Lives in Cricket No 27 - CB Llewellyn

at The Oval in which Buck fared no better than he had done at Portsmouth, scoring 5 and 16, and collecting three wickets for 95 in the match. These returns must have come as an anticlimax to enthusiasts who had endured a dreadful season in 1900, when the county languished at the foot of the Championship table without a single victory. The third Hampshire match provided a shock to everyone interested in cricket. The tourists in 1901 were Buck’s own countrymen, who on their second visit to England were for the first time accorded first-class status. (As we shall see, Buck was allowed to appear for them in one such fixture.) As it happened, their opening match was against Hampshire at Northlands Road. Hampshire batted first and Llewellyn joined A.J.L.Hill when the score was 84 for three; while Hill played in his well-known ‘finished’ style, Buck batted in a manner which must have come as a revelation to both sides, driving with power and scoring so freely on the leg-side that in three hours he amassed no fewer than 216, adding 162 runs with Hill (120) and 219, a record for 23 Marriage The Hampshire side of 1901, Buck’s first full season in English cricket. His performances pushed the side up to mid table in the Championship. Standing (l to r): T.A.Chignell, T.Soar, H.W.R.Bencraft (secretary), C.G.Ward, G.W.Lewis (scorer), C.B.Chamberlain, A.S.Webb. Seated: D.A.Steele, E.M.Sprot, C.Robson (capt, wk), J.G.Greig, E.C.Lee. On the ground: C.B.Llewellyn, V.A.Barton.