Cricket Witness No 5 - Whites on Green

4 Preface The idea for this book, the fifth in the Cricket Witness series, celebrating some of the finest moments in the history of the St. Helen’s cricket ground in Swansea, belonged to Bob Harragan. Having heard about the series, he first approached the Association during the summer 2015 and, after several telephone conversations, he subsequently forwarded, an initial manuscript besides suggesting areas we could work on in collaboration on a book celebrating the rich history of a ground whose future as a long- term venue for county cricket has been in doubt for several years. Sadly, Bob’s health deteriorated later that year and he passed away in hospital in Llanelli on 26 January, 2016. Our joint efforts on this book were still very much in their infancy but, as someone who shared his passion for the ground overlooking the Severn Estuary, I was keen that his painstaking research efforts on behalf of the ACS saw fruition. During the course of the last couple of years, I have therefore attempted to fill in the gaps and round off what I hope is a fitting tribute to someone who spent many years delving into the fascinating early history of cricket in South Wales. Born in Romford in 1954, Bob had worked as a sports journalist in West Wales from 1973, chiefly with the Llanelli Star newspaper. He was also the manager of the Carmarthenshire Under 11s, a committee member of the South Wales Junior Cricket League and Honorary Statistician for the Welsh Schools Cricket Association. He also held a record-keeping role with the Welsh national side which, under the management of the Welsh Cricket Association, took part in the Triple Crown competition from the early 1970s. Bob also wrote several sports books, including the highly acclaimed “History of Llanelli Cricket Club” in 1991 and “Images of Wales – Llanelli RFC” in 1997. If Llanelli was his place of work, Stradey Park was his sporting base, Swansea was most definitely his next favourite ground and whether it was a county fixture, Minor County match, club game or a contest involving juniors, Bob would go out of his way to be present, ensuring that the efforts of the county professional, international stars, club members or young boys did not go unrecorded. Fittingly, some of the proceeds from the sale of this book are going to the Cricket in Wales Foundation Trust, set up by Cricket Wales and Glamorgan CCC to nurture grassroots cricket. Andrew Hignell