Lives in Cricket No 27 - CB Llewellyn

100 Radcliffe In 1927 he repeated his poor start with the bat, scoring only 67 runs in his first seven innings, but he soon exceeded expectations through a string of fine performances with the ball. His most outstanding figures – eight wickets for 31 – came in the home match against Bradshaw in mid August, but by then he had taken five or more wickets in an innings on no fewer than ten occasions. He reached his best form in the away match with Bradshaw at the end of June, when he scored 45 and delivered an analysis of six for 15. He hit two successive centuries, 108 in the away match with Farnworth and 133 at Eagley, as well as dismissing seven of the home side for 78 runs. While not attaining these heights again, he batted consistently to the season’s end, when he had increased his aggregate from 400 in 1926 to 575 and his average from 20 to 30.26. With their other players providing better support, Radcliffe flourished, rising six places to second in the league table, while their total points rose from 22 the previous season to 33. Their pride in their distinguished veteran must have been complete as he improved his bowling figure to 103 wickets, average 8.30, but the best was yet to come. In 1928, Buck’s allround performance raised Radcliffe to the top of the table; they won 16 of their 22 fixtures and lost only two, increasing their total number of points to 36. Buck finished top of the club and league averages with 710 runs at the inspiring average of 44.37. He again reached three figures, scoring 119* at Darcy Lever in June and exceeded fifty on four other occasions. If he found batting a treat in a summer of hot weather and hard wickets, he could take pride in his triumphs as an ageing slow-medium left-arm bowler – his 93 wickets cost 7.22 each. He dismissed seven opponents in an innings three times, but his best return was eight for 44 against Kearsley when they visited Radcliffe’s Racecourse Ground in mid-season. Radcliffe had a busy summer; in addition to their league success, they also won the final of the Cross Cup, played against Heaton on neutral ground at Eagley, when he scored 68 valuable runs. Jubilation was ‘unalloyed’ in Radcliffe at the success of the Club and their veteran hero. For his services in this season, Jack Williams in Cricket and England reports that he was paid £9 per week plus talent money for outstanding performances. In his book Cricket and Race Williams says that, on the basis of a close study of his conduct, he was a particularly ‘tenacious negotiator’ over pay and conditions. There was, almost inevitably, a feeling of anti-climax in the following season, 1929, as the club fell to sixth place in the League,