Root right to call out cricketer’s remarks, says former England star
THE FORMER England women’s cricket star Enid Bakewell came to Joe Root’s defence yesterday over his challenge to a West Indies player on the field.
The Sheffield-born captain of the national team was “quite right” to intervene, Mrs Bakewell said as she collected an MBE from the Princess Royal at Buckingham Palace.
Root had been heard telling the West Indies bowler Shannon Gabriel: “Don’t use it as an insult – there’s nothing wrong with being gay” after an inaudible outburst during Tuesday’s Test match.
Mrs Bakewell, 78, said: “He’s got a very good point and he’s quite right to say it.”
The former player, who scored 1,078 Test runs during her career, praised Root’s calm response.
She added: “He was good in that he didn’t respond in a vicious way, given that the chap who said it meant it as an insult.
“Joe Root played it right back by saying ‘there’s nothing wrong with being gay’.”
Mrs Bakewell also commended the progress on equality made in women’s cricket over the last four decades.
She said: “The last time I saw Princess Anne was in 1973 when we won the World Cup against the Australians at Edgbaston.
“We were not allowed to play at Lord’s because we were women. We’ve just been liberated since then. They recognise our worth.”
But she said there was still not full equality of the sexes.
“We’re moving in the right direction, but women in general have got a way to go to be recognised for their talents and value. They need to be treated equally with men,” she said.
The ceremony also saw two firefighters collect bravery honours for their role in battling a blaze at a care home.
Wayne Ansell and Simon Best of Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service were awarded the Queen’s Gallantry Medal in recognition of their response to the fire at the care home in Cheshunt in April 2017.
They were recognised alongside five of their colleagues.