Mary Duggan

Posing for a coin toss photo in 1957
Personal information
Full name	Mary Beatrice Duggan
Born	(1925-11-07)7 November 1925 Worcester, Worcestershire, England
Died	10 March 1973(1973-03-10) (aged 47) Colwall, Herefordshire, England
Batting	Right-handed
Bowling	Left-arm medium-fast Slow left-arm orthodox
Role	All-rounder
Relations	Jonathan Agnew (cousin)
International information
National side	England (1949–1963)
Test debut (cap 21)	15 January 1949 v Australia
Last Test	20 July 1963 v Australia
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1949	Yorkshire
1951–1963	Middlesex
Career statistics
Competition WTest WFC Matches 17 65 Runs scored 652 1,708 Batting average 24.14 21.89 100s/50s 2/1 2/3 Top score 108 108 Balls bowled 3,734 10,616 Wickets 77 246 Bowling average 13.49 12.52 5 wickets in innings 5 15 10 wickets in match 0 3 Best bowling 7/6 8/21 Catches/stumpings 9/– 31/–
Source: CricketArchive, 10 March 2021

Mary Beatrice Duggan (7 November 1925 – 10 March 1973) was an English cricketer who played as an all-rounder. She appeared in 17 Test matches for England between 1949 and 1963, and captained the side from 1957 onwards. Most of her domestic career was spent with Middlesex.^[1][2]

Life and career

Duggan was the youngest of three children of Mary Heath (née Gattey) and Norman Duggan, a physician and surgeon. She attended the Alice Ottley School, Worcester and Royal High School, Bath, before training as a physical education teacher at Dartford College of Physical Education.^[3]

A right-handed batter, Duggan scored 652 runs in Tests at an average of 24.14, and in her last game hit an unbeaten century against Australia at the Oval^[1] (the first there by a woman at Test match level).^[4] She was also an effective bowler, and bowled both medium pace^[5] and left-arm orthodox spin. Her tally of 77 Test wickets, taken at an average of just 13.49, remains an all-time record.^[6] In February 1958, she took a remarkable 7 wickets for 6 runs in the first innings of the second Test against Australia, played at the St Kilda Cricket Ground, Melbourne.^[7] Until 1995 these were the best figures in women's Test history, and as of 1 January 2024^[update], have been surpassed only twice.^[8] In 1957, she took over the England captaincy from Molly Hide.^[9] In addition to her hundred in her final match, she took 7 for 72, and was instrumental in England winning the match and the series.^[1]

In 1962, Duggan and Ruth Westbrook became the first women to be awarded the MCC's advanced coaching certificate.^[3] At the time of her death, she was president of the Women's Cricket Association,^[10] and for 10 years had been vice-principal of Dartford College of Education.^[1] Amongst the students she taught there was her successor as England captain, Rachael Heyhoe Flint, who picked out Duggan as being one of the institution's "first-class lecturers".^[11]

Duggan was a first cousin of England cricketer and cricket commentator Jonathan Agnew.^[12]

Test centuries

Mary Duggan's Test centuries[13]
#	Runs	Match	Opponents	City/Country	Venue	Year
1	108	11	New Zealand	Christchurch, New Zealand	Lancaster Park	1957[14]
2	101*	17	Australia	London, England	The Oval	1963[15]