History of Bucks CCC

heavyweight with the bat. An Australian, Paul Roshier, who had played a few games for Kent Second Eleven, came into the side as an opening bowler but cut little ice. This was the last year in which Paul Slatter was to watch his beloved Bucks teams in action. He had known that time was not on his side as he had bravely produced an estimable short history of the club for the centenary, and his death came on 16 March 1992. His contribution to Bucks’ cricket, appreciated best by those who represented the teams, still stands second to none, and his parting was equally mourned by local dramatic and operatic groups, for whom he had produced 25 shows. Always a hard taskmaster, his obituary notice in the yearbook quoted his son: “He had a professional attitude and found it difficult to accept anything less in other people. Not everyone found him easy to get on with, but he enriched many people’s lives.” Switch to Eastern Division When Gary Black took over the captaincy in 1992 he was immediately presented with a more demanding challenge in the Championship. To accommodate newcomers Herefordshire, Bucks were moved to the Eastern Division, where there was general agreement that playing standards were higher. There was no shortage of drama in the opening match as Bucks set out to make 135 for victory against Hertfordshire. Fifteen were still needed when last man Booden joined Roshier. They edged closer to the target until Booden succumbed to the third ball of the final over, giving Herts victory by just one run. Thereafter there was a two-wicket win against Cumberland and a disappointing loss to Cambridgeshire, sandwiched between draws, before Bucks entered the final match, against Bedfordshire at Amersham, needing a win to secure qualification for the NatWest Trophy. Set to score 200 in 95 minutes plus 20 overs, Bucks’ middle order seemed to have lost their way so that, with only 20 balls remaining, 39 were still needed. The clean hitting of Bruce Percy and Tim Barry met the challenge with just one ball to spare. With comprehensive defeats in the knockout competitions, by 201 runs to Sussex in the NatWest and by 148 runs to Staffordshire in the semi-final of the Holt Cup, it was not an easy first season for the new captain, who had had to cope with the loss of several players to injury and other calls. That winter Gary Black managed the second Bucks tour overseas, with Neil Hames resuming as captain, on this occasion visiting Zimbabwe, still a tourist haven, where there was time to see Victoria Falls and to visit game parks while enjoying a competitive programme of eleven 50-over games, of which six were won. Black’s second year was beset with similar problems to his first and the team had little luck. There was a decent performance before losing to Leicestershire in the NatWest, but participation in the knockout, now styled the MCC Trophy, ended in the first round. The Championship brought only one win and Bucks sank to ninth place in the table. Despite these difficulties the captain earned nothing but praise from his successor, Tim Scriven, who saw him as an aggressive leader who was always looking to be positive and win games. By this time he was making less of a contribution as a player 99 Switch to Eastern Division Gary Black