Lives in Cricket No 22 - Jack Mercer

76 efforts both with the bat and in the field. In fact, had those supporters been in the changing-rooms and hotels, they would have seen a calm leader who, through his actions and manner, left nobody in doubt as to who was in charge. They would also have seen a good rapport develop between the young graduate and the professionals in his charge. The players liked his affability and, unlike Arnott the year before, they quickly warmed to him and his methods. Jack for one had a common interest with Turnbull as they were both keen on in horse-racing. Whilst a student at Cambridge, Maurice had become friendly with Jack Jarvis, the Newmarket trainer and frequently visited his stables, getting to know several jockeys and owners, as well as learning useful titbits about the horses in the yard. For Jack, this ‘inside information’ was like manna from heaven, and before play each day, the pair would often run their eye over the racecards, and if Johnnie Clay – another lover of the turf – was also playing, he too would have his twopennyworth about the merits of certain horses and jockeys. Whereas the 1928 season had ended with animosity bubbling up in the professionals’ dressing-room, there was harmony in the closing weeks of 1929, and with favourable comments reaching the ears of the club’s officials, the committee were delighted to offer Maurice the captaincy. It proved to be the dawn of a new era, both for Jack and for Glamorgan cricket, as under Turnbull’s astute leadership, the club went from strength to strength. A change of captain