Cricket Witness No 3 - The Daffodil Blooms

57 Triumph and tragedy out that way as he coached in Northamptonshire, as well as in the West Indies, but during the 1930s he began some scouting work for Glamorgan, assessing the credentials of a number of aspiring youngsters. There were other individuals who were also prepared to help out the Club by dipping into their own pockets, with Major Jack Bevan, the committee member who was the managing director of the Briton Ferry Steelworks, and Sir William Reardon-Smith, a prominent Vice-President and ship owner at Cardiff Docks, each offering £200. A meeting took place with the Manager of the Midland Bank, and during a long and frank conversation, the Glamorgan contingent asked for his forbearance and explained how the two industrialists were prepared to put their money into a special account as security if the manager would agree to an unsecured overdraft for nine months. An agreement was duly reached, giving the Club the breathing space it badly needed. To the delight of all concerned, Glamorgan had a summer to savour during 1937. A series of handsome victories were strung together during the first two months as several of the players, who had been out-of-form in 1936, played match-winning roles with bat and ball. Maurice’s astute captaincy also played a hand in the Club’s ascent of the county table, with an example coming in early June at Swansea where he challenged Hampshire to make 255 in a shade over three hours. After an hour’s batting, the visitors were already approaching the 100-mark and, having lost just two wickets, it looked as if his plan would backfire. But fortune favours the brave, and after a brief stoppage caused by a heavy shower rolling in from the Mumbles, the wicket was freshened up, allowing Jack and Johnnie to weave their way through the rest of the Hampshire batting as Glamorgan secured an emphatic victory by 59 runs. The next match at Swansea against Worcestershire saw career- best performances by the valiant Glamorgan leader and his able deputy. In a truly magnificent display of batting, Maurice made an unbeaten 233, during which he drove, hooked and cut the ball time and time again with great power and panache. His splendid efforts meant that the Welsh county secured a first innings lead of almost 300, and this allowed him to set attacking fields for his canny spinners when the visitors batted for a second time. Having taken 9/66 first time around, Johnnie took 8/146 in the Worcestershire second innings, with ‘Nomad’ writing in the Western Mail :