Lives in Cricket No 49 - Enid Bakewell

95 1986 onwards overs a side so her 28 was top score, followed by 3-1-14-1. In the second she made 13 but bowled six overs for five runs, handy in the context of a win by three runs. In the third game she bowled tightly, 8-1-17-1, but was then out for two. There was another game two weeks later and 11-3-21- 1 and a match-winning 69 not out. That could have been grounds for a recall, but there were no international matches in 1989. In June East Midlands played Middlesex. East Midlands made 185 for four declared (Enid 34), Middlesex 124: Enid bowled six overs, taking one for 12. Next came the Women’s Area Championship at Cambridge. East Midlands thrashed Lancashire & Cheshire in the first match, Enid making 87 (run out) of 283 for nine, then bowling 11-7-14-1 with Lancashire & Cheshire out for 147. Then they bowled Thames Valley out for 79 (Enid 9-0-26-2) and scored 80 for four (Enid 16). Kent were bowled out for 103 (Enid 11-5-20-2) and Enid scored 45 as East Midlands won by seven wickets. Yorkshire were out for 102 (Enid 11-1-28-3) and East Midlands made 106 for one (Enid 41) and the last match was against West Midlands, who scored 132 for three, Enid bowling a parsimonious 11 overs (with seven maidens) for eight runs. East Midlands scored 136 for two, Enid making 31. Played five, won five. Nottingham reached the semi-final of the club knockout this year, losing to Wakefield: Nottingham 148 (Enid 22), Wakefield 149 for two with Enid taking two for 49 in ten overs. They had beaten Riverside in the quarter final. Enid also played for the President’s XI against Cambridge Ladies in a match to mark the retirement of Myra Carpenter, and she played in Cricket Week – it was a busy year. In the territorial championship MidWest played South, who made 102 for eight (Enid 6-3-7-1), and although she then made only ten, MidWest won by five wickets. They then beat the North, Enid run out for one, but they reached 167 for eight and North scored 129 (Enid 11-7-7-2) and also beat the East, making 183 for six against 89 for nine, so winning this tournament. Then came the Area championship final and East Midlands thrashed Surrey; Surrey 105 for eight (Enid 11-2-14-1), East Midlands 107 for none (Enid 47 not out, Wendy Watson 53 not out). This had been a busy year. Enid’s bowling this year had been remarkably tight, usually conceding well under two an over. She seemed to be almost impossible to score off, though she says ‘they were playing the reputation, not the bowling’. And she was a leading contributor to the East Midlands and MidWest victories in their respective championships. In 1990 East Midlands were to repeat their win. In a friendly against Surrey, East Midlands scored 187 for seven declared (Enid 44), Surrey 136 (Enid 11-8-7-0). Then came the Area Championships at Cambridge. East Midlands played BA Daniels XI (a scratch side replacing a team that dropped out) and scored 280 for three (Enid 117 run out), BA Daniels XI 51 (Enid 1.4-0-1-1). Against Thames Valley, East Midlands made 230 for three declared (Enid 46) and Thames Valley were all out for 129. Enid’s figures (11-9-6-4) show