Lynne played cricket for both the West (1966 – 1986) and England between 1966 and 1976.
She appeared in 10 Test matches and 12 One Day Internationals for England and also played 12 matches for, and was captain of, the International XI at the 1982 World Cup.
Lynne is a Welsh former cricketer who played as a right-handed batter and right-arm off break bowler. She appeared in 10 Test matches and 12 One Day Internationals for England between 1966 and 1979. She also played 12 matches as captain of an International XI at the 1982 World Cup.
She played domestic cricket for West of England.
She opened the batting for England when they won the 1973 World Cup, and, against International XI in England’s opening game of the tournament, became the first woman to score a century in one-day international cricket.
In the same match, along with Enid Bakewell (who, recently, was interviewed, at the CACG on Bargain Hunt, Lynne set the record for the highest opening partnership in Women’s Cricket World Cup history (246).
Lynne also played hockey at international level for Wales and was a full-time P.E. teacher at Neath Girls’ Grammar School.
So, Lynne was a trailblazing Welsh former cricketer who made history by scoring the very first century in One Day International (ODI) cricket history. As a right-handed opening batter, she represented England internationally between 1966 and 1979, helping the team secure the inaugural 1973 Women’s World Cup.
Career Highlights & Historic Records
- First Ever World Cup & ODI Century: On 23 June 1973, Thomas scored a historic 134 not out against an International XI at Hove. This was the first-ever century scored in a World Cup across both women’s and men’s formats.
- Record Opening Partnership: In that same match, Lynne Thomas and Enid Bakewell set a monumental 246-run opening stand. This remained a Women’s World Cup record for 35 years until it was broken in 2008.
- Multisport International: Alongside her elite cricket career, Lynne represented Wales at hockey on over 100 occasions between 1961 and 1978.
- International Captaincy: After her career with England, she captained the International XI at the 1982 Women’s World Cup in New Zealand, finishing as the tournament’s second-highest run-scorer.
- Accolades: In August 2008, she became the first Welsh woman to be awarded an honorary Life Membership of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). She was inducted into the Welsh Sports Hall of Fame in 2018
Career Statistics
Thomas maintained an impressive record across both formats during an era when elite women cricketers played entirely for the love of the game without financial reward:
| Format | Matches | Runs | Batting Average | Highest Score | 100s / 50s |
| Test Matches | 10 | 610 | 38.12 | 70 | 0 / 4 |
| One Day Internationals (ODIs) | 24 | 821 | 45.61 | 134* | 1 / 4 |
What a lovely item of cricket memorabilia for the Somerset Cricket Museum!
You must be logged in to post a comment.