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Former Kent and England Women captain Cecilia Robinson - the first cricketer born in Canterbury to play Test cricket for England - has died, aged 97.
Robinson represented Kent between 1949 and 1967, in a career spanning three decades for club and country.
A right-handed batter, Robinson scored more than 1,000 runs and averaged more than 50.00 with the bat in her Kent career, playing in 30 officially-scored matches for the county.
Her Kent-best of 100 not out came in only her fourth Kent appearance, against a Women’s Cricket Association representative side at Sevenoaks Vine Cricket Club in July 1952.
Last March, she was awarded Kent Women cap number seven for her services to Kent Cricket.
She captained the Horses on six occasions which were officially scored, most famously against a touring Australia side in 1963, in a drawn one-day match also at “The Vine”.
It is likely she captained Kent on many more occasions but, sadly, these matches were not recorded in full.
Kent Cricket chairman Simon Philip said: “Cecilia was one of the pioneers of women’s cricket in our county, and will always be remembered as the first Canterbury-born cricketer to play a Test match for England.
“The longevity of her career and her performances, especially in Ashes Tests, make her a real legend of women’s cricket in Kent.
“She will have inspired many future generations of female cricketers in our county, and is an intrinsic part of the history of the most successful women’s county side in England.”
For England, Robinson scored two Women’s Test centuries in 14 matches, scoring 829 runs at an average of 33.15. Her Test-best of 105 came in the first Ashes Test against Australia at Scarborough in June 1951.
Robinson led her country on six occasions, once in a Test against Australia in 1958.
After retiring from her cricket career, she became Games Mistress at Roedean School in East Sussex, eventually becoming head of Roedean’s Junior House, and was also Women’s captain of Tenterden Golf Club.
