Lives in Cricket No 22 - Jack Mercer

100 Chapter Sixteen Ten wickets and a benefit The 1935 season proved to be a watershed year for both Jack and the Welsh county. The tragic events the previous summer involving Trevor Every, the loss of Harold Dickinson’s services and Jack’s niggling injuries had all highlighted the importance of having a nursery of talent upon which the club could call. A lifeline had come during 1934 when Monmouthshire’s officials approached Glamorgan and suggested a merger. Monmouthshire had been playing in the Minor Counties Championship since 1901 but, with their finances in a dire state, they could not continue on their own and they suggested merging with Glamorgan who could then field a Second Eleven in the Minor Counties competition, and draw on the pool of talent in the neighbouring county. The Glamorgan committee agreed, and 1935 saw a strengthening in the club’s resources as a number of promising youngsters were groomed in the Minor Counties competition. One of these was 23-year-old Haydn Davies, a wicketkeeper-batsman from Llanelli who had graduated from University College, Aberystwyth and was looking for a career in professional cricket. He duly became the regular wicketkeeper in the Minor Counties side, and after some good performances, replaced Tom Brierley in the first team where he quickly developed a fine working relationship with Jack. The county’s officials were also on the lookout for an opening partner for Jack; even so, he bowled a thousand overs in the season, for the fifth time, at the age of 42. During May 1935, the county invited Wilf Hughes, a young teacher from Ebbw Vale who had a fine record in club cricket in Northamptonshire, to the nets at the Arms Park. Hughes had previously played for Monmouthshire but, believing he was not good enough, had gone into teaching. This was certainly not the assessment when he performed in the nets in front of Jack and other senior players, who agreed with Maurice Turnbull that Hughes should be given a chance in the next match, against South Africa at Cardiff. To their collective delight, Hughes had a memorable debut in first-class cricket, although it was with the bat that he made a lasting impact as Glamorgan followed on. Hughes belied his inexperience by launching an amazing counter-attack on the final morning and together with Cyril Smart, added a record 131 runs in a dramatic ninety-minute passage of play before rain set in and washed out the final two sessions, with Smart unbeaten on 114 and Hughes on 70 not out. Hughes subsequently developed into a useful partner for Jack as he mixed teaching with county cricket.