Lives in Cricket No 49 - Enid Bakewell

44 scored 108 for five and the match was drawn. Enid bowled 11 overs and took one for 25. Wisden comments that England would have won the game had they held their catches. Three days had seen 282 overs bowled, which on good pitches was unlikely to be enough to produce a result. Next came New South Wales and a game at Goulburn (120 miles from Sydney) against a NSW Combined XI. Goulburn is now best known for The Big Merino , described as the world’s largest constructed concrete sheep, 50 feet tall, but that was only put up in 1985. In 1969 England made 202 for six declared, Enid and Lynne Thomas opening with 77. Enid was out for 31. The Combined XI toiled to 137 in 54.3 overs, Enid 10-4-25-4. Arriving in Sydney, they then played a two-day match against NSW Women. Enid ran riot, taking eight for 38 in 13 overs as NSW were bowled for 136. Four of them were stumped by Shirley Hodges. England started poorly and when Enid was run out for 17 were only 44 for three, but Lynne Thomas made 62 (run out as well) and they reached 217 for eight declared. NSW made 142 at the second attempt, with four more stumpings for Shirley Hodges and Enid taking four for 58 in 16 overs. England lost four wickets in making 62 to win, Enid was run out again in the process, this time for ten. Smart stumpings by Shirley Hodges and brilliant bowling by Enid Bakewell helped the English women cricketers to beat NSW by six wickets at Sydney yesterday, said the Guardian . At the Manly Oval came a one-day game against a NSW Metropolitan XI who scored 126 with Enid taking five for 40 in 11 overs, including a hat- trick, all three caught by June Moorhouse fielding at silly mid-off. England got 127 for three, with Enid managing to be run out again, so three times in a row, this time for 11. The Third Test was at the North Sydney Oval. It was drawn again: Australia 213 (Enid one for 46) and 210 for three declared (Enid one for 45), England 193 (Enid 12) and 155 for six, Enid out for 17. England had 52 overs to get 231, which was a very tall order given contemporary scoring rates. Enid was stumped and two others run out, suggesting they made an effort. Three Tests in Australia had produced three draws; Australia in particular batted carefully and in a three-day game that was going to produce draws. The Canberra Times said: “Officials and players alike agree that three days is not sufficient playing time for Test decisions, and there is a move to increase playing time to four days for future Tests.” There was one more game in Australia but Enid didn’t play in that one. The Telegraph pointed out that left arm spinner Enid Bakewell was the most successful bowling success in Australia taking 53 wickets in 11 matches at an average of 11.8. A week later they were playing a two-day match in Auckland. England made 259 for seven declared, pulled back after a poor start by Lynne Thomas (70 not out) and June Moorhouse (59). It was enough: Auckland made 149 (Enid two for 38) and followed on under two-day rules, making 110 after reaching 88 for two, with Enid’s figures 25-15-22-4. England had Australia and New Zealand 1968-69