As one of the greatest ambassadors of women’s cricket turns 80 on 16th Decemeber, let’s go down memory lane to relive some of her greatest moments on and off the field. Enid Bakewell, the star English all-rounder celebrates her birthday today.
(Feb. 12, 2019 – Source: Dominic Lipinski/Getty Images Europe)
Boasting of some envious statistics with both bat and ball, there is seldom any doubt that Bakewell has been one of the greatest all-rounders in English women’s cricket. Across 12 Tests and 23 ODIs for her country between 1968 and 1982, the right-hand bat made six international centuries and took 75 wickets with her left-arm spin.
Wishing a #HappyBirthday to the legendary all-rounder Enid Bakewell 🎂
🏆 35 Matches
🏆 1578 Runs & 75 Wickets
🏆 BBI – 7/61 in Test & HS – 118 in ODIs
🏆 Scored Test Century on Debut in 1968
🏆 Scored 118 in 1973 Women’s WC vs Aus
🏆 Inducted in ICC Hall of Fame in 2012 pic.twitter.com/cpOLiVctip— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) December 16, 2020
One of her centuries is a unique record in the cricket world. Her unbeaten 112 out of England’s 164 against West Indies in the second innings is the highest proportion of runs in a Test match inning, including men’s cricket as well. Bakewell scored 68.29 percent of the team’s runs in the innings. That was her last Test. In that same match, she scalped 10-75 (including career-best figures in the second innings of 7-61). The match was played at Edgbaston in 1979. In Tests, she scored 1,078 runs at an average of 59.88, with four centuries, as well as taking 50 wickets at an average of 16.62. Also, she is one of the four women cricketers to score centuries in consecutive Test innings. The consecutive centuries came against New Zealand in 1969. On her Test debut, she opened the batting against Australia in 1968 and scored a century.
Bakewell has been amazing in the limited-overs format as well. In the first-ever Women’s World Cup competition in 1973, which England won, she scored 118 in the final match against Australia and took 2/28 in 12 overs. She also played, at age 41, in the 1982 Women’s Cricket World Cup, taking 3 for 13 against India at Wanganui and then three for 29 against the International XI at Wellington. She along with Lynne Thomas set the record for the highest opening run partnership in the history of Women’s Cricket World Cup (246).
Though she retired from international cricket at the age of 42, she continued to play for East Midlands into her 50s. She is an ECB-qualified coach.
Her tremendous achievements have been rewarded well. She has been an honorary member of the MCC since 2000. She was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame in 2012, becoming the third woman cricketer to be thus recognized (after Rachel Heyhoe-Flint and Belinda Clark). In 2014, Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack selected her as one of the five greatest female players of all time.
Do you know Enid Bakewell is still playing cricket? She went to La Manga last year to play with an over-40s team from East Anglia. She fielded in the slips and stood as an umpire too. She didn’t bat because she is waiting for a knee replacement.
I am a former cricketer having represented Mumbai University at All India University level. I was a part of MCA probables for the U-19 and U-23 age group. I have been an avid cricket writer for the last five years. Currently I am pursuing my Ph.D from IIT Bombay.