Cricket Witness No 3 - The Daffodil Blooms

67 Chapter Seven Restarting and regrouping There has never been, and probably never again will be, a situation quite like it for any cricket team, such were the issues faced by Glamorgan CCC on the resumption of the County Championship in 1946 – a handful of professionals, uncertainty about the availability and whereabouts of other players, a small reserve of cash plus a bomb-damaged headquarters, to say nothing of the tragic loss of their captain and Honorary Secretary. Maurice Turnbull was the man who embodied the spirit and desire of the Welsh cricketing public who, like him, yearned for success. Following the victory by the Welsh rugby side over the mighty All Blacks at Cardiff Arms Park in 1935, they longed for the men in the daffodil-embroidered sweaters to emulate the feats of their heroes in red jerseys and to make the sporting nation proud. In those fateful minutes in a Normandy field, the hopes and dreams of one man – and what a man indeed – were literally blown away. Thankfully, there were still a host of others around during the Spring of 1946 who shared Maurice’s vision, especially Johnnie Clay, and it was under the cheery veteran’s guidance that Glamorgan dusted off the cobwebs from their pre-war paperwork and started to plan for the resumption of first-class cricket in Wales. Whereas other English grounds boasted grandiose facilities, Glamorgan’s cricketers were still very much the paupers of the county game. The veritable princes at Lord’s, The Oval, Trent Bridge or Old Trafford had a series of pristine net facilities, plus indoor areas for general exercise. Glamorgan’s cricketers during the pre- war era had been lucky enough to have access to the handsome pavilion and gymnasium at the Arms Park. But the building had been demolished in 1934 to make space for the North Stand so, once again, the players had to utilise – with the blessing of Cardiff Athletic Club – the corridors of the stand during the Spring of 1946 where, like the late 1930s, a series of makeshift nets had been created, before venturing outside and onto the grass nets at the Arms Park.