Molly Hide

Molly Hide
Personal information
Full name Mary Edith Hide
Born (1913-10-24)24 October 1913
Shanghai, China
Died 10 September 1995(1995-09-10) (aged 81)
Guildford, Surrey, England
Batting style Right-handed
Bowling style Right arm medium
International information
National side
Test debut 28 December 1934 v Australia women
Last Test 27 July 1954 v New Zealand women
Career statistics
Competition Tests
Matches 15
Runs scored 872
Batting average 36.33
100s/50s 2/5
Top score 124*
Balls bowled 2064
Wickets 36
Bowling average 15.25
5 wickets in innings 1
10 wickets in match 0
Best bowling 5/20
Catches/stumpings 10/–
Source: CricketArchive, 18 September 2008

Mary ("Molly") Edith Hide (24 October 1913 – 10 September 1995) was an English cricketer. She was one of the great early women cricketers in England, and captained England for 17 years. In 1973 she was president of the Women's Cricket Association.

Early life

Molly Hide was born in Shanghai, China and came to England at the age of six. She learned to play cricket at the girls' school of Wycombe Abbey and later studied agriculture at Reading University.

Career

Hide represented Worcestershire in representative matches in 1932 and 1933 and toured Australia and New Zealand with Betty Archdale's first English women touring team to those countries. She scored a hundred in the Christchurch Test, where England defeated New Zealand in a one-sided match.

Hide was given the captaincy of the South of England team in 1936 and, one year later, that of England against the touring Australian women. The series ended 1-1, Hide's major contribution was 5 for 20 in the second innings at Blackpool where England won by 25 runs.

During World War II, she worked in her father's farm in Haslemere. Test cricket resumed after 11 years with a tour of Australia which England lost 0-1. Hide scored 63 & 124* in the drawn match at Sydney. She scored five hundreds in the tour including one in Colombo. She also captained England at home against Australia in 1951 and New Zealand in 1954. Hide was a quick scoring right-handed batsman and bowled medium-paced off-spinners.

In her youth she also played lacrosse for England and was thus a dual international for England. Hide never married.

According to G. D. Martineau,

“ The chief characteristic of Molly Hide on the cricket field was a very positive attitude that asserted what a game of cricket should be like. She put her ideas into practice, making great declarations, trusting her keen eyes, ready to hit the first ball for four, and always on the attack. There have been less chancy batsmen but her aim was ever to get on top of the bowling, so that the rate of scoring almost always quickened on her arrival. With a particularly strong on drive 'off her toes', she put character into her strokes, and there has been no better batsman. ”

References

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