History of Bucks CCC

Foreword It gives me great pleasure to write the foreword to Douglas Miller’s superb book which records the detail of the history of the Bucks County Cricket Club, with many fascinating anecdotes and no punches pulled. I didn’t quite appreciate the vast amount of research and sheer hard work that would be necessary, when I suggested casually that a history of Bucks cricket should be published, and would be of great interest to all those who have played for or supported the county over the years, and also to future generations of Bucks cricketers. Douglas, being Douglas, rose manfully to the challenge and I hope he will feel the effort has been worthwhile – I certainly do! As with all good books, once I started reading it I could hardly put it down, and of course particularly enjoyed the period when I was reasonably actively involved with the County. I well remember my first Bucks Committee meeting at the old Great Western Hotel in Paddington, over 50 years ago, when Walter Franklin was ‘god’ and it took a brave man to oppose his views, particularly if you were only 22 years old. Oliver Battcock, a great character, Ben Barnett, a tremendous captain and motivator, Peter Stoddart, John Slack, Chris Parry and many others through to the present skipper Paul Atkins are all evidence of how lucky Bucks has been with its captains. There have also been a series of administrators, Tyson Chambers, Tony Prince, Paul Slatter, Jackie Tomlin and, of course, our present secretary Kevin Beaumont – all of them have served the County with great distinction. I hope I will be forgiven if I give special mention, as Douglas has, to my guide and mentor Tom Orford, who started the Bucks Young Amateurs in 1946 and gave huge encouragement to all young cricketers in the County. Tom was a legend and taught us all how to play the great game and, as importantly, how to behave on the field (no sledging in those days!) and also how to reply promptly with dates of availability! Enjoy this book – I’m confident you will and should you find any errors, do let Douglas know as he is always keen for a discussion! I’m sure you will agree with me that it is a marvellous read and does Bucks County Cricket Club proud. I should add that I’m sure Douglas would also like to hear your views on his best Bucks Eleven of all time – personally I thought John Turner was unlucky not to make the side but, unsurprisingly, I never knew Charles Gresson! Robin Peppiatt 5