Lives in Cricket No 22 - Jack Mercer

44 from Eddie Bates saw Glamorgan to an eight-wicket victory and, for the first time in the club’s history, a place on top of the Championship table. There was much glee in South Wales, and a host of plaudits were paid to Clay and his men. Outside Wales, a few ribald comments were made from certain sections of the press who felt that Glamorgan’s position was somewhat contrived, but these doubters were silenced by a further series of impressive displays, including a first-ever victory over Surrey. The South London side arrived in Cardiff without five of their big guns who were involved in the Test Trial at Lord’s. A decent crowd at the Arms Park on the opening day saw a workmanlike performance from Glamorgan, with Jack bowling a good spell of cutters with the old ball to restrict the visitor’s progress. On day two, the home batsmen secured a first innings lead of 49, before Ryan showed no ill effects from a recent bout of lumbago by clinically working his way through the Surrey batting as Glamorgan won by eight wickets. There was little time for celebration as the overjoyed Glamorgan team had the prospect of a lengthy train journey to Yorkshire for the match the next day at Hull. In fact, it must have seemed like they were travelling to Hell as they had a nightmare journey with their train from Cardiff General being both late and overcrowded. The upshot was that the only room for the kit was in the guard’s van, but Jack and several of the professionals stowed the kit in between their milk churns, before propping some bags upside down to create a surface for a card school as they whiled away the hours heading north. Their train was then further delayed at Birmingham, and the knock-on effect was that they missed their connection at Derby. ‘Surely nothing else can go wrong boys,’ said Johnnie Clay as the team waited in the darkness for the next service to the Yorkshire coast. But things only got worse when the weary Welshmen eventually arrived at 2 am at their hotel in Hull. To their horror, they discovered that the hotelier had let their rooms, believing that the cricketers were not coming after all; with the Beverley race-meeting taking place, there were plenty of customers looking for a bed for the night. The news was a bombshell for the tired players, but for the second time in the space of twelve hours, Frank Ryan was the saviour of the team. ‘Don’t worry boys,’ said the spinner as Clay continued to remonstrate with the hotel owner, ‘I know a little place around the corner.’ He then disappeared to track down his friend’s pub a few hundred yards away and after waking up his pal, he successfully negotiated for everyone to sleep on the seats in the lounge. After their long and frustrating journey, the players were only too happy to find somewhere to rest their weary heads. ‘Good old Frank,’ was their toast the following morning as they heartily tucked into breakfast, but the spartan accommodation at the pub meant that Ryan woke up rather stiff and with his lumbago having returned, he was unable to play in the match. The effects of the journey and the lack of a good night’s sleep also manifested itself as the Welsh county were bustled out for 52 and 95 with Yorkshire recording an innings victory to leapfrog to the top of the Turning the corner