Cricket Witness No 5 - Whites on Green

17 The creation of St. Helen’s to groom the next generation of sportsmen. By the late 1860s, he was regarded as one of the finest coaches in the region, as evidenced by his selection as captain of the Colts XXII in 1869 which played the newly formed Glamorganshire side in a two-day encounter at Neath. His skills as a groundsman were also highly regarded and having helped to create a decent surface at Bryn-y-Mor, the acquisition of the land adjacent to the Oystermouth Road gave him a fresh challenge and during the early 1870s he played a key role in the laying of turf on the reclaimed sand dunes besides overseeing the creation of a series of pitches, with Llewelyn also dipping into his pocket to create a wall around the new ground. Perhaps as a thank you, Llewelyn also ensured that the plans for the new ground included the creation of a cottage built adjacent on the Oystermouth Road, and a home from which William and his growing family could tend not just the cricket field, but also the rugby pitch alongside, besides coaching the members of the Club in the area of practice nets which had also been created adjacent to Gorse Lane. 1874 duly saw the final matches of cricket and rugby at the Bryn-y-Mor Field and, with developments at St. Helen’s having taking place smoothly, the grand opening of the new ground occurred on Whit Monday 1875 with an estimated 7,000 people present for a series of athletics events organised by the cricket club. With cricket still being the major sport, the new sports field was frequently referred to, during the course of the next few years, as ‘The New Cricket Field, St. Helen’s.’ However, the rugby section was not forgotten, with Llewelyn continuing to give his support to the club, by helping to finance the building of a new and more spacious pavilion in 1878 to replace the smaller and basic one initially constructed with a decent sized dressing room adjacent to Bryn Road to serve both the summer and winter games. The new ground swiftly became popular and within a couple of years a second wicket was created, on the rugby ground itself, for the use of the junior clubs in the area. William Bancroft (senior).