Cricket Witness No 5 - Whites on Green

83 Wartime and after The August Bank Holiday saw a game with the Indians and a huge crowd, in excess of 50,000 over the three days at Swansea. John Arlott was amongst them, with the fledgling broadcaster being part of the BBC commentary team who sent verbal reports to all parts of the Empire as well as penning quite brief, but typically eloquent ones for other media outlets. In this match, the man who became the doyen of post-war journalists wrote: “Some came early to get a seat then stood on it to see the play. The rugby grandstand was full up to a hundred yards from the boundary of the cricket field: uncounted dozens came in over the wall and hundreds turned from the closed gates to the seaside. All day the coupled electric tram-trains slid by the ground, giving a glimpse of the cricket gratis. When the loudspeakers called for Mr.Morris of Pontardawe to come and be twelfth man for the county team, every Welshman from Pontardawe, or nearby or who knew the said Mr.Morris, shouted his enthusiastic interest in county cricket. Mr.Morris presented himself – with modesty and enthusiasm but no gear – to be provided at once with clothing as prescribed for the playing of cricket and which, if it did not fit him with all the precision of a tailormade, would neither trip nor unduly confine him in the field. Glamorgan batted, seven Indians bowled and the same number of them dropped catches. E.L.James, comparatively new to county cricket, could not it seemed, believe his luck at being dropped by Test cricketers, so he hit up two more catches before he could be convinced – and remained not out – to ponder the kindness of fieldsmen.” 2 Thanks to this unbeaten 62 by Evan James, the locum from the Barry club, Glamorgan mustered 238. Vinoo Mankad claimed four wickets with his left-arm spin, but in the space of one remarkable over, Clay clubbed him for two straight sixes besides scything three fours. “The crowd cheered itself almost blue in the face,” wrote Arlott. 3 India replied with 203 thanks to 66 from Vijay Merchant with Clay also finding the conditions to his liking as he claimed 7/72 before Irishman Maurice Robinson top-scored with 72 in Glamorgan’s second innings. The all-rounder had county experience with Warwickshire, as well as having appeared in wartime games in India whilst serving with the Royal Air Force. His appearances for the Welsh county stemmed from his posting to the St. Athan’s camp in the Vale of Glamorgan, and though his forthright efforts, the Indians were set 273 in just over four hours. This time the tourists went on the attack from the outset with Mushtaq Ali going for the bowling as in the space of an hour and a half he made 93 out of the Indian’s total of 151. It gave them the launchpad they needed, and allowed others to play in a more sober fashion. But his efforts meant that the Indians were so far ahead of the clock that there was an hour to spare when the match was won by Ranga Sohoni hitting a pair of massive sixes off Clay.