Cricket 1887

“ Toge ther joined in cricket’s m an ly toil.”— Byron. THURSDAY, JULY 7, 1887. p r i c e 2 d . MR. EDWARD HASTINGS BUCK ­ LAND . J u & t of late years Marlborough College has been only sparingly represented in University elevens. Since Mr. A. G. Steel so ably up­ held the reputation of the School as a nursery for amateur cricketers, as far as we are aware no Marlburian has been successful in gaining a place in the Cam­ bridge team. The credit of the School, though, has during the last few years been thoroughly main­ tained in the sister University by the excellent all-round playerwhose portrait could hardly be presented at a more fitting time than at the close of the Oxford season—a season in which he has himself taken such a conspicuous part. Mr. E. H. Buckland, a younger brother, by- the-way, of awell-known Eton and Oxford cricketer, Mr. F. M. Buck­ land, whose score of 117 not out contributed to the victory of Oxford over Cambridge, at Lord’s in 1877, was born at Laleham, in Middlesex, on June 20,1864. His early educa­ tion was received at his father’s school in Laleham, but he left there before he had completed his four­ teenth year, and the commence­ ment of 1878 saw him installed at Marlborough College. He was just seventeen when he succeeded in winning his colours as one of the Marlborough cricket eleven, and his first Public School match was against Cheltenham, at Marl­ borough, on July 12, 1881. He showed promising form, too, in this his first appearance in Public School contests, and his second score of 17 was a very satisfactory show for a youngster. His introduction to Lord’s took place a fortnight later, and though he only made 27 in his wo innings against Rugby his first score of 22 quite maintained his previous promise. His second sea­ son in the Marlborough Eleven was a very successful one for the School cricket. The Marlburians, indeed, had the sat­ isfaction of winning both the Cheltenham and Rugby matches in 1882, and Mr. Buckland had the gratification of feeling that he had himself contributed in a great measure to this double triumph. Bowling fast underhand he was credited with seven of the ten wickets in Cheltenham’s second innings at a cost of only fifteen runs, an excellent performance in Public School cricket. Later on at Lord’s, too, against Rugby he was seen to advantage with ball as well as bat, and in addition to two scores of fourteen and eighteen not out he was credited with ten Rugby wickets at an expense of seventy runs. In 1883 he proved himself to be one of the very best Public School cricketers of the year, and his records at Marlborough as an all-round cricketer were much above the average. He had by this time given up under­ hand for slow round arm bowling, and with such success that he was credited with as many as 72 of the|122 wickets which fell to the Marlborough bowlers during the season, and at the remarkably low average of a little over six runs. In both the School matches of 18*3, too, he proved his ability unmistakably both as a bowler and a batsman, for he got nineteen runs as well as twelve wickets for 72 runs against Cheltenham, and 41 from the bat in addition to nine wickets for 140 runs against Rugby. Altogether his cricket during the summer of 1883 was, as we have already said, distinctly above the average of Public School cricketers. Nor was he quite satis­ fied with his Marlborough suc­ cesses, which he supplemented by two big scores of 236 for the Marl­ borough Blues against Streatham Club, at Streatham, and 104 for the Free Foresters against Norfolk still later in the year. The month of September, 1883, found Mr. Buck­ land in residence at New College, Oxford, and as was only to be ex­ pected from his school performances the cricket authorities there were very hopeful of his ability to assist the University team. Though he proved to be the highest scorer for Mr. Brain’s side in the Freshmen’s match of 1884 he did little for the 16 Freshmen against the Eleven, and it was not until the third fixture of the season that he was able to got a ' trial in ' the University Eleven. His first match against Lancashire at Oxford, on May 29, proved him tobe a reliable batsman, and as in his next, against M.C.C. and G-round, at Oxford, he took seven wickets in Marylebone’s second innings at a cost of only seventeen runs, these two per­ formances fully . earned him his colours.- Though fairly successful as a batsman, the season of 1885 was not a very fortunate one for Mr. Buckland either for Oxford or Middlesex, for which County he appeared late in the season. His first innings against Yorkshire, at Sheffield on August 17, was one of 36, but the best of the eight he played for his County was against Kent at Maidstone, where he got 61 in the first knock by capital cricket. The earlier matches of the Oxford Season of 1886 did not show Mr. Buckland to be in very great form, but at Lord’s in both matches he was successful, and he had no small share himself in deciding the Inter-University match in favoarof Oxford. No-one who witnessed the finish of that game but will have still a vivid recollection of his sensational bowling. When he wanton for the last time there was just a