Cricket Witness No 3 - The Daffodil Blooms

119 At Newport, the train was met by a small band of supporters with crates of beer and the evening edition of The South Wales Echo . These were passed on to the team and officials in the hope that they would be well prepared for what awaited them at Cardiff General, but the sight of hundreds of people gathered at the railway station exceeded even the wildest expectations of the triumphant Glamorgan team. Loud cheers greeted the players as the express arrived before Johnnie, the veteran from the rag-bag days of the 1920s, and the rest of the victorious Championship-winning team stepped off onto Platform Three. They were mobbed by their supporters, as well as by some journalists, with Alun Williams, a young reporter with the BBC, attempting a brief interview with Johnnie and other members of the team. It took time for the happy Glamorgan party to work their way, carrying their kitbags, through the hordes of supporters before heading by foot along Westgate Street to Cardiff Athletic Club for a celebratory party which had been hastily arranged. The party - in the words of the famous Welsh melody “Ar Hyd y Nos” – went on all through the night with Johnnie leading the Glamorgan Chairman, HH Merritt, meets JC Clay and the victorious Glamorgan team at Cardiff General in 1948 after their victory over Hampshire. Clinching the title