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.

Audrey Disbury

Personal information
Full name	Audrey Delph Disbury
Born	(1934-03-05)5 March 1934 Bedford, Bedfordshire
Died	17 June 2016(2016-06-17) (aged 82) Ashford, Kent
Batting	Right-handed
Bowling	Right-arm off-break
Role	Opening batsman
International information
National side	England
Test debut	29 November 1957 v New Zealand
Last Test	28 November 1969 v New Zealand
Career statistics
Competition Test ODI Matches 10 6 Runs scored 391 100 Batting average 24.43 20.00 100s/50s 0/0 0/0 Top score 47 44 Balls bowled 340 – Wickets 2 – Bowling average 65.00 – 5 wickets in innings 0 – 10 wickets in match 0 – Best bowling 1/13 – Catches/stumpings 4/– 0/–
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

1. Caplow D (2017) 'Deaths in 2016' in Kent County Cricket Club Annual 2017, pp.240–241. Canterbury: Kent County Cricket Club.
2. Audrey Disbury, CricketArchive. Retrieved 30 December 2008.
3. Audrey Disbury, The Times, 2016-06-30. Retrieved 2017-05-30.
4. Audrey Disbury, CricketArchive. Retrieved 2017-05-30.
5. Audrey Disbury, CricInfo. Retrieved 2017-05-30.

External links

Audrey Disbury at ESPNcricinfo