51 Facts About Herbie Collins

Herbert Leslie Collins was an Australian cricketer who played 19 Test matches between 1921 and 1926.

Herbie Collins was a successful rugby league footballer, winning the 1911 NSWRFL season's grand final with the Eastern Suburbs club.

Herbie Collins was a keen gambler, a pastime that became habitual during his time as a soldier in the Great War.

Herbie Collins was not a stylish or forceful batsman, preferring to rely on nudges and deflections to score runs.

Herbie Collins's slow left arm off-spin, bowled from a two step run up, was seldom seen after the AIF XI tour.

Herbie Collins was appointed captain of the Australian team in 1921 in South Africa, when the previous captain, Warwick Armstrong, fell ill.

Herbie Collins was born in Darlinghurst, an inner suburb of Sydney, the son of Thomas, an accountant, and Emma.

Herbie Collins attended Albion Street Public School, where he showed an aptitude for cricket and rugby union.

Herbie Collins played his early cricket with Paddington Cricket Club, bowling left arm spinners and batting well enough to be selected at 19 for the New South Wales cricket team.

Herbie Collins played one further match for the season, against Victoria.

Herbie Collins played first grade rugby league at this time in the New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership.

Herbie Collins played at five-eighth in Eastern Suburbs' grand final win of the 1911 NSWRFL season alongside the great Dally Messenger.

Herbie Collins is sometimes confused with the Bert Collins who played in Brisbane for Toombul's club, gaining selection for Queensland in 1912.

Herbie Collins finished the season with 282 against Tasmania at Hobart.

In 1915 Herbie Collins was one of 417,000 Australians who enlisted and was a member of the First Australian Imperial Force as a reinforcement for the Australian Light Horse.

Herbie Collins served in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign and later on the Western Front, carting ammunition to the artillery shelling the German lines.

Herbie Collins proved a capable and popular captain with the team losing only four of 28 matches during the tour.

Herbie Collins scored 1,615 runs including five centuries at an average of 38.45 and took 106 wickets at 16.55 apiece.

Herbie Collins scored 602 runs in South Africa at an average of 50.58 and took 39 wickets at 16.53.

Herbie Collins was only the fifth Australian to make a century on Test debut.

Herbie Collins scored another century in the Third Test at the Adelaide Oval, batting 258 minutes for 162, helping Australia to a 119 run victory.

Herbie Collins returned to the team for the Fourth Test, after Australia had already wrapped up the series.

Batting for over four and a half hours with what Wisden described as "inexhaustible patience", Herbie Collins scored 40 runs in Australia's only innings to force a draw.

Herbie Collins scored 1,222 runs in all matches on tour at an average of 33.94.

In six matches played, Herbie Collins scored 548 runs, including two centuries at an average of 60.88.

Batting with a young Victorian in his debut Test, Bill Ponsford, Herbie Collins sheltered him from the brilliant swing bowling of Maurice Tate.

Herbie Collins moved the field, leaving a gap in the offside field.

Herbie Collins rejected the approach and suggested to teammate Arthur Mailey that they throw the visitor down the stairs.

Herbie Collins had a disappointing tour, suffering from neuritis and in constant pain from arthritis.

Herbie Collins missed the Third and Fourth Tests when admitted to hospital but recovered to resume his place as captain for the Fifth Test.

Herbie Collins attracted a great deal of negative attention by using the inexperienced Arthur Richardson as a main strike bowler at the expense of the likes of Mailey and Clarrie Grimmett.

Such was the disappointment at losing the Ashes, Herbie Collins was stripped not only of the New South Wales captaincy but that of his local club, Waverley.

Hunter Hendry, viewing the Fifth Test from the stands, suspected Herbie Collins threw the match.

Herbie Collins is sometimes confused with the Bert Collins who played in Brisbane for Toombul's club and represented Queensland on three occasions.

Herbie Collins was an enthusiastic gambler, renowned by his teammates for finding any reason to bet.

Herbie Collins was known for all-night poker sessions before going out to open the batting but refused to play poker against his fellow cricketers, seeing no challenge in taking money from novices.

Herbie Collins's gambling attracted some criticism and Collins was seen by many, including some cricket administrators, as an inveterate gambler.

Herbie Collins turned his interest in gambling into a career, taking out a bookmaker's licence for a period and he served as a steward at pony races in Sydney.

Herbie Collins won and lost two fortunes on the track and at one stage required the assistance of the New South Wales Cricketers Fund to support him and his invalid mother.

Herbie Collins re-enlisted in the Australian Army during the Second World War, stationed at Victoria Barracks with the rank of sergeant.

The marriage produced a son before ending in divorce eleven years later; a petition served by Herbie Collins was not defended by his wife.

Herbie Collins batted with very little backlift and at first inspection could seem strokeless, scoring only from pushes and prods, nudges and dabs.

Herbie Collins often batted without the protection of gloves, especially on easy pitches.

Herbie Collins bowled his slow left arm spinners off two steps, with seemingly little effort.

Herbie Collins was last to shower at the end of a day's play, preferring to sit in a corner in silence.

Herbie Collins's teammates assumed that he was contemplating the day's action and pondering on the next day's possibilities.

Herbie Collins was a successful Test captain, leading Australia to five wins, two losses and four draws.

Many nicknames attached themselves to Herbie Collins, including "Lucky" and "Horseshoe" as a result of his reputation for fortune, especially when it came to tossing the coin.

Mailey nicknamed him "The squirrel", claiming that Herbie Collins' eyes glowed at night, enabling him to see better at night than by day.

Herbie Collins was a bohemian character who enjoyed all night poker and baccarat sessions and evenings at the opera.

Herbie Collins had a light tenor voice and would sometimes sing at parties.