Lives in Cricket No 27 - CB Llewellyn

51 Chapter Nine Reveillé Edward Mark Sprot took over the captaincy of Hampshire in 1903, as we have seen. His own batting, the fast bowling of H.V.Hesketh- Prichard, and the allround virtuosity of Buck were the strong points of the poor team handed over by Charles Robson. Buck’s overall figures in Robson’s last two seasons bear repeating. In 1901 in just twenty first-class matches he scored 1,025 runs in 33 completed innings, highest score 215, at an average of 31.06 and despatched 134 victims at 22.53 each. The following summer, in 26 matches, though his batting realised only 832 runs, average 21.33, his achievements with the ball were monumental, as he dismissed 170 batsmen at an average of 18.61. Over the two seasons, he captured five wickets in an innings on 38 occasions, and ten batsmen in a match 11 times. He never bettered his outstanding performances of eight for 72 in 1901, or nine for 55 in the following year. In the seasons 1903 to 1907 he came nowhere near to repeating this success. Sprot, from a distinguished Scottish family, an old Harrovian and a former soldier, was a decisive captain, who over those summers began to build up a stronger team than would have been thought possible when he was appointed captain. Buck’s performances over this period were erratic, long spells of mediocrity with bat and ball, being interspersed with breathtaking performances – mainly with the bat. The reasons for this have not been critically investigated. The on-field relationship between Sprot and Llewellyn cannot have been an easy one as season succeeded season. We know that Buck was injured in 1907, but in some earlier seasons Sprot, over long periods, hardly called upon him in attack. Was this because he was at that time unfit, or had his captain lost confidence in him? Was he in a sense working to rule? Hampshire could not afford generous wages, but he was the highest paid of the professionals and his performances in those middle years did not justify the distinction between him and some of his colleagues. The truth was that Buck and the Hampshire club were locked