WELLINGBOROUGH.- Baroness Rachael Heyhoe Flint’s personal cricket collection of 50 items estimated at £10,000 -£15,000 is being sold by her son Ben Heyhoe Flint through auctioneers BUDDS on 2nd August at Lords.

A force of nature, Rachael Heyhoe Flint, burst onto the sporting scene as a fierce batter and represented England in both cricket and hockey. As England’s cricket captain from 1966 to 1978, she famously never lost a Test match and led the team to victory in the inaugural Women’s World Cup in 1973.

Beyond her playing career, she was an instrumental campaigner for the women’s game. She famously lobbied for the right to play at Lord's, stepping out to lead her team in the historic 1976 match against Australia. Later in life, she became one of the first female directors at the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). For her immense services to sport, she was made an honorary life member of the MCC, inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame, and elevated to the House of Lords as a Life Peer in 2011.

Following her death in 2017 at the age of 77 The Guardian wrote in her obituary: ”In the broiling summer of 1976, Rachael Heyhoe Flint, captain of the England women’s cricket team, led her side out into the sunshine at Lord’s for a historic one-day international against Australia. Until that day, with the notable exception of the Queen’s annual visits, women had always been barred from the sacred spaces of the Long Room at Lord’s and kept well away from the immaculately manicured turf.

The significance of the first women’s match to be staged at the game’s ancient headquarters was not lost on Hayhoe Flint, who has died aged 77. She confessed to feeling uncharacteristically overcome with emotion as she set foot on the outfield. It was a temporary lapse. She was soon back to the hard-headed business of leading her team to an eight-wicket victory. Fittingly, she was at the crease when the winning runs were hit.





But the walls of one of the great bastions of male privilege were not torn down in one day. It took more than another two decades of campaigning before women were allowed to become members of MCC, the club that owns Lord’s, and Hayhoe Flint was at the forefront of that revolution too. She began the debate by applying for membership in 1991 and, in many ways, the campaign that followed summed up her qualities: persistent, persuasive and passionate.

The Australian cricket writer Jarrod Kimber called her “the WG Grace of women’s cricket” and he was being only slightly hyperbolic. Women still played in skirts and Heyhoe Flint was once asked by the Duke of Edinburgh if the players wore coconut shells in their bras for protection. Typically, she laughed rather than taking offence.”

David Convery of BUDDS Auctions, says; “We are truly honoured to have been chosen by the family of the Baroness to bring to market this historic and fascinating collection of one of the single most important sporting personalities of the 20th Century. She was remarkable both on the pitch and of it. She was without doubt the very best of England.”

BUDDS Auctions are selling items of her personal private collection of Cricket memorabilia on August 2nd at Lords.

Some of the most significant items include:

VECB PRESENTATION SILVER CRICKET BAT AWARDED TO BARONESS RACHAEL HEYHOE FLINT, 2016 Estimate: £500 - £800

Presented by the ECB Board to Baroness Rachael Heyhoe Flint, this exceptional silver cricket bat represents one of the most significant commemorative pieces associated with the pioneering figure who transformed women's cricket.

Awarded in recognition of her service as ECB Board Director between 2010 and 2016, the engraved presentation reflects the gratitude of the game's leadership for her dedication, support and tireless championing of the women's game. Combining impeccable provenance with deep historical significance, celebrating the life and legacy of one of cricket's greatest trailblazers.

Silver presentation cricket bat by Camelot Silverware Ltd, London, 2016. Height 42cm. Estimate: £500 - £800

Lot 50: Rachael Heyhoe Flint a Concorde Supersonic certificate autographed by Paul McCartney, Linda McCartney and Christopher Reeve, with small drawing of Superman logo, 30th September 1983, also signed by captain and co pilot, with associated flight ticket and Concorde stress balls

Every year Rachael used to organise fundraising matches throughout the year; towards the end of 1983 she called up her England crew and said would you like to squeeze in one more game before the winter. All the girls agreed and some weeks later they were asked to turn up at Heathrow for the match! Unbeknown to them Rachael had coordinated with a West Indian American who had agreed to fund a match in New York combined with tickets for all the team on Concorde! An example of how Rachael had some incredible connections to be able to create unique cricketing opportunities for her teammates and spread the good word about women's cricket £200-300

Lot 1: Rachael Heyhoe Flint a white Slazenger match worn cricket helmet £150-200

Lot 7: Rachael Heyhoe Flint a blue England blazer, with embroidered pocket badge, inscribed ENGLAND WOMEN'S CRICKET ASSOCIATION £250-350

Lot 21: Rachael Heyhoe Flint an original MCC application for, with personal endorsements from Colin Cowdrey, Tim Rice and subsequent letters, collection of VIP thank you letters including Margaret Thatcher, David Cameron, John Major, Edward Young, Deputy Private Secretary to Queen Elizabeth II, Duchess of Kent etc, Civic Reception Invitation 20th April 2011 £150-200

Lot 24: Rachael Heyhoe Flint Carl Ronald Giles an original cartoon Rachael Heyhoe Flint For Captain, the mount dedicated and signed To Rachael Heyhoe Flint from Giles '77, ink and watercolour, signed, the images 30 x 43cm £500-800

Lot 35: Rachael Heyhoe Flint a Thomas Twort & Sons cricket ball with presentation plaque, inscribed PRESENTED To RACHAEL HEYHOE by W.C.A., ENGLAND v NEW ZEALAND FIRST TEST MATCH SCARBOROUGH 18th 20th & 21st JUNE 1966, 113 RUNS, ENGLAND 1st INNINGS, another limited edition Unigate Foods Limited 1976 cricket ball on stand, with black and white photograph, with St Ives lapel badge, a signed Kookaburra cricket ball, signed by Mike Gatting and a New York Yankees signed baseball (5) £150-200

The Unigate blue ball was presented to all players who played in the first ever Women's match at Lord's in 1976. Blue balls were first made in 1987 as they thought red would remind them of blood and offend.