Cricket Witness No 3 - The Daffodil Blooms

98 The summer of 1948 On many occasions during the 1930s, there had been a gleam in old Billy’s eyes as he threw tennis balls to the young batsman in the nets at St. Helen’s where he and his father had lived for so many years, besides tending the wicket at the ground overlooking Swansea Bay. In 1948 Billy was still able to still keep a close eye on Gilbert’s transition into the Glamorgan team as he was the steward in charge of the player’s gate at the foot of the long flight of steps up the embankment to the pavilion, and could quietly pass on to his protégé a few words of personal congratulation seconds before the crowd rose as one to show their collective appreciation. Despite not having previously played any Championship cricket, Gilbert amassed over 1,000 runs in his debut season, and his graceful and effortless batting was one of the factors behind the county’s outstanding start to the season as Glamorgan won their first three games, against Somerset, Essex and Worcestershire. A draw with Lancashire at Old Trafford was followed by victory over Somerset at Swansea thanks to a dozen wickets from Stan Trick, a slow left-arm bowler from Briton Ferry who, like Jim Pleass, had been plucked from club cricket after a series of outstanding performances in the South Wales and Monmouthshire League. But whereas Jim had been able to sign professional terms with Glamorgan and play on a regular basis in county cricket, Stan worked in the family’s garage in Neath and was only available on an occasional basis. By the end of May, Glamorgan stood proudly on top of the Championship table but they were brought back down to earth with a bump at Derby where, on a green-tinged surface, they lost by 301 runs and twice saw their batting filleted by the Derbyshire seamers. The Welsh county had entered the match in a buoyant mood and the pending defeat greatly worried Wilf as he shared a few drinks at the team’s hotel after play on the second day with Haydn Davies. As Wilf later recalled: “Haydn tried to convince me that I had nothing to worry about – I tell you, it can be done. It’s going to be our year he kept on saying to me as we talked through our remaining fixtures. Haydn believed that our confidence was well-founded and that further victories would come, allowing us to mount a charge for the title. Indeed, it was from this time, at the end of May, that we really began our Championship campaign. Haydn’s words were vindicated as we won five out of six games in June.” 1 The winning sequence was initiated by the batsmen, especially