Cricket Witness No 3 - The Daffodil Blooms

61 Triumph and tragedy down proceedings and posted a series of fielders near the boundary ropes as the weary Welshman tried in vain to strike some boundaries during the closing overs. At the time, Hammond was the England captain, whilst Maurice had become a Test selector, and there were many that late afternoon at Rodney Parade who felt that the actions of the Gloucestershire man were unbecoming of someone in such an exalted position. Whilst there was plenty of back-slapping for Emrys from his colleagues and the home supporters, only the briefest of handshakes took place between the two teams when the umpires called time. There was also a rather frosty and brief exchange of words between Wally and Maurice, with the terse conversation between England captain and Test selector not lost on the occupants of the press tent, several of whom passed comment in their match reports. These events during the closing overs at Newport became the talk of the county circuit for several days. A number of the Gloucestershire side had also been embarrassed by their captain’s time-wasting antics and deliberately negative field-placings. Wally was certainly not a universally popular figure, and when Sir Pelham Warner asked one of his Gloucestershire colleagues his thoughts about him, Basil Allen replied “If you want my honest opinion, Plum, I think he’s an absolute shit.” After what happened at Rodney Parade, all of the Glamorgan side and the majority of the spectators would have wholeheartedly agreed. By the start of the 1939 season, Emrys had shared with Arnold Dyson over two-dozen century partnerships, and at a time when the England selectors were weighing up the merits of other batting all-rounders, Davies’s name met with favour amongst the selectors. With Maurice on the panel, Emrys had a good friend in a very high place, but there was not a whiff of cronyism as the other selectors agreed wholeheartedly that the all-rounder’s name should be included in the provisional squad for the tour to India and Ceylon during the winter of 1939/40. It therefore gave the Glamorgan captain great joy to return home and quietly speak to Emrys about his selection. Fate though was to play a very cruel hand for both men. In Emrys’ case the escalating situation in Western Europe following the Nazi invasion of Poland led to the tour being cancelled, thereby depriving him of a chance to emulate his friend’s achievements of playing for England. But whereas Emrys went on to officiate