Herbie Collins - Playing Style and Personality

Playing Style and Personality

Collins was short, no more than 5 ft 8 in (173 cm) and slight. As a batsman, he was not an extravagant strokeplayer, preferring to avoid risk and leave balls on a good length where possible. He batted with very little backlift and at first inspection could seem strokeless, scoring only from pushes and prods, nudges and dabs. His patience was renowned with the contemporary cricket writer Ray Robinson remarking " had an implacable trench warfare style that in difficult times earned admiration from his own side, put bowlers on the road to exasperation and sent onlookers through the doors of bars." His one bold shot was an over-the-shoulder hook shot, finishing standing on his right foot, his left foot six inches in the air. Deficient in driving power, bowlers learnt to lessen his scoring power by pitching the ball well up. He often batted without the protection of gloves, especially on easy pitches.

Collins bowled his slow left arm spinners off two steps, with seemingly little effort. In South Africa while bowling, a batsman was heard to yell "Collins is getting weary, Why don't you carry him to the wicket?" After his efforts for the AIF team he seldom bowled long spells again.

Popular with his men, Collins was respected for his faith in his team mates and his ability to relate to different personalities. The Test leg-spinner, Arthur Mailey noted, "I learnt more of the psychology of cricket from Collins from all the hundreds of cricketers I met." Bert Oldfield said of Collins, "He studied every player's temperament and acted accordingly." Collins was undemonstrative, expecting his fieldsmen to look at him every after every delivery and adjust their position in response to his slight hand movements or even a bent finger. He was last to shower at the end of a day's play, preferring to sit in a corner in silence. His team mates assumed that he was contemplating the day's action and pondering on the next day's possibilities. He was a successful Test captain, leading Australia to five wins and two losses; four matches finished in draws.

Many nicknames attached themselves to Collins, including "Lucky" and "Horseshoe" as a result of his reputation for fortune, especially when it came to tossing the coin. His players called him "Maudy" (probably because of his left-handedness) and "Nutty"; it is unclear if this was because he used his "nut" (head) or was a hard nut to crack. Mailey nicknamed him "The squirrel", claiming that Collins eyes glowed at night, enabling him to see better at night than by day. Collins has a bohemian character who enjoyed all night poker and baccarat sessions and evenings at the opera. "Poker Face", indeed, was another of his nicknames. He had a light tenor voice himself and would sometimes sing at parties. While in the army, Collins became a chain smoker but he remained a teetotaller, save for an occasional glass of celebratory champagne.