for Oxford University, at a time when the side was dominated by players from Brasenose College.[1] He married Margaret Elizabeth Stepford Sackville in 1882.[2]

He eventually played first-class cricket in 1884, when he played for the Gentlemen of England against Oxford University at Oxford. He played again for the Gentlemen of England in 1886, this time against I Zingari in the Scarborough Festival of 1886.[4] Held in high regard by C. I. Thornton, Collins was invited by him to play for Lord Londesborough's XI against the touring Australians at the festival.[1][4] In the Lord Londesborough's XI first-innings total of 558, Collins came into bat at number eleven, scoring 56 runs.[5] He played again at the 1887 Scarborough Festival in two first-class matches, for the Gentlemen of England against I Zingari and for the South in the North v South fixture.[4] He was invited to play for the Oxford University Past and Present cricket team against the touring Australians at Leyton in 1888,[4] taking figures of 6 for 35 in the Australians first-innings.[1] His final first-class appearance came three years later for H. Philipson's XI against Oxford University.[4] Across seven first-class matches, Collins scored 157 runs at an average of 19.62, while with the ball he took 19 wickets at a bowling average of 23.57.[6]

He played below first-class at county level for Northamptonshire, Hertfordshire and, in one match in 1903, for Shropshire.[7]

Away from playing cricket, Collins was a regular contributor to Blackwood's Magazine and published two works of fiction set in Oxford: The Don and the Undergraduate (1899) and A Scholar of his College (1900).[1][2] Collins died in January 1932 at Summerhill, Heacham, Norfolk.[8] He was described by A. J. Webbe at the time of his death in a letter to The Times as "a very fine left-handed bowler, essentially the man for a hard wicket, as he was very fast off the pitch and came a lot with his arm. Also a great hitter."[1]

References
  1. "Wisden - Obituaries in 1932". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
  2. "At the Circulating Library Author Information: William Edmund Wood Collins". At the Circulating Library. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
  3. Oxford University Calendar. University of Oxford. 1871. p. 356.
  4. "First-Class Matches played by William Collins". CricketArchive. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
  5. "Lord Londesborough's XI v Australians, 1886". CricketArchive. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
  6. "Player profile: William Collins". CricketArchive. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
  7. Percival, Tony (1999). Shropshire Cricketers 1844-1998. A.C.S. Publications, Nottingham. pp. 10, 42. ISBN 1-902171-17-9.Published under Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians.
  8. Shropshire Cricketers 1844-1998, page 10.
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