Cricket Witness No 3 - The Daffodil Blooms

10 Fairytale or nightmare? opening match of the following summer’s England-Australia series. The Glamorgan lobby failed by a single vote as the MCC awarded the game to Trent Bridge, as the mandarins at Lord’s believed that it would have been an unwelcome development for a minor county ground to host a Test Match. But the presentation made by Glamorgan officials, and supported by representatives from Somerset, including Sammy Woods, struck such a chord with the MCC officials that they agreed that Cardiff should stage a game between a South Wales XI and the 1905 Australians, with Glamorgan joining forces with their neighbours Monmouthshire. To the delight of Jack, who captained the South Wales side, thousands of supporters flocked into the Arms Park and drowned their sorrows after the tourists had eased to a six-wicket victory by quaffing plenty of his company’s products. In fact, over 10,000 spectators were present for the opening day of the contest, with the correspondent of the South Wales Daily News gleefully writing: “The crowd was ten times bigger than has ever been assembled in Wales. Spectators seemed to so thoroughly appreciate it that the game may gain such encouragement as in a few seasons may make it as generally popular a pastime in Wales as it is truly national in England.” 4 The game with the 1905 Australians had shown the support for cricket in South Wales, but if Glamorgan were going to move forward, gain first-class status and host international fixtures, results on the field needed to improve. Mindful of the feedback from the MCC, Jack and the other influential figures in the Welsh county’s affairs therefore focused their efforts on Glamorgan’s elevation into the County Championship and overseeing a fund- raising campaign which would fund their acquisition of fixtures with other fully-fledged counties. Confidence among the Glamorgan officials remained high, and the Club’s President, the Earl of Plymouth, also gained the support of many influential figures within the political and social world of South Wales. But the Edwardian optimism, like so many other aspects of life during the 1910s, swiftly evaporated following the outbreak of the Great War in 1914, as thoughts turned to fighting for King and Country. Archer Windsor-Clive, the Earl’s son and a man tipped by many to lead Glamorgan into the County Championship, was amongst the first fatalities during August 1914 with the young batsman being killed whilst serving with the