Audrey Wood (; born 1944) is a South African former

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

er who played as a right-arm

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bowler. She appeared in two

Test matches Test match in some sports refers to a sporting contest between national representative teams and may refer to: * Test cricket * Test match (indoor cricket) * Test match (rugby union) * Test match (rugby league) * Test match (association football) ...

for

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

in 1960 and 1961, both against England, and took South Africa's first ever Women's Test wicket. She played domestic cricket for Eastern Province, making her debut at age 12. She batted left-handed.

Early life and career

Jackson grew up in

Sydenham Sydenham may refer to: Places Australia * Sydenham, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney ** Sydenham railway station, Sydney * Sydenham, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne ** Sydenham railway line, the name of the Sunbury railway line, Melbourne ...

and, being the only girl on the street, played cricket in the street with the local boys. She was unaware of women's cricket until she saw a game in progress one afternoon in 1956. Later that year, she made her first appearance in provincial cricket. Her debut for Eastern Province, coming at the age of 12, almost certainly makes her the youngest senior provincial player in South African history. Jackson was well known in South Africa for her

fast bowling Fast bowling (also referred to as pace bowling) is one of two main approaches to bowling in the sport of cricket, the other being spin bowling. Practitioners of pace bowling are usually known as ''fast'' bowlers, ''quicks'', or ''pacemen''. T ...

, and was even advised by teammates that it was not necessary to bowl so quickly. Recalling this, Jackson recounts: "Shame, I still remembers how I split one of the girl's fingers open with one of my deliveries." In 1960, eight days of trials were held to select a Test side to play the touring

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

team. Jackson, Eastern Province's only representative at the trials, caused an upset when she claimed the wickets of Joy Irwin and

Eleanor Lambert Eleanor Lambert (August 10, 1903 – October 7, 2003) was an American fashion publicist. She was instrumental in increasing the international prominence of the American fashion industry and in the emergence of New York City as a major fashion ca ...

, Natal's record-breaking openers for only 20 runs. Only the final day of the trial, she took the wickets of three of the previous day's high-scorers for 23 runs.

Test career

Playing in South Africa's first Test match, Jackson opened the bowling alongside

Lorna Ward Lorna Grace Ward (born 3 June 1939) is a South African former cricketer who played as a right-arm pace bowler. She appeared in seven Test matches for South Africa between 1960 and 1972, taking 27 wickets including three five-wicket hauls. She ...

. When she trapped Kathleen Smith lbw she became the first woman to take a Test wicket in South Africa. Jackson had put on 11 runs in South Africa's first-innings, and didn't bat as they declared the second-innings. She only bowled 11 overs in the match; five in the first-innings and six in the second, finishing with match figures of 1/29 as the match was drawn. Due to the expense involved, Jackson couldn't participate in the second and third Tests; "We had to pay all our own travelling expenses and all our kit. I remember paying £18 for my Springbok blazer. The hotels were paid for fortunately," Jackson remembers. Just before the fourth Test, the England side played Eastern Province in a single-innings tour match. Jackson took 4/30 in the English innings, and then top-scored in the Eastern Province innings, scoring 39 before hitting her wicket. Jackson was able to travel with the English team to

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

to play in the fourth Test. Jackson went wicket-less in the first-innings of the fourth Test, conceding 17 runs in her 7 overs. She followed this up with her highest Test score of 24, partnering

Yvonne van Mentz Yvonne van Mentz is a South African former cricketer who played as an all-rounder. She appeared in four Test matches for South Africa in 1960 and 1961, all against England. She scored South African's first century in Women's Test cricket, with ...

for 74 runs. In the second-innings, she took 1/13 in 6 overs, and finished her Test career with a bowling average of 29.50.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Audrey 1944 births Living people Cricketers from Gqeberha South African women cricketers South Africa women Test cricketers Eastern Province women cricketers