History of Bucks CCC

As a relatively young man – he was only 27 – and with limited knowledge of all the players on the local circuit, Mackintosh was seen by many as a surprising choice to succeed Parry at a time when a number of others fancied taking on the job. He soon found himself involved with a tricky selection decision for the Gillette Cup match against Kent at Canterbury: should he play Champniss or his own club colleague Sant? “We opted for Champniss,” he now recalls. “We thought his novelty value might buy us a couple of wickets. I remember getting a personal visit from Mike Sant on that Sunday evening absolutely berating me about his omission. I can see him now!” With match figures of eleven for 116 Sant had played the major part in beating Suffolk at Marlow in 1973, but for all his Aussie aggression, the case for Champniss is supported by their end of career figures. Mackintosh had already played in the Glamorgan cliff-hanger, and he recalls the lunch interval at Canterbury of his first match in charge. Bucks were again calling the tune against first-class opposition, and had reached 126 for no wicket against one of the most successful one-day sides: “I thought, ‘Is there a possibility that we might be featuring on the back pages of the Sunday newspapers?’” Once again John Turner was rising to the challenge of a big occasion. His opening partner was Gwynne Jones, a powerful Rhodesian, who had made his debut in 1972 and was to play 57 matches before the end of the decade. Jones perished shortly after the resumption, but Turner went on to 88 as Bucks posted a competitive 223 for 5 from their 60 overs. Derek Underwood, then at the peak of his powers, ended with no wicket for 52. Another England player, Brian Luckhurst, soon fell to Lever as Kent began their reply and, when Champniss limbered up in preparation to bowl, Ray Bond remembers that his preliminaries included a couple of cartwheels! Other team members recall that there was a notable ripple of noise around the ground. “Try a googly first up,” David Smith suggested as Champniss prepared to bowl to Mike Denness. England’s captain of the time failed to read it but survived an lbw appeal, and an unbeaten 120 from Graham Johnson saw Kent to a comfortable seven-wicket victory. Nevertheless it was John Turner whom Reg Simpson chose as his Man of the Match. 80 Gillette Cup excitement: Chris Parry & David Mackintosh The Bucks team under Chris Parry Back row (l to r): Ray Bond, Nigel Rogers, Gwynne Jones, David Smith, John Turner, Ron Hooker Front row: Brian Poll, Mike Sant, Chris Parry, Keith Edwards, David Mackintosh