Cricket Witness No 3 - The Daffodil Blooms

47 A Welsh identity smile on his face “The skipper says to get them in one’s now!” 5 With great delight, the pair pushed the ball into the gaps in the field, ran a few quick singles and gleefully saw Glamorgan to their target with ten minutes to spare and two wickets in hand. Trevor duly returned to the Swansea dressing-room unbeaten on 46, and received a rapturous welcome from the rest of the jubilant team. The mood was very different in the Gloucestershire camp as Wally Hammond had expected his bowlers to easily wrap up the game. Viv Jenkins remembered, “Hammond came off with a face like thunder, as he had believed Glamorgan had no chance of getting 200, never mind 300! He shook Maurice Turnbull by the hand, and said a few words of congratulations to some of the other Glamorgan boys, before heading off into the dressing room, seething with anger. In an attempt to avoid his wrath, some of the Gloucestershire players had got changed very quickly, and made a hasty exit!” 6 1932 also saw Trevor complete a maiden century against Worcestershire at Stourbridge, but tragically this proved to be his one and only Championship hundred as two years later his professional career came to an abrupt end as he completely lost his sight. At the start of the 1934 season, Trevor experienced a few difficulties seeing the ball whilst batting in the outdoor nets at Cardiff. The difficulties persisted, and during the opening match of the season, against Kent at the Arms Park, he frequently did not see the ball coming in from the fielders, besides missing several balls whilst standing up to the bowlers. He had thought at first that his problems in the nets, situated close to the wall adjoining Westgate Street, were simply because he was not concentrating properly and being distracted by the noise of traffic plus the other hustle and bustle in the city. After an uncharacteristic poor day behind the stumps against Kent, as well as being bowled for nought, Trevor realised that he had a problem with his eyesight and sought the advice of Maurice at the close of play. The Glamorgan captain was also concerned by the wicket-keeper’s performance, especially after the high standards the youngster had set during the previous summers, with some of the England selectors speaking to Maurice in very favourable terms about his neat and agile glovework. Maurice swiftly arranged for Trevor to have an appointment with an eye specialist at Cardiff Infirmary where the doctor undertook several tests on the wicket-keeper’s eyes, before telling him the