History of Bucks CCC

The third young man helping to maintain Bucks’ supremacy around this time in the triumvirate with Skinner and Rutter was RHJ Brooke, one of the finest batsmen ever to wear a Bucks cap. A product of St Edward’s Oxford, he was just 20 when he burst on the scene in 1929, scoring what was then a Bucks record of 822 runs in 19 innings. His figures were less startling in the next two seasons, but in 1932 Hubert Brooke averaged 49.33 and his 740 runs included 164 not out at Bedford School, an innings which surpassed by two runs the previous best for Bucks set in 1909. This was also the year in which Brooke won a blue at Oxford, hitting four centuries for the university that had scorned his talent when he first went up. He went on to teach for 30 years at Shrewsbury, returning to play for Bucks in 1934 and 1935, though without the success of his best years. Apart from taking the cricket at Shrewsbury, he taught French and English to the lower forms. A former pupil remembers him fondly as a bit of an eccentric who used to enjoy getting his class to sing songs and one who imposed order in jocular fashion by shouting ‘This is war’ if his charges were getting out of hand. The late disc jockey and broadcaster John Peel was another who came under Brooke’s wing at Shrewsbury, years later paying tribute to ‘RHJ’ for encouraging him to shut himself away and make his own music. In later life Brooke was ordained and spent his last years as rector of Great Canfield in Essex. Brooke’s fine batting and a normal quotient of 72 wickets from Edwards were the major factors in steering Bucks back to second in the table and earning the county another Challenge Match in 1929. The season had begun with defeat at The Oval, but not before Hazelton had batted splendidly for 124 not out, his second century for the county and the highest of his career. It looked as though Bucks might be on the way to another defeat at Ascott when they trailed Norfolk by 40 on first innings and later needed 238 to win, but the two young lions of the batting line-up, Brooke (86) and Skinner (104), combined to steer the county home by six wickets. After the match the three rising stars, Brooke, Skinner and Rutter, were all awarded their county caps. Three more victories and first innings points in a further three of their ten-match programme allowed Bucks to challenge Oxfordshire. Along the way the team had twice denied Staffordshire, and the great Sydney Barnes, in taking first innings points, with Oliver Battcock winning eternal fame by twice hitting the former Test bowler into the river at High Wycombe. The Challenge Match was played on the Merton College ground. Franklin won the toss and may have regretted deciding to bat on a difficult pitch, from which Oxfordshire gained an early advantage that they never surrendered, winning the match by ten wickets after Bucks had been dismissed for only 61 on the second morning. A highlight of the 1930 season was a return of nine for 29 for Frank Edwards against Oxfordshire, the best innings analysis ever recorded by a Bucks bowler. Later in the season he took eight for 13 and seven for 31 against Kent Second Eleven – yet he still ended up on the losing side. Needing just 51 to win in this low-scoring match, Bucks were bowled out for 24, sliding to one of the county’s most ignominious defeats and one that surrendered the chance of another Challenge Match. After taking fourth place in the table in 1930, Bucks moved up to third the following year, a season in which the team was often thwarted by the weather. The ever enterprising Franklin devised what was then a novel stratagem to conjure full points for a victory against Hertfordshire at High Wycombe, when he proposed that both sides should declare their innings closed after just one ball. There might have been another Challenge Match for Bucks had Franklin managed to persuade Oxfordshire to take the same approach after a blank first day in the match at Banbury, but the home captain would have none of it. 51 Success continues