Cricket Witness No 3 - The Daffodil Blooms

75 Restarting and regrouping summer in sixth place in the table – their highest-ever finishing position in the County Championship – with their players taking great delight in their role as underdogs and turning the tables on their well-resourced opponents. An example came during the first victory of the summer at Old Trafford when they defeated Lancashire by three wickets. As Phil Clift recalled many years later: “It was our first-ever win at the ground and came in quite extraordinary circumstances. We arrived in Manchester after some batting practices in the chilly corridors of the North Stand, plus some basic fielding drills on the outfield of the Arms Park. You can imagine our thoughts when we got to Old Trafford and saw row after row of beautifully manicured nets, numerous coaching staff and a battery of net bowlers!” 6 Johnnie’s shrewd captaincy was a vital ingredient in Glamorgan’s success with the veteran cleverly handling his bowling resources and making subtle changes to the field. Johnnie was not afraid either to throw down some interesting challenges, as at Pontypridd during the game against Somerset. Like many games at Ynysangharad Park, the contest had been badly affected by rain, so on the final morning of the match, Johnnie had a chat with Ben Barnwell, the visiting captain, about setting up a game. Unlike previous games, their actions did not result in any censure. Ben agreed to declare on their overnight score of 51-0, before Johnnie followed suit when Glamorgan swiftly reached the same score against some friendly bowling. With four and a half hours remaining, there was the prospect of further brisk run-scoring, but Austin Matthews had other ideas as the vastly experienced seamer took 7/12 in seventeen overs on the drying wicket as Somerset were dismissed inside two hours for just 53. At times, there were eight fielders close to the bat, with the ball fizzing around as Austin repeatedly found the edge. Rain interrupted Glamorgan’s reply but there was sufficient time for mopping up operations to take place and for Glamorgan to reach their target with eight wickets in hand. Like his predecessor, Johnnie was eager to please the crowd, and this aspect of his captaincy came to the fore during the match in early June against the Indians at the Arms Park. This was another rain-affected game and when play resumed at 2.30pm on the final afternoon, a dull draw seemed inevitable, but Glamorgan were dismissed for 149 and immediately invited to follow-on with under two hours remaining. With a decent-sized crowd present at