 Bestwick bowled very well in a summer when pitches were almost always too wet to suit a bowler of his pace, and was probably the second best fast bowler in county cricket after William Lockwood.In 1903, Derbyshire finished twelfth, though the following season saw Derbyshire back up to tenth place, and Bestwick with one more ten-wicket match, beating out left-hander John Hulme, who had the best single-innings tally of the team with 8/52, but no ten-wicket haul to speak of, though Arnold Warren was to hit two similar hauls and outscore Bestwick with the bat, courtesy of a brace of half-centuries.Thanks to another South African tour, Derbyshire got full-on experience of an international side during the 1904 season, and Bestwick was to hit an average of under 30 once again, as he and Warren spearheaded the Peakites' bowling attack, as the two players missed just a single game of the eighteen Derbyshire played throughout the season between them.