History of Bucks CCC

particularly like to thank Roy New (Berkshire), Bob Simons (Hertfordshire), Julian Lawton Smith (Oxfordshire) and Colin Munford (Suffolk), all of whom have gone beyond the call of duty in checking scores and offering other bits of advice and information. In all four instances I have had access to the histories or statistical summaries for their counties, to which I have referred freely. For the early years of this history I have relied exclusively on the printed word, but the story of more recent times has benefited from the personal testimony of many of those who took part in the matches or the affairs of the County Club off the field. I have sat, with tape-recorder running, in home or hostelry with (in alphabetical order): Paul Atkins, Kevin Beaumont, John Cockett, Ken Drucquer, Ian Feasey, David Mackintosh, Chris Parry, Robin Peppiatt, Tim Scriven, John Slack, David Smith, Jack Tomlin and Stuart York. I have spoken more cursorily or on the telephone, sometimes at length, to: Ray Bond, Neil Burns, Paul Dolphin, Jason Harrison, Fred Hawkins, Brian Janes, Paula Johns, Michael Knox, Colin Lever, Brian Lucas, John Rogers, Tim Russell, Simon Stanway, Peter Stoddart, John Swain, John Tovey, Francis Whiting and John RWilliams. Officers and older members of a number of local clubs have also kindly furnished information when, often as a total stranger, I rang asking questions about players of the past. I should particularly mention Colin Kightley for information provided about the early history of cricket at Wolverton. I have made use of the following books of reference: Arthur Haygarth’s Cricket Scores and Biographies, The Dawn of Cricket by T Waghorn, Fresh Light on 18 th Century Cricket by GB Buckley, Fresh Light on Pre-Victorian Cricket by GB Buckley, The History of Cricket by Peter Wynne-Thomas, Cricket: a History of its Growth and Development throughout the World by Rowland Bowen, Barclays’ World of Cricket, Playfair Cricket Annuals, Who’s Who of Cricketers (Bailey, Thorn and Wynne-Thomas), Oxford and Cambridge Cricket by George Chesterton and Hubert Doggart, Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack, the Wisden Book of Obituaries, Who’s Who, Who’s Who in Buckinghamshire, Bucks, Berks and Beds Contemporary Biographies (1907) and Walford’s County Families of the United Kingdom. My principal on-line source has been CricketArchive, which has been an invaluable reference point for first-class career records. The newspapers that I have particularly perused are: Bucks Advertiser, Bucks Free Press and Bucks Herald. Many other newspapers have been consulted to trace scores. I am grateful to the staff of the Local Studies section of the County Library in Aylesbury, where I have been assisted in many ways and, in particular, in finding details of certain county families. In addition I have visited the MCC Library at Lord’s and looked through sundry editions of Cricket, the Cricketer and some club histories. I should like to thank Adam Chadwick and his staff for their unfailingly helpful attitude and, in particular, for allowing me access to minutes of committee meetings where there might have been deliberations relevant to Bucks’ possible elevation to first-class status. Throughout the writing of this history I have constantly referred to the work of Paul Slatter, produced for the centenary of the County Club in 1991. Working against the clock to meet a deadline and knowing that his health was failing, he achieved a brilliant résumé of the county’s deeds to that date. I never had the good fortune to meet Paul, nor have I had his advantage of being at the centre of affairs in the county. What he knew at first hand I have gleaned through the reports of others. However, I now have one major compensating advantage – a comprehensive statistical base which has enabled me to fill in many of the gaps that Paul had to leave void, most notably details of early century makers. Moreover, I have had the time to explore the history of cricket in the county before the formation of the present County Club. 7