Edward John Paul Wilkins (29 September 1835 – 23 April 1921), known in later life by the surname "Wilkins-Leir", was an English clergyman and a cricketer who played in four first-class cricket matches in 1858 and 1859.[1][2] He was born at Hempstead, Norfolk and died at Weston, Bath, Somerset.
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Edward John Paul Wilkins | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 29 September 1835 Hempstead, Norfolk, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 23 April 1921 (aged 85) Weston, Somerset, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting | Right-handed | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling | Unknown | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Role | Wicket-keeper | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1858 | Cambridgeshire | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1858–1859 | Cambridge University | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Source: Cricinfo, 25 January 2023 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The son of the rector of St Andrew's Church, Hempstead, Wilkins was educated at Marlborough College and at Trinity Hall, Cambridge.[3] As a cricketer, he was a lower-order batsman and in his first-class matches he both bowled and kept wicket; it is not known whether he was right- or left-handed, and his bowling style is not known.[1] He played in trial matches for the Cambridge University team in both 1857 and 1858, but made little impression in either game.[1] However, in a first-class match for the Cambridgeshire team – really a variation of the Cambridge Town Club – against Surrey in June 1858, he top-scored with an innings of 26.[4] That led to his selection, just three days later, for the Cambridge University team for the annual University Match against Oxford University and although his two innings yielded only a single run and his bowling failed to take any wickets, he retained his place for the next Cambridge University match, against the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), when he kept wicket.[5] His only game in 1859 was also the match against the MCC; in it he took his only wicket as a bowler.[1]
Wilkins graduated from Cambridge University in 1860 with a Bachelor of Arts degree.[3] He was ordained into the Church of England as a deacon in 1861 and as a priest in 1862, but never took charge of a parish: instead, he served as a curate at Stawell in Somerset from 1861 to 1863, and then at two parishes in Norfolk, Belaugh from 1863 to 1873 and Gimingham from 1874 to 1878.[3] His father died in 1876 and his mother, formerly Mary Leir from a family from Somerset, died in 1880; in 1881, Wilkins moved to Leir family properties at Weston, on the outskirts of Bath, and changed his name by royal warrant to Wilkins-Leir.[6] He never married and lived with his sister (who retained the name Wilkins): his local newspaper obituary described him as "a man of retiring disposition [who] disliked publicity".[6]
References edit
- ^ a b c d "Edward Wilkins". www.cricketarchive.com. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
- ^ "Edward Wilkins". www.espncricinfo.com. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
- ^ a b c J. Venn and J. A. Venn. "Alumni Cantabrigienses: Edward Wilkins". Cambridge, University Press. p. 470. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
- ^ "Scorecard: Surrey v Cambridgeshire". www.cricketarchive.com. 17 June 1858. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
- ^ "Scorecard: Oxford University v Cambridge University". www.cricketarchive.com. 21 June 1858. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
- ^ a b "Death of the Rev. E. J. P. Wilkins-Leir". Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette/British Newspaper Archive. Bath. 30 April 1921. p. 6.