History of Bucks CCC

were four new faces in the Bucks team and one of these men, WT Brindley, on leave from Ceylon, where he became chief of the harbour police, now played the first of several valuable innings as he made 45 in Bucks’ modest reply of just 95. An hour later the match was over with Kent all out for 15 (Edwards eight for 7). This remains the lowest innings score ever made against Bucks. Only one day’s play was needed at Oxford where Edwards returned match figures of fourteen for 41 as the home team made 60 in each innings. Oxfordshire’s batsmen were even less successful at High Wycombe totalling just 33 and 41 to give Edwards thirteen more wickets for 24. The bat came into its own at The Oval where a century from Hazelton gave Bucks first innings lead in a drawn match. At Bickley Park, Kent looked like exacting revenge for their earlier humiliation as their bowlers skittled Bucks for 66, enforcing the follow on with a lead of 108. It was Brindley who rode to the rescue. A battling 50 and a partnership of 93 with Le Gros helped to overhaul the deficit and set Kent 81 for victory. With Edwards keeping one end quiet, Brindley now took over with the ball, returning career-best figures of seven for 20 to lead Bucks to an unlikely win by 26 runs. These results earned Bucks a trip to Jesmond to challenge Northumberland, who had won all their matches. Brindley top-scored with 50 in Bucks’ first innings total of 205, after which there were ten more wickets for Edwards at a cost of 64 as, for the fourth time this year, opponents failed to reach 100 in either innings. Easy winners by 157 runs, Bucks will seldom have sent a stronger attack into the field. With Payne and Brindley in support of Edwards, it barely mattered that Hazelton could play in only four matches. Moreover, among the newcomers to the team was 21-year-old OG Battcock, who would become the mainstay of Bucks bowling in later years and succeed to the captaincy in 1948. Oliver Battcock played in five matches in 1925, but the handbook saw him as ‘a promising left-hand bat’ and he bowled not one ball. Another whose talent with the ball went virtually unused in 1925 was EA Fawcus, a capable all-rounder who played for the RAF and who enjoyed three seasons playing for Bucks while serving at Halton. This was also the only year in which the county had the services of JN Buchanan, who had captained Cambridge in 1909 and had later served on the committee of MCC. Buchanan had been in the Grenadier Guards with Aubrey-Fletcher during the War and he was another Bucks man to have won the Military Cross. Thirty eight years of age when he first played for Bucks, Buchanan proved a useful opening partner for Brindley. Though his bowling was not needed he maintained his formidable reputation in the field, being described as ‘one of the most brilliant slip fielders in England’. With Brindley back in Ceylon, Buchanan injured all summer and Le Gros restricted to one match through pressure of business, Bucks did well to end the 1926 season in joint second position. There was only one loss, and among the five victories was a cliff-hanger at High Wycombe in the final match when Edwards claimed an lbw decision off the last ball of the penultimate over to beat Surrey Second Eleven by 102 runs. There was jubilation at the outcome and the Bucks Free Press congratulated the team on ‘a glorious victory’ as it relished the prospect of another Challenge Match, this time against Durham. However, the celebrations were to prove premature. In the words of the handbook: ‘It can be imagined with what disappointment Bucks subsequently received the news that Oxfordshire were placed above them in the Championship table.’ With three teams level, all with identical playing records, Oxfordshire were ultimately accorded second place by virtue of having a higher ‘nett batting average’. There were 74 wickets for Edwards this year and Franklin recovered his best form with the bat; but the loss of so many leading players gave opportunities to several 48 Success continues