Cricket Witness No 5 - Whites on Green

90 Championship tricks and a victory over the Boks Bill Brown and Sid Barnes began the Australian reply, but their line-up did not include Don Bradman, who had decided to sit out the match at Swansea in 1948. Local legend has it that on arriving in Swansea, the great ‘Don’ was eager to know the composition of the Glamorgan side, and whether or not Johnnie Clay was in the line-up. The silver-haired spinner was, and like Charlie Parker of Gloucestershire, his bowling prowess had left an indelible mark on Bradman’s memory, so much so, that he decided to hand over the reins to Lindsay Hassett and watch from the sidelines. The prospect of watching the Australians bat all day was still sufficiently attractive for a bumper crowd of 30,000 to descend upon Swansea the following morning, causing the gates to be closed before lunch was taken. Those fortunate enough to get into ground in the morning were treated to an aggressive innings of 84 from Keith Miller, who struck five sixes and seven fours before being well caught in the covers by Eaglestone after Clay had deceived the great Australian all-rounder into mis-timing another booming drive. But soon after Miller had made his way back to the pavilion, light rain started to fall. It soon intensified and forced the players off the field at 3pm. Sadly, they were never to return, as steady rain fell throughout the following day and the match was abandoned as a soggy draw. Despite the result, the atmosphere at St. Helen’s had been intoxicating and many of the youngsters who caught the cricket bug became devotees of the Welsh county in succeeding years. The hwyl and passion filtered up to the press area, on the roof of the Swansea pavilion and as Jack Morgan, the leading sports journalist in South Wales and Wisden’s correspondent for many years, duly wrote: A view of the packed rugby field at St. Helen’s during Glamorgan’s game against the 1948 Australians.