Lives in Cricket No 22 - Jack Mercer

7 Introduction For fifteen seasons, he opened, continued and closed the Glamorgan attack and welcomed with unfailing humour the reluctance of the batsmen to depart, the umpire to agree and the fieldsmen to bend. So wrote Raymond Robertson-Glasgow about Jack Mercer – the first bowler in Glamorgan County Cricket Club’s long history to take all ten wickets in an innings. His feat came, appropriately enough, in his benefit year in 1936 at Worcester, and with the Welsh county having currently played over 2,000 first-class games, he is still the only bowler to have achieved the feat. 1 Jack is a most apt subject for this series, as he was involved in county cricket for eight decades. His first involvement came – albeit briefly – in the years leading up to the Great War, during which he fought on the Somme and was wounded in a harrowing incident which left scars – both physical and mental. Playing cricket was part of the therapy for Jack after the hostilities ceased, and he was fortunate enough to rejoin the Sussex ground staff. Cricket was very much in his family’s blood, with his father Walt being a leading figure with Southwick C.C. in West Sussex. Indeed, Jack had enjoyed an idyllic childhood growing up in the Shoreham area, with his family’s home full of laughter and happy young children. Jack was the second eldest of Walt’s eight children, and his cricketing achievements put a smile on his father’s face. Jack played sporadically for Sussex between 1919 and 1921, but his progress was blocked by several others, including his great friend Maurice Tate, with whom he had first played in junior cricket. Jack, though, was desperate to play regular county cricket so he sounded out other clubs to seek fresh opportunities. He was something of a gambler too, with a love of horse racing nurtured by years of living on the edge of the South Downs, close to many fine training establishments. He knew several trainers and jockeys, and received many good tips, most of which failed to bring the healthy financial rewards he sought. The biggest gamble he took, and easily the best, was to leave Sussex in 1922 and to move to South Wales to qualify for Glamorgan. The Welsh county had a torrid time in their first couple of seasons in the County Championship, winning just four matches, including a victory over Sussex in their inaugural match as a first-class county in 1921. The Arms Park in that match echoed to cheers and applause for Norman Riches’ aged team as they turned the form book upside-down. It proved to be their solitary 1 R.C.Robertson-Glasgow, More Cricket Prints , Werner Laurie, 1948.