Cricket Witness No 5 - Whites on Green

76 “Good Old Johnnie” after making his Glamorgan debut against Gloucestershire at Newport he produced an outstanding spell against the New Zealanders, as described by the correspondent of the Western Mail : “He delivered an opening onslaught which was almost sensational in its devastating effects. With the second ball of his first over, Matthews uprooted Mooney’s middle stump. In came big Tom Lowry but he was taken at the wicket off the next delivery and the crowd’s roar was hushed – could he accomplish the hat-trick in the first over of an innings before a run had been scored? Turnbull closed in the field, but [Lindsay] Weir resisted the temptation to play at a good length ball pitched outside the off stump.” 2 Matthews went on to claim two further scalps as he ended with the fine figures of 4/49 as the tourists were dismissed for 127 with Emrys Davies claiming the last three wickets at a cost of just one run. With Glamorgan having a first innings lead of 102, Davies then put the Kiwis to the sword with the bat as he added 157 in the space of two hours and a quarter with his opening partner Arnold Dyson. Their run spree delighting the crowd, estimated at around 11,000 and described as by Nomad of the Western Mail : . “Hundreds were in their shirt sleeves and improvised paper hats and handkerchiefs of all colours of the rainbow were used as a protection against the scorching sun. Like Sydney Hill itself was the comment of one of the New Zealanders who told me that the Swansea crowd was the best they had seen at a county game this season.” 3 Maurice Turnbull declared the Glamorgan second innings around ninety minutes before the close on the second day, leaving the tourists with a target of 442. They had already lost three batsmen before the close and with a victory out of the question, many expected an attritional final day’s play with the Kiwi’s trying to save the game. To the glee of the locals, it only took Glamorgan forty minutes to wrap up victory with Johnnie Clay in vintage form, taking 5/27 as the Welsh county completed a comprehensive victory by 332 runs. The ease at which they won the game however did not take Nomad by surprise: “New Zealand were overawed by the gigantic task which faced them. Glamorgan’s brilliant cricket the previous day had placed the tourists in a hopeless position, still 371 behind and with the ball turning on a worn wicket, they were a doomed side! ”4 Whilst the plaudits on the final day rightfully went to Johnnie, tributes were paid to Austin’s seam bowling and his new ball spell on the opening day which had literally put the tourists on the back foot. It turned out to be a purple patch for the experienced bowler as in the next Championship match against Sussex at Hastings, he took seven wickets in each innings. His career-best return of 14/132, on a perfect batting strip, set many tongues wagging, and not just in the Glamorgan camp either. The England selector Percy Perrin had travelled to the south coast,