Lives in Cricket No 46 - George Raikes

116 County professional – and soon wished that he had chosen another bowler. Opening bat, W.N.Roe (who had dismissed Raikes in the Gentlemen’s first innings and would go on to do so in the second innings as well), launched an all-out attack and took just 23 minutes to reach his half-century, at which point he was bowled. But not by either of the opening bowlers, both of whom had retired to the outfield. The Emeriti continued to score rapidly, eventually being dismissed for exactly 300 in just over three hours. To keep the game alive as a contest the Gentlemen had to call on a thirteenth player, M.Garnier, to turn his arm over and he rescued his team by taking six for 56. Covill and Raikes returned to take a wicket each but their figures were not impressive, being 12-0-74-1 and 9-0-46-1 respectively. Going in again, the Gentlemen improved only slightly; with W.K.Garnier making 29 and Harry Low finishing unbeaten on 26 not out, they concluded on 147. The final margin of defeat was an innings and 47 runs. Raikes contributed only four runs to the total and so left the arena of ‘big’ cricket on a relatively unsuccessful note. Although his playing days were now over, he continued to be an active member of the county club. The 1927 season saw him a member both of Norfolk’s General Committee and of its Executive Committee. His name figures in the list of subscribers (at £1 1s 0d), alongside his brother Ernest. A Sporting Old Age – Golf and Lawn Tennis in Bungay With Raikes no longer wanting to play cricket (or soccer), his participation in other sports at which he was naturally gifted – golf and lawn tennis – moved into the relative limelight, where he was joined by his wife, Maud, who was every bit as keen a player of tennis as her husband and, if anything, a more enthusiastic golfer. It comes as no surprise that Raikes had chosen a ‘sporty’ wife and, in events for ‘mixed doubles’, they were frequently to be found competing as a pair in both sports. The Raikes were members of the Bungay and Waveney Valley Golf Club, as was George’s elder brother Ernest (note 2) . Both represented the club in what might be called semi-competitive contests against other clubs in Norfolk. Such contests usually involved eight players on either side; each player would contest one singles match, following which the eight were divided into four pairs to contest the doubles matches. Playing off a decent handicap of around eight, Raikes could be found turning out against ‘senior’ opponents such as Eaton and Royal Norwich and he was no passenger in the Bungay team. Maud, whose handicap was also commendable at around 13, was, if anything, more active in inter-club contests than her husband and continued to play after he began to drift away. The family Raikes were often in contention for trophies on offer by the Bungay and Waveney Club and the month of September 1921 saw them The Rector of Bergh Apton - The End of a Muscular Christian