Cricket Witness No 3 - The Daffodil Blooms

31 The tricky question of the captaincy benefited when fund-raising activities took place as Norman, Johnnie and the other amateurs tapped up their chums. But there were many occasions when neither Johnnie or Norman could play, causing the selectors to cast around the leading clubs to see who else fancied a game as captain of the county side. Sometimes the powers-that-be had to agree for the amateur who had been chosen as captain to hastily leave the Arms Park or St. Helen’s whilst Glamorgan were batting in order to attending a business meeting in a nearby hotel. It was even harder to summon up a captain for an away trip, especially when Glamorgan were on the road for up to a week and a half with many gentlemen being unable to commit to travel outside South Wales. It was a very frustrating situation for all concerned, and the situation was eloquently summed up by ‘Nomad’ of the Western Mail who bemoaned: “Why is it, I wonder, that certain amateurs are not coming out so frequently this season? No names, no pack drill, but I am in a position to state that certain amateurs have been invited to play in practically every match, but it does seem that many of them are not unduly anxious to help the county out of the rut it finds itself in.” 1 It therefore seemed a godsend when Trevor Arnott, the debonair and well-connected amateur, who had been educated at Monmouth School, where he had led the 1st XI, made himself available for most of the 1928 season. Given his success as an all-rounder in previous seasons, the committee swiftly appointed him as club captain hoping that his regular availability would help the side out of the hiatus in which they had found themselves. Trevor Arnott.