The return at New Road was inconclusive, although Worcestershire’s Bernard Quaife made 89 against his old county, for whom Len Croom scored 81 and 115. During this interregnum there were some notable performances in the Derbyshire-Warwickshire matches outside the Bank Holidays in 1937. Wyatt (232) and Dollery (128) shared a fourth wicket partnership of 253 at Edgbaston, Wyatt declaring at 523 for seven. Derbyshire followed on but saved the game and then a fortnight later at Derby, Copson took eight for 11, including four wickets in four balls, as Warwickshire were sent packing for 28. He extended this to five in six when the second innings started, Derbyshire winning by five wickets. It was soon avenged when the holiday fixtures were resumed in 1938, when the 21-year-old Peter Cranmer was appointed as Warwickshire’s captain in succession to the deposed Wyatt. At the County Ground over Whitsun, Warwickshire, set 311 for victory, lost half their wickets for 39 and the plight seemed hopeless. Dollery (134 not out) and Buckingham (124) then completely altered the course of the match with a partnership of 220 for the sixth wicket, Warwickshire winning by six wickets. Dollery made another hundred in Paine’s benefit at Birmingham but Alf Pope (103), Smith, Worthington and the captain Robin Buckston helped build a lead of 190. Copson (six for 36) did the rest and Derbyshire won by an innings and 28 runs. Inevitably Dollery was among the runs again over the 1939 Whitsun, with 177 in a Warwickshire victory at Edgbaston, Hollies taking 11-127, and there was an interesting switch of venue for the August match. In 1938 Derbyshire had used a ground belonging to Ind Coope & Allsopp Breweries at Burton-on-Trent in Staffordshire, which attracted a Saturday gate of 5,350 for a match against Gloucestershire. Consequently, the 1939 August Bank Holiday fixture was allocated to Burton but the game was dogged by bad weather. Rain restricted play to less than seven hours on the first two days and the final day was blank. It was frustrating for Derbyshire, who had a lead of 142 with all their second innings wickets in hand. It was a miserable end to an even series which produced much fine cricket between the wars. The rivals remained the only counties to have broken the stranglehold of the Big Six and for a time in the mid-1930s it looked a toss-up which club would do so again. Breaching the Big Six 85