Lives in Cricket No 22 - Jack Mercer

77 Chapter Twelve Life under Turnbull Considered by contemporaries to be the best captain of his generation never to lead England in Test cricket, Maurice Turnbull inherited a side which had only once finished a season in the top half of the Championship table and had won just 26 out of their 216 fixtures. He proved to be an exceptional leader who, in the words of Raymond Robertson-Glasgow, ‘wrenched stability from chaos, gave them runs and leadership, and rekindled local interest which lay feebly smouldering under a mound of defeats and deficits.’ 79 One of the factors behind his success was Turnbull’s cheerfulness. This, allied to the jolly disposition of Johnnie Clay and Jack’s good humour, meant that less confident and more complex personalities were able to flourish. Frank Ryan was one to benefit, quite literally, from Turnbull whose kindness even extended to rewarding Ryan with a few tenners after delivering a match-winning spell of bowling. Unlike other captains, Turnbull also went out his way to mix with the professionals off the field – something that Jack, as the shop steward of the paid players’ room, was quick to endorse – with Turnbull even entertaining them at his own expense, or arranging visits to the theatre or music hall. An example came in 1934 when Glamorgan were playing Essex at Clacton where, by a stroke of coincidence, a friend of Jack’s was appearing in one Jack played most of his Glamorgan cricket under three captains, Trevor Arnott (left), Johnnie Clay (centre) and Maurice Turnbull (right). 79 R.C.Robertson-Glasgow, More Cricket Prints , Werner Laurie, 1948.