Cricket Witness No 5 - Whites on Green

33 The Bancrofts Bates, the former Yorkshire batsman, was concerned, it was a successful audition, as the Yorkshireman who was now playing for Briton Ferry Town and who would go on to play for Glamorgan until 1931, made a composed half-century. With the selectors having an eye to the future, Billy did not appear in the match with Northamptonshire, nor was he chosen in the squad for the Minor County Championship matches which followed against Durham and Essex 2 nd XI with the Glamorgan authorities giving an opportunity to Bill Bestwick, the former Derbyshire fast bowler, who was enjoying a successful season with Neath and had verbally agreed with Glamorgan officials to qualify for the Club. It was though something of a gamble for them, giving Bestwick’s chequered past with Derbyshire. The former miner had first played for Derbyshire in 1898 and over the next decade became the bulwark of their attack. But he also developed a reputation for heavy drinking and in 1906 was also accused of killing a man after a bar-room scuffle. Charges of unlawful killing were later dropped, as the inquest jury ruled that he had acted in self-defence as the other man repeatedly lunged at him with a knife. But the accusations tarnished his reputation and after a series of heavy drinking bouts, he was released by Derbyshire in 1909. 5 Bill was clearly a troubled man and in need of a fresh start in another area. After a spell in the Lancashire League, he moved to South Wales during 1912, where he initially played and worked in Merthyr Tydfil before joining the Neath club. It proved in many ways to be a good move, as he met and married his second wife, who became something of a calming influence on him as he began what he hoped would be a second chance in county cricket with Glamorgan. He duly marked his debut for the Welsh county with a haul of 6/44 in Durham’s first innings, with the correspondent of the South Wales Evening Post commenting how Bill “with his strong arms and burly shoulders extracted pace and lift from what had appeared to be a fairly docile surface.” 6 Indeed, after Durham had been dismissed for 137, the wicket, and Bill’s bowling performance was put into context as Norman Riches and Jock Tait shared an opening partnership of 103. But the glee shown by the Glamorgan hierarchy in having seemingly unearthed a bowling gem soon evaporated as the officials from Neath CC belatedly confirmed that they would require Bestwick’s services for their League match on the following Saturday – the second day of the match against Essex 2 nd XI. News that Bestwick was unavailable only came on the Friday morning as the players were practicing ahead of the final game of the Festival week. As with the other matches that week, Billy Bancroft lent a hand bowling in the nets having helped Creber and others put the finishing touches to the wicket. The 43 year-old had played for the county side in early June in their away matches at The Oval and Sunderland, so he was hastily drafted into the side by Norman Riches. At first, it did not look like being a great