Bastard played in all eight of Oxford University's first-class matches in 1884 as part of the team which was described by Altham and Swanton as a remarkable side, and one of Oxford's best ever. The university won seven of the matches, and narrowly lost the other. During the opening match, against the Australians, Bastard was wicketless in the first innings, but took five second innings wickets, his maiden first-class five-wicket haul. Among his wickets was the tourists captain Billy Murdoch, who later that summer scored 211 runs against England in the third Test. Bolton wrote that against the Australians, "Bastard had bowled supremely well," and the performance was Bastard's best for the university during 1884; he collected his wickets steadily and finished as Oxford's second most prolific wicket-taker. He claimed 34 wickets for the side, second only to the 53 taken by Hugh Whitby, although his average of 17.00 ranked him fifth among the bowlers. In the University match that year, he claimed three wickets in each innings. Batting in Oxford's first innings, he and Benjamin Nicholls quickly scored 52 runs, and then bowling in Cambridge's second innings, he and Whitby claimed their opponent's final six wickets for just 17 runs.