There are many contenders for the accolade of delivering the best bowling spell in Wales, including Don Shepherd and Johnnie Clay who each played a leading role in some of Glamorgan’s finest hours, not least the winning of the County Championship titles in 1969 and 1948 respectively. However, a performance by a 28 year-old bowler … More The best-ever bowling performances in Wales?
The David’s of Porthmadog Cricket clubs in Wales, like those in England, during the first half of the nineteenth-century were like modern-day golf clubs with members meeting up to play games amongst themselves. As transport facilities improved, especially the creation of railway lines, inter-club fixtures were possible but at the start of the season in … More The David’s of Porthmadog
20 May 2021 was nearly a red-letter day for Jock Tait (seen above left) as he came within four runs of scoring Glamorgan’s first-ever Championship hundred in their inaugural match as a first-class county against Sussex at Cardiff Arms Park. Scottish-born batsman Jock Tait had enjoyed the second day’s play, with the insurance broker ending … More Jock Tait – the man who nearly made Glamorgan’s first-ever hundred.
Glamorgan`s victory at Harrogate in 1955 was their first ever on Yorkshire soil, and was even more creditable given that they were without Wilf Wooller, had just lost to Hampshire and Leicestershire, and had only just avoided the follow-on in their first innings in this match against Yorkshire The home side had batted well on … More Glamorgan’s first-ever win in Yorkshire
One of the most colourful characters to ever play for Glamorgan was Frank Ryan, the Indian-born spinner who had been brought up in North America and had played for Hampshire shortly after the Great War before having a fall-out with the South Coast club and hitch-hiking his way to South Wales where he subsequently enjoyed … More A journey to Hell?
Glamorgan’s match against Yorkshire at Swansea in June 1965 has gone down in the record books because the 31-run victory for the Welsh county, inside two days, saw Don Shepherd and his spin partner Jim Pressdee, each take nine wickets in an innings – the only time in the history of the game that this … More The game when two Glamorgan bowlers each took nine wickets in an innings.
The photograph below shows the Alpha Cricket Club with the Cardiff and District League Challenge Cup in 1899. It was a significant achievement for a club formed in 1893 that, in the space of seven seasons, had come to be recognised as the “smartest young club in the district”. The fulcrum of the team in … More Cardiff Alpha: “the smartest young club in the district.”
The Ashes Test Match staged at Sophia Gardens in July 2009 was the first major game to be played across five days in Wales with, as shown above, England’s opening batsmen walking out from the pavilion at Sophia Gardens to tumultuous applause from a capacity crowd of 15,500 before facing the Australian bowlers. But it … More The first-ever five day match in Wales
Edmund David holds a very special place in the history of Glamorgan CCC, having led the county in their first-ever match against Warwickshire at Cardiff Arms Park in June 1889. He struck the first blow in the game by winning the toss and electing to bat, but this was the high point of the match … More Edmund David – the first man to captain Glamorgan
William Ewart Gladstone is famous for having had four spells as Britain’s Prime Minister – the first from December 1868 until February, followed by three further stints between 1880 and 1894 – and is regarded by historians as one of the most prominent figures in British politics during the Victorian era. What is less well-known … More The Prime Minister who played club cricket in Flintshire