Cricket Witness No 5 - Whites on Green

101 The Prince of Port Eynon Despite a fine century from Bobby Simpson, the Welsh batsmen were able to save the game, as a downpour washed out play with just over two hours to play and with the tourists still needing eight wickets. Glamorgan’s spirited fightback, inspired by Shep’s feat, had been a moral victory for the home side as the Australians left the damp and deserted Swansea ground thinking what might have been, had it not been for his remarkable innings. As the consummate team man and senior professional, Shep was never one to boast about his personal achievements. “I just had a bit of luck and a good old swing with the bat that day,” he would modestly say when asked about events that August afternoon. Whereas other players take great delight in recalling blow by blow as they brag about their finest innings, Shep would just unashamedly smile and with a glint in his eye, the only additional sign about how he felt about his personal achievement and a place in the record books. But his whirlwind fifty had not been in a winning cause, and Shep’s two proudest days in Glamorgan’s ranks at Swansea were undoubtedly when he led the county to victory over the 1968 Australians, and the following August when Glamorgan completed a dramatic one-run victory over Essex to leave them within one victory of clinching the 1969 Championship title. 1. Western Mail , 10 June 1965. 2. D.Miller, Born to Bowl (Fairfield Books, 2004). 3. Western Mail , 11 June 1965 4. Western Mail , 7 August, 1961 5. Western Mail , 8 August 1961 Don Shepherd (left) congratulates Robert Croft after the all-rounder had taken his 1,000th first-class wicket for Glamorgan at Swansea in 2011.