Francis Buckland was in the Eton XI in 1871-72-73 and the Oxford XI from 1875 to 1877 inclusive. At Eton he bowled slow medium-pace with a languid action but he lost some of his zip while at Oxford and was less effective. In three years at Eton he took 36 wickets against Winchester and 26 against Harrow.

He missed out in his first year at university, which was strange as he scored 136 and took 7 for 45 in the Freshmen's match. He played a key role in Oxford's Varsity win in 1875 and in 1877 he scored 117, reckoned at the time to be one of the great innings. "Buckland's magnificent driving that afternoon is as vividly remembered at Lord's as though the match had been played last year, " Wisden noted. Over and above his wonderful batting, he took seven Cambridge wickets - 3 for 21 and 4 for 29. But despite this success he played little after leaving university, becoming a teacher at Winchester (where his brother also ended up) and then headmaster of a prep school in Laleham.
Martin Williamson