Edward Wilkins

Edward John Paul Wilkins (29 September 1835 – 23 April 1921), known later by the surname "Wilkins-Leir," was an English clergyman and a cricketer who played in four first-class cricket matches in 1858 and 1859. He was born at Hempstead, Norfolk and died at Weston, Bath, Somerset.

The son of the rector of St Andrew's Church, Hempstead, Wilkins was educated at Marlborough College and Trinity Hall, Cambridge. As a cricketer, he was a lower-order batsman and in his first-class matches he both bowled and kept wicket; it is unknown whether he was right- or left-handed, and his bowling style is unknown. That led to his selection, just three days later, for the Cambridge University team for the annual University Match against Oxford University. 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. His only game in 1859 was the match against the MCC; he took his only wicket as a bowler. 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."