Lives in Cricket No 22 - Jack Mercer

27 Chapter Three A move to South Wales Moving to Glamorgan was quite a change for Jack. He left a well- established club which had several Test players, a lot of aspiring talent, and a well-organised nursery. He had moved to a club which had enjoyed a difficult baptism in the first-class arena, which had several players reaching the ends of their professional careers, a host of enthusiastic but less talented amateurs, and lacked a coach or nursery. The modest form of the Welsh county in 1921 had already impacted on its limited financial reserves. In fact, the club as a whole was run on a shoestring. Wives, sisters and mothers of the Glamorgan amateurs helped to save money by making sandwiches for the professionals’ lunches, and their menfolk did their bit to reduce the club’s expenses by entertaining visiting amateurs in the dining room of an adjacent hotel. From a playing point of view, the sizeable deficit meant that there was little money to spend on professionals; on more than one occasion, the modest finances meant that an amateur was preferred to a young professional. Club cricket in South Wales was similarly disorganised, with a collection of decent sides but no overall structure or governing body similar to that which operated in the region’s football. The majority of clubs preferred a host of friendly fixtures and local derbies to League fixtures, and this unstructured state of club cricket worried many of Glamorgan’s officials. Harry Ditton, ‘Nomad’ of the Western Mail , wrote in March 1922 how he was: as anxious as anyone to see Glamorgan C.C.C. flourish and bring credit and honour to cricket and the Principality. The only way it can be done is by thorough organisation, particularly in respect to club cricket. Every encouragement and facility for improving the standard of play and players must be given. 21 Nevertheless, there were several former county professionals playing club cricket in South Wales, having moved in the hope of securing a post with the fledgling county. Some of these later fell by the wayside, including Edward Mignon, the former Middlesex fast bowler, who accepted a position with Port Talbot C.C. in 1920. Mignon became embroiled in a dispute with a sports outfitter in Cardiff over the sale of cricket balls. 22 Apparently, Mignon had previously approached other retailers elsewhere, offering to sell equipment directly to cricket clubs, and in this particular 21 Western Mail , 29 March 1922. 22 Western Mail , 7 and 15 April 1922.