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Geoffrey Collins (cricketer, born 1909)

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Geoffrey Collins
Collins in about 1933
Personal information
Full name
Geoffrey Albert Kirwan Collins
Born(1909-05-16)16 May 1909
Hove, Sussex
Died7 August 1968(1968-08-07) (aged 59)
Hove, Sussex
BattingRight-handed
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1928–1934Sussex
FC debut21 July 1928 Sussex v Northants
Last FC20 June 1934 Sussex v Oxford University
Career statistics
Competition First-class
Matches 50
Runs scored 1,140
Batting average 19.00
100s/50s 0/6
Top score 90
Catches/stumpings 17/–
Source: [1], 25 March 2019

Geoffrey Albert Kirwan Collins (16 May 1909 – 7 August 1968) was an English cricketer active from 1928 to 1934 who played for Sussex County Cricket Club between 1928 and 1934.

Collins was born at Hove in Sussex[1] and educated at Lancing College where he played in the school cricket team. In his final year at school he made four centuries, including a score of 212, and went on to make his first-class cricket debut for Sussex later in the same season.[2] As a schoolboy, Collins was described as "making all the strokes" with his only major defect being "an occasional failure in patience".[3]

He appeared in 50 first-class matches between 1928 and 1934 as a right-handed batsman, scoring 1,140 runs with a highest score of 90 runs. As well as playing for Sussex he made one first-class appearance for MCC in 1931,[4] but after 1934 his business commitments restricted him to playing club cricket.[2] As well as playing cricket, Collins also played football for Lancing Old Boys and Corinthian Casuals F.C.[2]

During World War II Collins joined the Royal Artillery from the Honourable Artillery Company. He reached the rank of Lt. Col. with 90 Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment and served in the North-West Europe Campaign of 1944–45, including the Liberation of Antwerp and crossing the Rhine. He was awarded a Military Cross in 1946.[5] He died suddenly in August 1969 at Hove aged 59.[1][2]

References

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  1. ^ a b Geoffrey Collins, CricInfo. Retrieved 2019-03-25.
  2. ^ a b c d Collins, Geoffrey Albert Kirwan, Obituaries in 1968, Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, 1969. Retrieved 2019-03-25.
  3. ^ Podmore A (1929) Public school cricket in 1928, Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, 1929, pp.290–291. (Available online. Retrieved 2019-03-25.)
  4. ^ Geoffrey Collins, CricketArchive. Retrieved 2019-03-25.
  5. ^ Recommendation for Award for Collins, Geoffrey Albert Kirwan Rank: Captain,..., The National Archives, ref:WO 373/56/568. Retrieved 2019-03-25.
[edit]

Geoffrey Collins at ESPNcricinfo