Lives in Cricket No 27 - CB Llewellyn

64 Achievement and Mystery the most ‘dazzling’ of the year. In the remaining four Hampshire fixtures, his only performance of note occurred in the return match with Kent at Bournemouth. Facing a total of 211, Hampshire lost three wickets for 21, but hitting three sixes in his 38, Buck averted the danger of a follow- on. Victory came again in the final match of the season, over Worcestershire at Dean Park, Bournemouth. Fry, playing only his second game for the season, hit a century, Jack Newman captured nine further wickets and Hampshire were successful by 143 runs. Buck had ended 1910 on a quiet note, without any festival matches, but in that season of seasons, his final figures – in twenty-six first-class matches – brought him the double for the third time: Batting: 44 2 1232 107 29.33 Bowling: 951.3 161 2930 152 19.27 In Empire and Cricket , Jonty Winch and Richard Parry suggest that a word to Llewellyn from Abe Bailey about a tour to Australia might well have inspired that memorable season. So also might have the thought that he could soon be free of the endless round of the county circuit of poor accommodation and the fear of exclusion from boarding houses, though there is no evidence that Buck was subjected to the latter. However, to set against his two notable centuries, and seven totals of over 50, his visits to the wicket resulted in as many as 13 scores of 10 or less and a further 13 in which he totalled between 11 and twenty. His feats with the ball were much more distinguished – ten wickets in a match on four occasions and five in an innings as many as 14 times. Buck’s last two victims for the county were Fred Bowley, the Worcestershire opener, and J.A. Cuffe, their Australian allrounder. Buck did not play championship cricket again. To discover how this came about, we must retrace our steps to the end of 1909, and review events off the field of play.