Lives in Cricket No 49 - Enid Bakewell

89 Enid in South Africa again representative on the ICC, told SACU’s Dr Ali Bacher: ‘Until apartheid goes, you can forget about getting back into world cricket.’ Women’s cricket seemed to be constantly surprised by political reality. They had to withdraw invitations to South African players who would have been part of the International XI for the 1973 World Cup, yet a few months later the IWCC was actually suggesting that South Africa would be the venue for the next one. The WCA comment on this was it is unfortunate that countries cannot, through political influences or government pressure, play cricket with whom they liked, but it is hoped that the situation might alter in the future. The women themselves were bothered by the politics of it (but not enough to say no); Enid stressing that South Africa looked less threatening than they expected, and there was someone they stayed with whose ‘maid’ lived in a shed at the bottom of the garden but was treated like one of the family in the house. The invitation for 1978-79 had been to a ‘non-representative’ side but the matches they played were described as ‘Test matches’ in South Africa. It is quite clear that the visit was intended as deliberate sanctions-busting, the difference from the men’s ‘rebel’ tours being financial. This was a time at which sanction-busting was on some people’s agendas, the time of the importing of South African athlete Zola Budd by the Daily Mail. In 1986, the Times carried a report on January 7 by Ivo Tennant, covering the Australian rebel tour, from Cape Town, saying that the Unicorns party – a private touring side - included at least two women who could come into contention for selection and that this was endangering future series. The matter was raised, apparently for the first time, by the delegates from Surrey at the 1986 WCA AGM on January 11, 1986, where it was pointed out that unofficial tours involving international players or well-known members of the WCA could endanger the Sports Council grant and so the very existence of the association. The WCA yearbook for 1986 reported on the AGM (at the time the ‘Unicorns’ were actually in South Africa). A show of hands at the meeting indicated overwhelming support for Surrey’s motion. All this had been done under ‘any other business’ so the matter had to be referred to the executive committee to consider (for instance) holding an emergency general meeting. What the executive committee did was issue a statement (in WCA News volume one, number four): The players touring South Africa are there as individuals and as such the WCA can have no control over their decision to go. However as a result of the strong feeling expressed at the AGM, it has been decided that those players currently in South Africa shall not be considered for selection to the England team to play India in the Test and one-day international series this summer. Further it has been decided that players attending selection weekend will be required to sign a statement conforming to the spirit of the Gleneagles Agreement to say that they will