Cricket Witness No 5 - Whites on Green

11 Early cricket in Swansea provide land at a cheap rent and the question which now occupied the minds of the committee members was how to raise funds to secure a permanent home elsewhere. The answer was a fund-raising three-day game on 11, 12 and 13 July 1866 between a XXII of Swansea and District against the United All England Eleven – one of the wandering teams of professional players which staged exhibition matches throughout the country. It also saw the Swansea club enter into an agreement with Mr. Pugh, the landlord of the field so that “he agrees to keep the ground clear of all cattle, horses and sheep for the 10 th to 14 th July so that the committee had free and uncontrolled use.” 5 But it was not just about raising money for the Swansea club as the organisation of this match against the crack English professional would have involved appearance fees and other sundry costs such as accommodation. Fortunately, the club had the support of John Talbot Dillwyn Llewelyn, the influential squire of Penllergaer, who was a leading member of the South Wales Cricket Club. The Old Etonian and Oxford-educated industrialist had a wide range of sporting and political contacts in both South Wales and London, and was keen to promote healthy recreation in the Swansea area. With Llewelyn acting as a kindly benefactor, it meant that gate money could go straight into the coffers of the Swansea club and the fund they had created for the acquisition of a permanent base. Fortunately, a decent- sized crowd turned up and they were treated to some big hitting by the professionals with one of the English professionals, George Paling, of Nottinghamshire, depositing a series of balls into the back gardens of the houses in Brunswick Street. Besides being a financial success, the timing of the exhibition contest proved to be very good as shortly after the end of the season, the Club were advised by the owners of the Brunswick Field that the land had been earmarked as the site of a new hospital for Swansea. With the prospect of having to shortly move again, the Club created another A youthful JTD Llewelyn. James Livingston.