Lives in Cricket No 27 - CB Llewellyn

58 What Wisden described as ‘exceptionally wet weather’ ruined Hampshire’s home fixture with Sussex, but not before Buck had delighted what was believed to be the largest ever attendance at Northlands Road – 10,000 spectators – with a delightful century, compiled in a couple of hours, which included 19 fours in his faultless innings; he timed his strokes so admirably that he always kept the ball down, but rain washed out the last two days. Heartened by this display, he provided a further sparkling performance at Lord’s against Middlesex in the match beginning on 3 June. First, capturing five wickets for 63, he shared the honours with Jack Newman as the home team subsided for 207, and followed up with an excellent unbeaten innings of 77 which helped his county to recover from 59 for three to 192 for five wickets – but yet more rain obliterated the last two days’ play. Wet conditions next delayed the start of Hampshire’s big match of the season at Southampton against the Australian touring side. The game was memorable for the bowling of Newman who, on a pitch rendered treacherous by brilliant sunshine following rain, caused the last nine Australian wickets to fall for 49 in ten minutes under the hour, concluding with a hat-trick which left him with the fine analysis of eight for 43. In spite of their lead of 48, Hampshire broke down and were defeated. Buck’s contribution was to score nine and 22. He bowled only 16 overs in the match, though he did dismiss Victor Trumper for four. This limited activity may have arisen from the probability that the South Africans would tour Australia in the near future, and the possibility that Buck would form one of the party, and so should not be exposed too early to their fine array of aggressive batsmen. Certainly, by April 1908 a visit to Australia by a South African side was being mooted; Billy McElhone, a Sydney solicitor and member of the board of the New South Wales Cricket Association, was quoted in the Sydney Referee as saying ‘If South Africa desires the scalp of Australia, she must come after it, since Australia has already paid her a visit.’ The following month the Australian Board declined to participate in the triangular tournament in England which Abe Bailey had been promoting on behalf of South Africa, while on 6 August 1908, Australia accepted their invitation to tour England in 1909, on the basis that they would be the only tourists that summer. It still remained for the South African authorities to firm up on their trip to Australia. On 15 June 1909, just eight days after the end of the Hampshire match against the Australians, the taking The Beneficiary