Cricket Witness No 5 - Whites on Green

99 The Prince of Port Eynon into his eye in the previous match at Pontypridd. In fact, the blow had sent him tumbling to the grass at Ynysangharad Park where he lay for a few seconds in a semi-conscious state. In today’s game, there are protocols in place where players have to miss games on medical grounds, but it was a very different world back in 1961 and with the help of a few aspirins, Shep took his place in the team for the next match at Swansea, despite having his eye still half-shut. He did not want to let the team down as they tried to do better than in the earlier game that summer against the tourists over the Whitsun Bank Holiday at the Arms Park. It had been a game when Glamorgan should have followed- on had Bobby Simpson and others not needed batting practice. It had been a good game though for Pressdee who struck 118 and became Glamorgan’s first centurion against Australia on Welsh soil, whilst Parkhouse made a fine 70. Unfortunately, Parkhouse was injured for the Swansea match and was replaced by the next batting icon from the west, left-hander Alan Jones. While Alan may have been born only a short distance from the Swansea ground, his home village of Velindre is much more rural and there has always been the feel of the countryman about Alan. That rubbed off on his batting, particularly in his unruffled ability to bat all day. Not that he had a chance this early in his career as Ron Gaunt had him lbw for a duck. The Australians had batted first, although there were a few grumbles about the conditions and a bit of dampness in the wicket. With people thronging in and plenty of blue sky overhead, it would have been poor PR had there been a lengthy delay, so the tourists made a steady and watchful start against the seam bowling of Clydach’s Brian Evans and the Welsh county’s new skipper, Ossie Wheatley – or “Dai Peroxide” as the former Warwickshire and Cambridge University bowler had been christened. The introduction of Shep’s off-cutters, saw Simpson depart for 23, but Bill Lawry and Norm O’Neill settled in to each score sixties, before both departed to Walker. A collapse then followed as none of the other batsmen reached double figures with Don finishing with figures of 5/50 as, in the words of JBG Thomas: “The true Test Match atmosphere took possession of the historic St. Helen’s ground… with the immaculate off-spin of Don Shepherd and the tireless support of Peter Walker. The dream which perhaps one day will produce an Australian Test Match at Swansea is well worthwhile and Saturday’s play contained all the seeds of such a future event. ” 4 The glee on the faces of the Glamorgan supporters at seeing the tourists dismissed for 192 soon disappeared on the second day as the Australians, suitably galvanized by excursions on the Gower during Sunday, swiftly reduced the Welsh county to 94-8 with the architects of their sharp, and quite sudden, decline being leg-spinner Richie Benaud and slow left-armer Lindsay Kline, who each found plenty of assistance from the now quite dry and dusty wicket. The clatter of wickets shocked the crowd into silence, but down the long flight of steps at the Swansea ground came the unlikely