Cricket Witness No 3 - The Daffodil Blooms

13 Fairytale or nightmare? It proved to be a fairytale start for Glamorgan in the first-class world as, under the captaincy of Norman Riches, they defeated a full-strength Sussex side in their inaugural County Championship match at the Arms Park in May 1921. The visitors included several notable players such as Maurice Tate, batsmen Ted Bowley, England all-rounder Vallance Jupp and the two Gilligans – Arthur and Harold – but despite these big guns, Glamorgan won the contest by 24 runs. Many of the crowd at the Cardiff ground surged onto the field at the fall of the final Sussex wicket in order to congratulate Riches and his team. The two teams then gathered on the first- floor balcony of the pavilion and both captains made impromptu speeches, with Arthur Gilligan graciously congratulating the Welsh side, saying how: “they gave us a magnificent game, and we do not mind being beaten in the slightest. We have been down until today, but today we might have won. We did not – Glamorgan did, and I congratulate them very much.” 6 There were great hopes for the rest of the season, but the next eight matches all ended in defeat. A second victory came during the last week of July against Worcestershire at Swansea, but none The delighted crowd swarms onto the outfield at Cardiff to congratulate Norman Riches and his team after their historic victory over Sussex in their inaugural Championship match at the Arms Park in 1921.