Lives in Cricket No 27 - CB Llewellyn

93 Family Arrangements topped the overall league batting averages. You will search in vain, though, for Buck in the league bowling averages in for example, the Athletic News Cricket Annual , which displayed the figures of the top 30 bowlers. Nine professionals did appear, with William Cook of Lancashire heading the list, with 130 wickets at 7.30 each. The seasonal report in The CricketerWinter Annual byG.A.Brooking stressed the great value of Buck’s coaching, but described him as not so good as he used to be with bat and ball – yet not a spent force. Against Rishton, whose pro was that splendid all-rounder, J.S.Curtis of Leicestershire, he hit one of only four centuries scored in the League that year and his bowling played a large part in the defeat of Colne by 69 runs at the end of May in the Worsley Cup with an analysis of 19-5-42-6. Against Nelson in mid July, he enthused supporters by dismissing seven opponents for 36 in 20.5 overs, but there were too many unhappy returns. In the following year, 1922, Accrington, although described as a team in the making, dropped from fourth place to twelfth. Buck, showing a rewarding return to form, carried the team on his shoulders with bat and ball. On his form he was that season probably the best batsman in the League. He hit two scores of over a hundred; players in all the other clubs managed another two between them. In June he hit up an unbeaten score of 135 at Enfield and five weeks later reached 101 against Colne at Accrington. The first hundred led to a handsome victory by 113 runs. Eddie Paynter, not yet anywhere near a place in the Lancashire county side, was second highest scorer for Enfield with 27, but their innings subsided. Earlier, Buck played what should have been a match- winning piece of batsmanship, reaching 85 when Accrington faced a total of 186 from Rawtenstall in the first round of the Worsley Cup. Alas, the next highest score was only nine, and victory went to the visitors by 35 runs. Buck also reached 95 against East Lancashire. He was the only League player to reach three figures in both 1921 and 1922. Some moderate performances with the ball led to him finishing fourteenth in the league bowling averages with an average of 10.85, but he was the highest wicket taker with 111 victims, his haul of seven victims for 42 against Enfield giving Accrington victory by 72 runs. He bettered this performance, dismissing eight Church batsmen for 31, but rain prevented Accrington from seizing a win, when at 32 for one they were chasing no more than 51. Buck’s position was third in the batting list with 666 runs, the