Cricket Witness No 5 - Whites on Green

59 A place for all seasons glorious double-century against Worcestershire at St. Helen’s, Glamorgan were on course to reach seventh place in the county table – their highest- ever in the Championship – whilst the Club’s bank balance had been in the black for several summers. How different it was back in 1924 when the name of MJL Turnbull first appeared on the county’s team list with the Club tottering from one game to another like a drunk going from one pub to the next. The deficit of £2,951 at the end of the previous season meant that 1924 saw the Welsh county relying heavily once again on amateurs rather than hiring any extras from the paid ranks. Indeed, the club was run very much on a shoestring budget, with the wives and sisters of the amateurs helping to save money on the catering by making the sandwiches for the professionals lunch, whilst their men-folk did their bit to reduce the club’s debt. By early August 1924, some of the regular professionals were so out of form that the selection committee decided to give them a rest. One of these was Dai Davies, who the year before had made his home debut at Swansea after undertaking a double-shift at the steelworks in Llanelli with the young professional arriving at the St. Helen’s ground courtesy of a taxi which had been sent to his home. Maurice Turnbull was Dai’s replacement with the schoolboy fresh from a prolific summer playing for Downside School, the Roman Catholic boarding school south of Bath where the Cardiff-born youngster and his brothers had been sent by their father who was a leading figure in the shipping trade in the coal metropolis. His call-up came for the match at St. Helen’s against Lancashire, one of the strongest teams at the time in the County Championship, and the day before the match at Swansea, Maurice joined the other players in the nets at the Arms Park. The 1921 Australians walk out from the old Swansea pavilion.