Ian Buxton: One of nineteen men who have played cricket for Derbyshire and football for Derby County

Nineteen men have played cricket for Derbyshire and football for Derby County; the most recent was Ian Buxton, who died on 1 October aged 72 at his home in the Derbyshire town of Matlock. While Buxton never played for his country in either sport, he was widely respected as a solid and capable performer.

Born on 17 April 1938 in Cromford, he spent 15 seasons with Derbyshire, playing 350 first-class matches and scoring 11,803 runs at 23.94 as a middle-order right-handed batsman. A medium-pace bowler, he took 483 first-class wickets at 26.38, including 12 five-wicket hauls, one of the highlights of his career being the 11 wickets he took in a victory over Worcestershire in 1968. He was captain from 1970-72.

In 1959 Buxton enjoyed auspicious debuts in both sports, taking three wickets for five runs against Yorkshire and scoring twice against Ipswich Town in a 3-1 victory. While a one-county cricketer, Buxton played football at centre forward and inside forward for four clubs. He made 145 appearances for Derby County from 1959-68, scoring 41 goals, but the County manager Brian Clough was not keen on one of his players missing the pre-season programme and possibly the beginning of the season proper. Buxton was sold to Luton Town, where he played for a season, scoring 14 times in 47 games. He next played 18 games, scoring six times, for Notts County during the 1969-70 season and ended his football career at non-League Ilkeston Town.

He joined the Derbyshire committee in the 1990s, but the county was riven by factionalism at the time, and Buxton's tenure did not last long.