Audrey Disbury
Audrey Delph Disbury (5 March 1934 – 17 June 2016) was an English cricketer who played Women's Test cricket for the England women's cricket team.[1][2] She served in the Women's Royal Naval Service and played cricket for a variety of domestic teams.
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Audrey Delph Disbury | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 5 March 1934 Bedford, Bedfordshire | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 17 June 2016 (aged 82) Ashford, Kent | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting | Right-handed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling | Right-arm off-break | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Role | Opening batsman | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National side | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Test debut | 29 November 1957 v New Zealand | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last Test | 28 November 1969 v New Zealand | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: CricInfo, 30 May 2017 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Early life and naval career
Disbury was born at Bedford and educated at Bedford High School. Her family owned a bakery but after training as a nurse at the Radcliffe Infirmary in Oxford she joined the Women's Royal Naval Service (WRNS).[3] She served as an Air Mechanic with the Fleet Air Arm at Lee-on-Solent before being promoted to Petty Officer and transferring to Chatham Dockyard.[1]
Cricket career
Whilst at Chatham Disbury first played for Kent Women cricket team, making a total of 22 appearances for the county side, eventually serving as captain.[1][3] She played for a variety of other teams throughout a career which lasted from 1954 to 1976.[4]
She toured Australia, New Zealand and South Africa with England. She played 10 Test matches between 1957/58 and 1968/69 and was the first member of the WRNS to play for the national side.[3] She also made six one-day appearances for the International XI women's cricket team, captaining the team at the 1973 World Cup.[1] She was a "hard hitting" opening batsman and bowled off-breaks.[3] She later served as a Test match selector for England.[1]
Later life
After leaving the WRNS she lived in Ashford and ran a guest house with her partner. She played contract bridge and golf and captained Kent County Golf Association in 1996–1997 and was President of the association between 2012 and 2014.[1][3] She died at Ashford in June 2016 aged 82.[5] Her brother Brian played county cricket for Kent.[1]
References
- Caplow D (2017) 'Deaths in 2016' in Kent County Cricket Club Annual 2017, pp.240–241. Canterbury: Kent County Cricket Club.
- Audrey Disbury, CricketArchive. Retrieved 30 December 2008.
- Audrey Disbury, The Times, 2016-06-30. Retrieved 2017-05-30.
- Audrey Disbury, CricketArchive. Retrieved 2017-05-30.
- Audrey Disbury, CricInfo. Retrieved 2017-05-30.