History of Bucks CCC

EHD Sewell brings hope In many ways 1911 was a pivotal season for Bucks in which some of the bricks that would build a stronger future first came to light. Foremost among these was the arrival of EHD Sewell. He came with a colourful past, but his overall contribution to the game still had years to run. Edward Humphrey Dalrymple Sewell was born in India and, returning there as a civil servant, he set new records as a batsman. He was the first man in India to score three consecutive centuries and likewise the first to pass 200 on two occasions. Returning to England he joined Essex as a professional, an unusual move for the son of an army officer and one educated at Bedford Grammar School. For his adopted county he batted with gusto, and when he played at anything but first-class level he was also a formidable bowler. For a time Sewell was employed as a coach with Surrey and, after retiring from the game, he embarked on a career as a journalist, reporting on cricket for the Daily Sketch . A man of trenchant and sometimes unorthodox views, he had a regular seat in the Long Room at Lord’s, where he was invariably engaged in discussion with his large circle of friends. He published several books on the game, in which he aired his opinions as well as indulging in selecting endless teams with an idiosyncratic flavour such as an eleven of those who batted left-handed but were right-arm bowlers or a team of cricketers with the names of a flower or vegetable. This was the man, now living in Slough, who in 1911 threw in his lot with the Bucks County Cricket Club. He was by now almost 39 but, still seeking a new challenge, he began by taking over as secretary from the hapless HG Hogarth while he acquired his residential qualification to play for the county. At the Annual General Meeting before the 1912 season Sewell was elected captain. He later declined to take the post, preferring to serve as vice-captain to Lowndes, who was persuaded to carry on for one more year. The turnaround in Bucks’ fortunes was in no small measure due to Sewell’s arrival, and in his second season he assumed the captaincy. In 1912, for the first time since 1904, Bucks’ victories outnumbered defeats. Three wins were obtained, against Bedfordshire, Wiltshire and Berkshire, all by comfortable margins, and the only loss was to Wiltshire in the last match of the season after losing the toss and being asked to bat on a difficult pitch. In an especially wet summer two matches were abandoned without a ball bowled and two were drawn. There was a more settled side this year, and Sewell’s own contribution was outstanding. As an opening bat he averaged 40.63 and he bowled 350 overs to take 46 wickets at 14.09. Mat Wright, with 132 overs and 22 wickets, trailed some way behind, and from other quarters there was only modest support, PL Frith and DH Field doing best, the latter hitting 103 in his first match for the county, away to Bedfordshire. This was a match that Bucks won by an innings and 68 runs with victory set up by a first innings score of 505, still the highest ever recorded by the county. Though their individual performances were still often modest, this was a time when a number of younger players of talent first made their mark. Two sons of the Rev ED Shaw, Edward and Bernard, both played for Bucks and in the run feast at Bedford they had contributed 76 and 65. EA Shaw’s first match had been in 1908, two years before he was to leave Marlborough as its captain of cricket, and on one occasion that year he 37 EHD Sewell brings hope EHD Sewell