Holly Colvin

Holly Colvin

Colvin at the 3rd ODI match against South Africa, August 2008.
Personal information
Full name Holly Louise Colvin
Born (1989-09-07) 7 September 1989
Chichester, Sussex, England
Batting style Right-handed
Bowling style Slow left arm orthodox
Role Bowler
International information
National side
Test debut (cap 143) 9 August 2005 v Australia women
Last Test 22 January 2011 v Australia women
ODI debut (cap 106) 14 August 2006 v India women
Last ODI 3 November 2013 v West Indies women
T20I debut 10 August 2007 v South Africa women
Last T20I 26 October 2013 v West Indies women
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
2005–present Sussex women
Career statistics
Competition Tests ODI T20I
Matches 5 72 50
Runs scored 59 180 91
Batting average 14.75 13.84 13.00
100s/50s 0/0 0/0 0/0
Top score 21 29 18*
Balls bowled 727 3577 971
Wickets 13 98 63
Bowling average 29.38 21.80 15.41
5 wickets in innings 0 0 0
10 wickets in match 0 n/a n/a
Best bowling 3/42 4/17 4/9
Catches/stumpings 1/– 21/– 19/–
Source: Cricinfo, 14 July 2015

Holly Louise Colvin (born 7 September 1989 in Chichester) is a retired[1] English cricketer and former member of the England women's cricket team.

She currently holds the record of being the youngest Test cricketer of either sex to play for England.

Playing career

School level

A right-hand bat and slow left arm bowler, Colvin attended Westbourne House School, West Sussex originally as a batsman and started playing for the 1st XI in year 7 and averaging over 100. After Westbourne House, Colvin followed in the footsteps of England women's captain Clare Connor by playing in the boys' team at Brighton College. Competing in the Lord's Taverners under-15 Cup in 2004, Colvin and fellow Brightonian Sarah Taylor were the only girls amongst the 1,000 participating teams.[2] Colvin and Taylor's involvement in the competition caused controversy within the MCC, with president Robin Marlar calling their inclusion "absolutely outrageous".[3] He proceeded to argue that, "if there's an 18-year-old who can bowl at 80mph and he's been brought up properly then he shouldn't want to hurt a lady at any cost".[3] Richard Cairns, headmaster of Brighton College, dismissed the comments as "show[ing] a huge generation gap";[3] Colvin herself commented that "we just thought it was funny... [they] don't treat me any different. They bowl at me just as fast and hit the ball just as hard".[4] On a cricket tour to Sri Lanka in December 2004, she was one of the last people to play at the Galle International Stadium before it was flattened by the tsunami of Boxing Day that year.[5] In December 2006, Colvin was named as 'Female Pupil of the Year' by The Telegraph's 'School Sport Matters' campaign, receiving the award at Lord's from Olympic gold-medallist Kelly Holmes.[6]

County level

Colvin played for Sussex County Cricket Club from May 2005 to July 2008.[7] She was part of the Sussex teams that won the women's County Championship in 2005, and again in 2008.[8] The West Sussex Cricket League has named a trophy after her, awarded annually to the most-improved young female cricketer in the county.[9]

International

Colvin's first involvement with international cricket came in August 2005, when the England team was preparing to face the Australian women's international team at the Hove County Cricket Ground. She was invited to bowl against the English team in the nets to give them practice against a left-arm spinner, who the Australian team was fielding in the form of Shelley Nitschke.[4] After the practice session, Colvin was asked to be available for the four-day match by team coach Richard Bates.[4] Team captain Clare Connor admitted that her inclusion was "pure hunch", believing that the dry, dusty wicket would be favourable to spin bowling.[10] Bates explained to The Times that "the pitch [was] a little worn, and we felt that Holly could help us exploit it".[10] Colvin made her England debut on 9 August 2005, becoming at 15 years and 336 days the youngest cricketer (of either sex) to play Test cricket for England.[11] She took three wickets in her inaugural game,[12] dismissing Kate Blackwell and Julia Price in two consecutive balls and nearly taking Julie Hayes for a hat-trick.[10] Reminiscing over the experience in February 2008, Colvin remarked that "I think I was fortunate... I had no idea who I was playing against – all these big names that were coming up against me and I had pretty much no idea".[13] She described her near-hat-trick as a "pretty special [moment]".[13]

Colvin signing autographs during the 2009 Women's Cricket World Cup.

Although Bates said that "she might have to wait a few years before she gets another chance [to play for England]",[10] Colvin became a regular member of England's international teams. By August 2007, she had two Test matches and eleven One Day Internationals to her credit.[12] In the Women's Quadrangular Series in India in 2006, Colvin took three wickets for 47 against New Zealand,[14] and then 3 for 50 in the 3rd–4th playoff to secure the England team 3rd place.[15]

On 10 August 2007, Colvin took a wicket and a catch in her inaugural Twenty20 match, against New Zealand at Taunton.[16] Despite being the smallest member of the squad – a photograph published by the BBC shows her fitting comfortably inside a cricket bag[17] – she proved her worth in the three-match series, taking wickets in both subsequent games.[18][19]

In February 2008, Colvin played her third international Test match, on tour in Australia,[20] as part of the England Women's Team defending the Ashes won in 2005. Colvin admitted that she felt "a little under pressure" before the one-match series;[13] England had not won the Women's Ashes for 42 years prior to the victory in 2005. She claimed that the team were "definitely looking to win... we’ve got more to lose".[13] The England Team won the match by six wickets, successfully retaining the Ashes trophy.[20] Colvin set a new personal best for Test matches, taking three for 42 during the second innings.[20] Her best bowling analysis in ODI cricket was exceeded on 1 September 2008 when she took 4 for 20 against India in the second match of the series at Taunton.[21]

As of March 2013, Colvin has participated in four Test matches,[22] 66 One Day Internationals,[23] and 43 Twenty20 matches.[24]

She was an integral part of the England attack during the 2009 Women's Cricket World Cup, taking 9 wickets at 18 in the competition and hitting the winning runs in a tense finish in the final against New Zealand. She was the highest wicket taker, with 9 for 106, in the inaugural Women's World Twenty20 in England in 2009.

Personal life

Colvin gained 10 A* GCSE passes, three As in AS-level exams, and 4 As in her A-levels.[25] In 2009, she started studying natural sciences at Durham University,[26] to which is attached one of England's four University Centres of Cricketing Excellence.

References

  1. ↑ "Holly Colvin: Sussex spinner announces international retirement". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2016-05-22.
  2. ↑ Clare Connor (20 June 2004). "Girl power alters school of thought". The Observer. UK. Retrieved 17 August 2008.
  3. 1 2 3 Liz Lightfoot (25 July 2006). "Cricket girls defy their MCC critic". The Daily Telegraph. UK. Retrieved 17 August 2008.
  4. 1 2 3 John, Emma (13 February 2008). "Observer sport monthly". The Observer. UK. Retrieved 17 August 2008.
  5. ↑ "I swam under killer waves". The Argus. 29 December 2008. Retrieved 17 July 2008.
  6. ↑ "Star pupil Colvin gets Telegraph award". Sussex county cricket club. 12 December 2006. Retrieved 17 August 2008.
  7. ↑ "Other matches played by Holly Colvin". CricketArchive. Retrieved 18 August 2008.
  8. ↑ "Sussex Women win the County Championship at Taunton". Sussex County Cricket Club. 1 August 2008. Retrieved 18 August 2008.
  9. ↑ "Sophie eyes senior Sussex squad". Littlehampton Gazette. 13 November 2007. Retrieved 18 August 2008.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Potter, Sarah (10 August 2008). "England schoolgirl passes test but fightback earns top marks". The Times. UK. p.  66.
  11. ↑ "Players and Officials – Holly Colvin". CricInfo.com. December 2006. Retrieved 18 August 2008.
  12. 1 2 Gavrilovic, David (7 August 2007). "Star pupil Colvin eyes new tests". BBC Sport. Retrieved 18 August 2008.
  13. 1 2 3 4 "Colvin holds Ashes hope". England and Wales Cricket Board. 14 February 2008. Archived from the original on 2008-12-03. Retrieved 18 August 2008.
  14. ↑ "England Women v New Zealand Women in 2006/07". CricketArchive. 3 March 2007. Retrieved 18 August 2008.
  15. ↑ "India Women v England Women in 2006/07". CricketArchive. 5 March 2007. Retrieved 18 August 2008.
  16. ↑ "England Women v South Africa Women in 2006/07". CricketArchive. 10 August 2007. Retrieved 18 August 2008.
  17. ↑ Birch, Rosalie (4 August 2006). "Rosalie Birch column". BBC Sport. Retrieved 18 August 2008.
  18. ↑ "England Women v New Zealand Women in 2007". CricketArchive. 12 August 2007. Retrieved 18 August 2008.
  19. ↑ "England Women v New Zealand Women in 2007". CricketArchive. 13 August 2007. Retrieved 18 August 2008.
  20. 1 2 3 "England Women v New Zealand Women in 2007". CricketArchive. 18 March 2008. Retrieved 18 August 2008.
  21. ↑ "2nd Women's ODI: England Women v India Women". Cricinfo. 1 September 2008.
  22. ↑ "Women's Test Matches played by Holly Colvin". CricketArchive. Retrieved 18 August 2008.
  23. ↑ "Women's One-Day International Matches played by Holly Colvin". CricketArchive. Retrieved 18 August 2008.
  24. ↑ "Women's Test Matches played by Holly Colvin". CricketArchive. Retrieved 18 August 2008.
  25. ↑ "Cricketing star passes GCSE test". BBC News. 24 August 2006. Retrieved 11 August 2007.
  26. ↑ Staves, Russell (3 November 2009). "Sunday best for Colvin". Women's. ECB. Retrieved 8 February 2010.
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