Cricket Witness No 5 - Whites on Green

40 Local rivalries another deluge swept in from Swansea Bay and prevented any further play. Once again a re-match was arranged a fortnight later, but the date was not ideal from the point of view of the Swansea club with several players unavailable through rugby commitments or holidays. The last thing the officials from St. Helen’s wanted after the ill feeling the previous year was for Cardiff to be able to gloat over an easy victory against a weak Swansea XI, so rather than sending what amounted to virtually a 2 nd XI for a thrashing at the Arms Park, they opted not to send a side at all, and to try and salvage a small measure of pride out of the situation. Cardiff were delighted to win the Cup, but Swansea’s actions rankled several of the Cardiff officials and the animosity between east and west continued for several years, with a tit-for-tat action the following summer when Cardiff failed to send a side down to Swansea for their fixture in August. But this was nothing compared with the acrimony in the Challenge Cup match when Swansea met Morriston at St. Helen’s in 1886. The home side had difficulty in raising a team, and at noon the game eventually began but the hour’s delay greatly annoyed the visiting side. A second difference of opinion then occurred over the timings for lunch. As reported in The Cambrian newspaper: “it was discovered that Edgar Reid [a local doctor], who was one of the not out batsmen, was not on the field or prepared to take his place at the wicket. The Morristonians now had a fixed idea that their opponents, having three of their good players absent, were determined to make an effort to obtain a drawn game, and play again with a better team.” 5 Annoyed at the time-wasting tactics, the Morriston team then took their place in the field, without Reid being present, and the ball was put in play. The Morriston wicketkeeper then removed the bails of the unguarded A view from an Edwardian postcard of the St. Helen’s ground from Town Hill.