History of Bucks CCC

Regional Divisions for the Minor Counties Success again For some time the Minor Counties Cricket Association had been grappling with ideas for creating a more competitive structure for their game. In 1983, empowered by sponsorship from the United Friendly Insurance Company, the Association was able to introduce the concept of a championship with two regionally separated divisions of ten counties all of whom would play each other once, with a one-day play-off match between the winners of the two divisions. Gone for ever was the notion of counties choosing their own opponents, and with it went the old home and away arrangement that had helped to foster so many friendships - and some bitter rivalries. There was also recognition of the growing popularity of limited-overs cricket with the introduction of the English Industrial Estates knockout competition. Assigned to the Western Division of the new Championship, Bucks lost all their traditionally established opponents except Oxfordshire and Berkshire. Instead, they found themselves embarking on a tour to Devon and Cornwall, renewing acquaintance with Wiltshire and, for the first time since the spats with Franklin, Dorset. They were also to be playing at Taunton against Somerset Second Eleven, the only remaining representative of the first-class counties, soon to be replaced byWales. Completing the list of new opponents were Shropshire and Cheshire. There was a splendid start to the season with wins by emphatic margins against Shropshire and Somerset, albeit the latter was only achieved when the last wicket was captured with eleven balls to spare. The Dorset match was lost, but there were then three victories on the trot against Oxfordshire, Cornwall and Devon. Next came the season’s only drawn game, with Bucks still needing two wickets to beat Cheshire. The divisional title was already safe before the penultimate match was lost to Wiltshire by 84 runs at High Wycombe, but the programme ended on a more fitting note with a ten-wicket defeat of Berkshire at Amersham. The strength of the side was its batting. A county record was set with an average of over 36 runs scored per wicket lost. Richard Hayward, back in the side after trying his luck with Hampshire, led the way with 853 runs at 77.55 – only Colin Lever had ever scored more, Dick Humphrey averaged 53.22, Mike Milton weighed in with 558 runs at nearly 43, and newly registered Mickey Gear, a former Bedfordshire player, also averaged over 38. Those making all the runs were the imported players. One local boy who made his county debut in 1983 was Andrew Harwood, who had been scoring prolifically for the Young Amateurs and the Under 25 side. In four matches he averaged 31, but was still denied a regular place. His fielding was comparatively weak and, in common with other young players like Dolphin, his innings tended to be one-paced when the shape of a typical minor counties game put a premium on dominating the bowling to set up or chase totals. The bowling, meanwhile, remained heavily reliant on Andy Lyon, who ended with 42 wickets, while Milton, who had by far his best season as a bowler, claimed 32 with his left-arm spinners. Of the other bowlers only Connor, taking his wickets more 89