Cricket Witness No 5 - Whites on Green

95 Chapter Twelve The Prince of Port Eynon With over 2,000 first-class wickets to his name, Don Shepherd followed in a long line of off-spin bowlers from Harry Creber, through Len Muncer and, in more recent times, Robert Croft to prosper on the sandy-based surface at Swansea. Born and raised at Port Eynon on the Gower Peninsula, St. Helen’s was Don’s home ground from his debut season in 1950 until hanging up his bowling boots at the end of the 1972 season. It was also where his family held his wake following his death in August 2017, just a week or so after celebrating his 90 th birthday. In all, Shep played in 125 first-class matches at Swansea, delivering 26,244 balls and claiming 464 wickets at a fraction over 20 runs apiece. These achievements are set against his record of 371 wickets at the Arms Park, plus a further 96 from 1967 onwards at Sophia Gardens, taking his Cardiff tally to a mere three more than his Swansea one. Shep’s debut in Glamorgan’s ranks at St. Helen’s came on 17 June, 1950 during their County Championship match against Surrey with the 22 year- old run out for a single in his first innings at the ground which was to play such a major part of his life as a professional cricketer. Remarkably, Shep had rarely been to the ground before and even after his family had moved Don Shepherd, pictured in 1950.