 1905 was very little of a rise before a fall, as Derbyshire handed debuts for fifteen players in first-class cricket, ten of whom played fewer than five first-class matches, as Derbyshire finished with a −64% winning percentage, the third-worst of the season.Bestwick was noted for his unpredictable nature and his alcoholism after his wife left him in 1906, and this adversely affected his cricketing career.In January 1907 after a night's drinking, he killed a man named William Brown in a fight, although the inquest at the pub the next day brought in a verdict of 'justifiable homicide.'