Lives in Cricket No 27 - CB Llewellyn

45 runs, of which 59 came in one innings. Then, with the arrival of August, he found the form of which he was capable. In the match with Derbyshire at Derby, which began on 7 August, when Sprot had won the toss and decided to bat, Llewellyn joined his captain after the dismissal of the first two batsmen for 27. They added 127 runs at a brisk pace and after the departure of Sprot for 71, Stone, who made only 13, stayed while a further 51 were added for the fourth wicket, before the last seven wickets fell for 53, among them our subject, bowled by Bestwick for 102. The home side on 268 led by only 10 runs on the first innings, before Hampshire were almost sunk again at 12 for three wickets. Again assisted by Jimmy Stone, Buck led another fight-back, as the two put on 58. After Stone’s dismissal, a number of the later batsmen stayed long enough for him to complete his second hundred of the match. It had taken him only two hours, in spite of the state of the game. Hampshire avoided defeat; set 188 to win, Derbyshire ended by 37 short with four wickets in hand. Buck had bowled only eight overs, all in Derbyshire’s first innings, and when Hampshire moved on to Leicester, he contributed only 13, while going on as sixth change, as the home side amassed 507; C.J.B.Wood carried his bat for 200 in 6 hours and 20 minutes. Buck did score 51 in Hampshire’s first innings. By 14 August 1905, when Kent were the visitors to Portsmouth, Buck’s season’s victims numbered only 24. Kent, who were deservedly to be champion county in 1906, faced Hampshire in a match in which fortune ‘varied in a remarkable way’, as Wisden put it. The visitors’ lead of 130 on the first innings would have been even greater, had Llewellyn not dismissed James Seymour, S.H.Day, ‘Punter’ Humphreys, C.H.B.Marsham and Blythe (the first four at any rate making a distinguished clutch of victims) at the cost of 51 runs. To follow this, in Hampshire’s second innings he played a hard hit 86, adding 141 with his reliable colleague, Jimmy Stone, who contributed 57. After a wobble, the innings continued to flourish, as G.N.Bignell hit a maiden hundred and dominated two more lengthy stands for the seventh and ninth wickets. Then, when set 272 for victory, Kent lost seven batsmen for 172, Buck disposing of four of them, but R.N.R.Blaker and F.H.Huish turned the game round and hit off the runs. Buck delivered twenty-nine overs in that innings, and nine victims fell to him in the match – the first time he had achieved such figures since 1902. However, those were his last prey of the season, and against Sussex at Hastings he returned an analysis of none for 143 from Llewellyn and the Chinaman