Cricket Witness No 3 - The Daffodil Blooms

110 It soon became clear which side was accustomed to winning and which was used to losing as, for the second game of the Festival week, Somerset dramatically collapsed to 25-5. Norman Hever bowled scarcely a loose ball in a frugal opening spell of 10-3-18- 4. Bath schoolteacher Fred Castle eventually slogged him out of the ground for six but then tried again and Wilf held a wonderful catch at mid-on. As wickets fell at the other end, Tremlett counter- attacked to bring the target down to 20, then 15 and 10 before, with the Clarence Park clock touching 4p.m., the Somerset man leaned forward to Len Muncer and was smartly caught at short leg by ‘The Skipper’. Somerset were all out for 96 and Glamorgan had secured a priceless victory in one of the great matches of that summer. As Wilf related in later years: “I knew that Len would be our match-winner, but we had to seal the other end down. ‘Pete’ Hever bowled superbly and after a nagging spell from me, I brought Len on. His bowling and our out-fielding did the rest. During the Somerset innings, I caught two of the hardest hits of my life. One was from Arthur Wellard, who tried to dispatch Len completely out of the ground. The blow lifted me off my feet with the impact but I clung on.” 2 Glamorgan’s players were applauded from the field by Somerset’s generous supporters – and roared off by the many Welsh fans who had made the morning journey across the Severn Estuary by ferry or under it by train through the Severn Tunnel. Indeed, the platform at Weston-super-Mare’s small railway station that evening was crammed full of Welsh supporters, as the Glamorgan team headed via Bristol Temple Meads to London where they were meeting Middlesex the following day at Lord’s. The players were mobbed by their jubilant fans, all eager to congratulate them on the victory which had seen Glamorgan return to the top of the table. There were cheers and good luck messages as well for Allan Watkins who, a few days before, had been included in England’s squad for the Fifth Test against Australia at The Oval, as the selectors recognised his growing reputation as one of the most prehensile close fielders in the country, as well as his all-round talents with bat and ball. At the time, Johnnie Clay was on the England selection panel and, after positive feedback from Wilf, he would have undoubtedly pressed Allan’s claims at the selection meetings at Lord’s. Support for the all-rounder’s case also came from journalist John Arlott, who spent many hours in the company of the Glamorgan players, Clinching the title