Richard Busk

Richard Dawson Busk BEM (21 June 1895 — 24 December 1961) was an English first-class cricketer and British Army officer.

Richard Busk

Personal information
Full name	Richard Dawson Busk
Born	(1895-06-21)21 June 1895 Marylebone, London, England
Died	24 December 1961(1961-12-24) (aged 66) Rampisham, Dorset, England
Batting	Right-handed
Bowling	Right-arm fast
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1912–1939	Dorset
1919	Hampshire
1920–1922	Marylebone Cricket Club
Career statistics
Competition First-class Matches 5 Runs scored 50 Batting average 12.50 100s/50s –/– Top score 5* Balls bowled 534 Wickets 11 Bowling average 33.18 5 wickets in innings – 10 wickets in match – Best bowling 4/60 Catches/stumpings 1/–
Source: Cricinfo, 21 January 2010

The son of Warren Gould Busk (grandson of Wadsworth Busk),^[1] he was born at Marylebone in June 1895. He was educated at Marlborough College, where he played cricket, rugby and rackets for the college.^[2] While still a schoolboy at Marlborough College, Busk played minor counties cricket for Dorset in the Minor Counties Championship.^[3] From Marlborough, he attended the Royal Military College and was commissioned into the 9th Queen's Royal Lancers as a second lieutenant in December 1914, five months into the First World War.^[4] He was promoted to lieutenant in February 1916.^[5]

Following the war, he made two appearances in first-class cricket for Hampshire in 1919, against the Australian Imperial Forces cricket team and Surrey. The following year, he made one first-class appearance for the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) against the British Army cricket team, and played for the MCC again in 1923 against Scotland at Lord's.^[6] In the Royal Lancers, he was promoted to captain in March 1921,^[7] before being invalided due to ill health in March 1923.^[8] Thereafter, he was employed by the Air Ministry.^[2] Busk later appeared in his final first-class cricket match in 1927, for the West of England against the touring New Zealanders at Exeter.^[6] In five first-class matches, he took 11 wickets with his right-arm fast bowling at an average of 33.18, with best figures of 4 for 60.^[9] He played minor counties cricket for Dorset until 1939, making 142 appearances in the Minor Counties Championship since his debut in 1912.^[3] He took 344 wickets in minor counties cricket for Dorset.^[10] In later life, Busk was an officer with the Dorset Special Constabulary, holding the rank of assistant-commandant. For his service in the Constabulary, he was awarded the British Empire Medal in the 1957 New Year Honours.^[11] Busk died in December 1961 at Rampisham, Dorset.