Cricket Witness No 3 - The Daffodil Blooms

58 Triumph and tragedy “the off-spinner remained unflappable throughout. If he was hit for a couple of boundaries, he walked back in to bowl as if nothing had happened with that characteristic attitude of his – long arms, hanging loosely and fingers twitching.” [3] 1937 was an annus mirabilis for the 39 year-old as he ended the summer with a Club record aggregate of 176 wickets. They cost a mere 17 runs apiece, whilst Johnnie’s tally included no less than seven ten-wicket hauls. With both Johnnie and Maurice in vintage form, as well as Glamorgan in the top six of the table, large crowds flocked to the home games, swelling the Club’s coffers and further improving the bank balance. Indeed, when the 1937 New Zealanders played at Swansea, the Glamorgan captain was able to take his side into the field free of having to worry about manipulating a situation to ensure that the game lasted for three days so that the Club’s coffers were given a boost. Maurice was therefore able to lead his buoyant team to a crushing 332-run victory – a margin that still remains their best-ever against any Test-playing nation – with the foundations for the emphatic win being laid by an opening partnership of 157 between Emrys Davies and Arnold Dyson. Cyril Smart also made a quick-fire 94 as he repeated his big-hitting exploits against international bowlers, before the New Zealanders were left with a target of 443 on the final day. This proved to be academic as Emrys and Johnnie exploited the wearing surface to claim five wickets apiece as New Zealand were dismissed for just 110. Glamorgan’s outstanding performances also caught the attention of the English selectors and a few weeks later one of the Club’s bowlers appeared in the Third Test of the series against the Kiwis. Their choice though was not Clay, Mercer or Davies but Austin Matthews, the Welsh-born all-rounder who had played for over a decade with Northamptonshire, before moving back to South Wales mid-way through 1937 after completing a coaching stint at Stowe School. Austin was a good friend of the Turnbull family, having played rugby and cricket for Cardiff alongside Maurice during the early 1920s besides being identified as a rising talent by Fred Bowley. But Glamorgan were unable to offer decent financial terms to Austin who opted to continue his university studies at Lampeter before moving to the East Midlands, ostensibly to play rugby for Northampton. He became a key member of the Northamptonshire side, but after