Lives in Cricket No 27 - CB Llewellyn

12 other similar matches were later recognized as full Test matches. Thus Buck became only the second non-white to appear in Test cricket. Sam Morris, the Tasmanian-born West Indian who had played for Australia against England in the Melbourne Test match eleven years earlier, was the first. At the time, of course, no special significance was attached to Buck’s membership of the side. Llewellyn made some mark, scoring 24 in the first innings of South Africa, though no wickets for 71 runs from 14 overs does not look very impressive. He was promptly dropped for the Third Test. The venue was Newlands, Cape Town, and he may have felt some relief, recollecting the way Hendricks was treated there. The season of 1896/97 brought great rewards to Buck, playing for Natal in the Currie Cup, at Johannesburg over ten days in March 1897. In summary, against Griqualand West in the contest beginning on 13 March his analyses were 21.2-4-40-3 and 36.2- 14-73-7 and Natal won by eight wickets. Three days later versus Eastern Province, his returns were even better, 18.1-5-43-6 and 34.2-8-80-5, and were the chief contributory factor in Natal’s triumph by 125 runs. In their third match in the competition he met with further success, 30-8-76-5 and 25-8-52-4, but included in the Western Province side was George Lohmann, the great Surrey Onward and Upward Home and colonial. The bandstand and pavilion at the City Oval, Pitermaritzburg, taken in 2004. Buck played his first first-class match here in April 1895, but never played first-class cricket in his home town again.