Ian Buxton - an appreciation

There is a sad irony in the fact that on Friday I posted that one of my favourite cricket summers was 1970, on the same day that the captain of the time, Ian Buxton, passed away at his home in Matlock.

No one ever put Buxton’s name forward for international recognition because in that era he was simply regarded as a solid county professional, at a time when that phrase was perhaps more worthy than it is now. Most counties had an Ian Buxton, though the current requirement for bringing in untried and unready youth appears to be hastening their demise.

Buxton could play. You don’t score 11,000 runs and take nearly 500 wickets if you can’t. The other day I referred to his prodigious inswing and remember Jim Laker discussing it at length one Sunday afternoon as he dropped balls in on a nagging length.

He was another of those players born in the wrong era and would have been an asset in the twenty-over game. The bowling would have been hard to get away while his pugnacious batting helped restore many an innings. Five centuries doesn’t do him justice and when he opened his shoulders he could hit the ball. At Buxton in 1970, Dad and I were sitting in a sizeable crowd at mid-wicket when the batsman opened up and twice peppered the area with big sixes. One caused everyone around me to stand, as it was obviously homing in on our seats. It fell to earth about a yard away from our deckchairs, leaving me free to tell my pals at school the next day that I nearly got hit by Buxton at Buxton…

Many times in my formative years I saw a Derbyshire batting collapse, which if it was rescued was normally redeemed by Buxton and Bob Taylor. Later Fred Swarbrook took on the mantle, but Buxton often was the difference between some total and very little.

I also saw Ian Buxton the footballer at the Baseball Ground, when he was a fixture in the side at centre forward in the days prior to Brian Clough’s arrival. Again he was a steady, rather than spectacular player who was replaced by John O’Hare as the Clough revolution kicked in. They were similar players, both helping those around them do their job better by holding the ball and giving it to them at the right time, though O’Hare was the better.

Buxton was one of the last of a breed though, with Worcestershire’s Ted Hemsley and Leicestershire’s Chris Balderstone. Footballer/cricketers were a part of the sporting landscape, but as both sports became increasingly professional and the football seasons merged into each other, the all-round sportsman went the way of the dinosaurs.

Like all Derbyshire fans, however, I mourn the passing of a good and loyal servant of the club and our thoughts are with his family at this time.

Thanks Ian. Rest in Peace and thanks for some happy memories.