Cricket Witness No 3 - The Daffodil Blooms

45 A Welsh identity inexperience by thrashing the bowling to all parts of the Cardiff ground. His rousing and uninhibited blows saw him complete his fifty inside three-quarters of an hour, and as the fourth of his mighty sixes sailed out of the ground, Nomad of the Western Mail wrote: ”Hughes dominated the game to such a degree that even the eager and enterprising Smart was overshadowed as the South African attack was cut to ribbons.” 4 With the tourists becoming demoralised, Cyril added to the fun by lofting one delivery high over the ropes, across Westgate Street and straight through a plate-glass window in the foyer of the Grand Hotel. Shortly afterwards, he completed his century and when lunch was taken he was unbeaten on 114, with Wilf on 70 not out. The pair were given a rousing ovation as they left the ground, with the crowd standing to applaud their efforts and hoping that Wilf might emulate his partner and complete a remarkable century on his first-class debut. But the players never got back onto the field, as shortly afterwards, it started to rain. The precipitation intensified during the early afternoon, and by the tea interval, a number of large pools of standing water had formed on the outfield, leaving the umpires with the formality of calling off play as the game ended in a draw. Meanwhile, in the Arms Park dressing rooms, Hughes confirmed his availability with the Glamorgan officials during July and August, and for a further three summers he mixed county cricket with his teaching duties in Northamptonshire. Wilf’s arrival during the second half of the summer was warmly welcomed by the other members of the seam attack, especially Jack Mercer who had continued to cheerfully shoulder the burden of being both strike and stock bowler, wheeling away at one end for hour after hour, whilst others rotated at the opposite end. But not all the youngsters recruited by Glamorgan were as lucky as Wilf and many made just a handful of appearances for Glamorgan. Several of the amateurs found the step up to county cricket too great, whilst others were unable to accept the modest professional terms offered by the club, preferring instead the year-round security of shift work in manufacturing industry and mining, or the regular salary from working at a local shop or office. Some found the physical demands too onerous and several aspiring seam bowlers struggled with injury. One spinner from West Wales also found the experience of county cricket so great