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Alan Slater has been in touch about cricketers from the Hope Valley, and particularly Peter Eyre.
Alan wrote; “I live in the Hope Valley and to my knowledge we seem to have provided only one player to Derbyshire, Peter Eyre. Could you tell me if more have come from the area and provide details of Peter’s Derbyshire career?”
Our Heritage Officer, David Griffin, writes;
There is one other Derbyshire player born in the Hope Valley; George Moreton Buckston was born in Hope in 1881 and played 33 first-class matches for Derbyshire between 1905 and 1921. He played with moderate success in 1905 and 1906 and contracted malaria during WWI and had no intention of ever returning to first-class cricket.
However, Derbyshire experienced an awful season in 1920, losing 17 of 18 first-class matches, with the other abandoned without a ball being bowled and Buckston was approached by the Secretary, Mr Will Taylor in 1920, and asked to captain the side in 1921.
Buckston took up the offer and stepped into the breach for that one season.
In due course, his son, Robin – born in Middlesex – also played for the county and captained the side between 1937 and 1939, becoming Honorary Secretary between 1950 and 1959.
Peter Eyre was born in Brough in 1939 and was educated at Bradwell and New Mills and played for Hathersage before making his first-class debut for the county in 1959 and being awarded his county cap in 1967.
A right arm fast-medium bowler and left-handed batsman, Peter scored one century, against Leicestershire at Chesterfield in 1969 and in the same year and on the same ground, took 8-65 against Somerset and 6-18 in the famous Gillette Cup semi-final against Sussex, the latter winning him the Man of the Match award.
Subsequently, he suffered with glandular fever and a cartilage operation and was never as effective again.
He played in 238 games for Derbyshire; 197 first-class and 41 List A, and took a total of 418 wickets; 359 first-class and 59 List A. He scored one first-class hundred and 10 fifties and took five wickets in an innings on nine occasions. He is one of only 37 bowlers to take 400 or more wicket for the county.
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