Lives in Cricket No 49 - Enid Bakewell

36 After Dartford In January 1966 Enid had started a new job as Head of Girls’ PE at Stanton Hall School in Sutton-in-Ashfield, but she was only there for two terms as she had fallen pregnant. ‘I was forced to leave once I was seven months pregnant as someone had sued the county when she had slipped and fell, so the rule was made and I had no choice. I played cricket at five months pregnant and wanted to win something - the head thought that I was going to have the baby on the athletics track - but the school managed to win the area trophy for athletics and a cleaning lady at the school advised me to keep active - consequently I had an easy first birth. At 7.30 in the evening I started in labour at home. Lorna was born at 12 minutes past midnight with Acker Bilk playing ‘Stranger on the Shore’ on the radio.’ Enid was mentioned in the brochure for the New Zealand tour as one of England’s leading players, described as ‘a right handed opening bat and left-handed bowler who flights the ball intelligently’. But Lorna was born in August, so there could be no cricket this year. Generally, Nottingham club and equally the county side were very poor at putting any information into Women’s Cricket . No teams, no fixtures, no results (it looks as though when one does appear it’s the opposition that put it in). There is no trace of the club records at Taunton or at Trent Bridge (and I would not be too hopeful of local papers). At the start of 1967 would Enid have dreamed of Australia? She was in the running but had not clearly staked a place. The May 1967 edition of the WCA magazine gives notice of the tour of Australia and New Zealand and says a conservative estimate for costs would be £600 a head for fare, uniform and pocket money. This edition also contains a letter from Enid. “I now have a six and a half month old baby who helps to keep life full of household chores. Fortunately I also have a very good mother who loves to look after the baby and shares the washing and the ironing that Lorna makes daily. “In this way I am relieved three mornings each week to teach at the local primary school. Saturdays I usually spend playing hockey or watching Nottingham Forest with my husband. Cricket is confined to one night’s indoor practice at the County nets in Nottingham. “For several seasons the club in Nottinghamshire has been dwindling. This year, however, I hope that we shall succeed in building the membership up to former standards.” She was also running (with the pram and the baby) between her home and her parents’ house to keep herself fit. In terms of work Enid had returned as a part-time teacher, having to juggle work and family commitments as well as cricket. She still seemed to manage to play a lot of cricket in 1967, much of it for Rachael Heyhoe’s pick-up sides who went around playing against men’s teams in the Midlands, all in the interest of spreading the