Cricket Witness No 5 - Whites on Green

107 they slipped to 80-6 in the face of clever left-arm bowling from Malcolm Nash who produced some sharp in-swing which, allied to his priceless knack of being able to drift the ball the other way, confounded the illustrious Australian batsmen who yielded a first innings lead of 114 to Shepherd and his merry men. With the wicket still revealing a benign character, the instructions from the acting captain were for quick runs. Half centuries from Roger Davis and West Indian recruit Bryan Davis helped Glamorgan to extend the lead to 364, before ‘Shep’ declared to leave the Aussies all of the final day to chase this target. With clear blue skies, the Swansea ground was packed to the rafters shortly before the start of the last day’s play, with everyone hoping that the Welsh county could record another famous victory. Alan Jones still remembers Shepherd’s words to his team before taking to the field on that fateful day: “Don’s talk to our team was simple. Give away nothing, field like they have fielded and bowlers just do your job! ”4 The game in 1968 was very different to the encounter four years before as ‘Shep’ reasoned that Glamorgan’s best chance of winning was for the Australians to think they could get the runs, rather than shutting up shop and blocking out for a draw. Like a Grand Master at chess, the wily spinner cleverly rotated his bowling as the Australians watchfully accumulated against the enthusiastic Glamorgan team, with Paul Sheahan, their number four batsman, recording a fighting century. But wickets steadily fell, sometimes with bad balls, as Sheahan drilled The Extra Test Match Don Shepherd stands proudly at the foot of the pavilion stairs after he had master minded Glamorgan victory over the 1968 Australians.