Mary Loy (née Allitt) OAM (1 November 1925 – 10 December 2013) was an Australian

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 captained the national women's team on three occasions in 1963. She played 11 Tests, having made her debut against

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 ...

in 1951, making a top score of 76. Her last Test was also against England. She also played for

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. On 23 August 2000, Allitt was awarded the

Australian Sports Medal The Australian Sports Medal is an award given to recognise achievements in Australian sport to commemorate Australian participation in major sporting events. Original recipients of the award included competitors, coaches, sports scientists, offi ...

and on 1 January 2001, she was awarded the

Centenary Medal The Centenary Medal is an award which was created by the Australian Government in 2001. It was established to commemorate the centenary of the Federation of Australia and to recognise "people who made a contribution to Australian society or go ...

for her contribution to cricket. Under her married name of Mary Loy she was awarded the

Medal of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

in June 2007 in recognition of her lifelong commitment to the game. Allitt died in December 2013, and was described as a "trailblazer" and "pioneer of women's cricket" in a

Cricket Australia Cricket Australia (CA), formerly known as the Australian Cricket Board (ACB), is the governing body for professional and amateur cricket in Australia. It was originally formed in 1905 as the 'Australian Board of Control for International Crick ...

obituary."Trailblazer Mary Loy passes away"
– Cricket Australia. Published 12 December 2013. Retrieved 6 January 2013.

References

External links

Stoic Opener: Mary Allitt
– Talkin' About Women's Cricket profile {{DEFAULTSORT:Allitt, Mary 1925 births 2013 deaths Australia women Test cricketers Members of the Order of Australia People from Deniliquin Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Recipients of the Australian Sports Medal Cricketers from New South Wales Sportswomen from New South Wales New South Wales Breakers cricketers