In 1926 Frank was the toast of his Glamorgan colleagues, albeit in rather unusual circumstances, after some fine early season bowling saw the Welsh county reach the heady heights at the top of the Championship after the spinner played a hand in an eight-wicket victory over Surrey at the Arms Park. There was little time for celebration after play as the Glamorgan squad had the prospect of a lengthy train journey to Yorkshire for their match the next day at Hull. In fact, it must have seemed like they were travelling to Hell as the Welsh cricketers had a nightmare journey with their train from Cardiff General being both late and overcrowded, as the national rail network still showed the side-effects from the General Strike.
The upshot was that the only room for the kit was in the guard`s van, but Frank, Jack Mercer and the other professionals did not unduly mind the inconvenience as they stowed kit in between some milk churns, before turning other bags upside down to create a surface for a card school as they wiled 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,” was Johnnie’s message 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 a.m. at their hotel in Hull. To their horror, they discovered that the owner had let their rooms, believing that the cricketers were not coming after all, and with the Beverley race-meeting taking place, there were plenty of customers looking for a bed for the night. The news that the hotel was full was a bombshell to the tired players but, for the second time in the space of twelve hours, Frank was the saviour of the team. “Don`t worry boys,” said the spinner as Johnnie continued to remonstrate with the hotel owner, “I know a little place around the corner.” He then disappeared for a few minutes to track down his friend’s pub 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 team were only too happy to find somewhere to rest their weary heads for a few hours. “Good old Frank” was their toast the following morning as they heartily tucked into breakfast, but the rather spartan accommodation on board the train and later at the pub, plus his friend’s late-night hospitality meant that Frank woke up with a headache plus a rather stiff back. Johnnie regrettably had to leave the spinner out of the team when he tossed up at the start of the match. The effect of the journey and the lack of a decent night’s sleep also manifested itself in the Glamorgan batting, as the Welsh county were bustled out for 52 and 95 as Yorkshire recorded an innings victory to leapfrog Glamorgan and to the top of the county table.
This was only one instance when Frank’s post-match socializing affected either his availability or his play the following day. On another away match, legend has it that Frank was found fast asleep under the covers having forgotten where the team were staying and decided to return to the ground where they were playing. Episodes such as these were quite frustrating for the Glamorgan hierarchy as on his day, and given the right wicket, Frank would bowl any side out. But as Johnnie aptly put it, “there were times when he did not spin, nor did he toil, complaining of a sudden attack of lumbago if batsmen started to master him.” But overall, Johnnie, and subsequently Maurice Turnbull, appreciated Frank’s maverick character as much as his bowling, and believed that more often than not he would try his best for Glamorgan.
However, fellow amateur Trevor Arnott found it harder to bond with Frank when he took over the captaincy in 1928 and by mid-season, the pair were at loggerheads. Frank’s bowling form suffered and, as Glamorgan went from defeat to defeat, Trevor found it increasingly difficult to handle the short-tempered spinner. During mid-July, Frank was omitted from the side, with rumours circulating that a furious row had taken place between the two during which Trevor, who had the support of a faction on the committee who had been embarrassed by tales of the spinner’s off-the-field excesses, had threatened Frank that he would recommend his release if he didn’t curb his excesses.
The Club duly explained Frank’s absence by announcing that he had been rested because of a loss of confidence, but eyebrows were raised as the out of favour spinner proceeded to take ten wickets in Wales’ victory against the West Indians at Llandudno. In the tourist’s first innings, he took 5/17 in 15.1 overs as he formed a potent, if potentially volatile, partnership with Sidney Barnes – the legendary former England bowler who was now running a hotel in Colwyn Bay – before claiming five scalps in their second innings as the West Indians were comprehensively defeated by eight wickets.
Wales’ success was in stark contrast to the fortunes of the county club and, not surprisingly there were stern calls for Frank to be immediately recalled to the side and to patch up his differences with Trevor and other officials. But Frank continued to be “rested” and in his absence, several of the professionals and amateurs alike spoke with trusted friends in the Club’s hierarchy to express their dissatisfaction both at the spinner’s absence and Trevor’s style of captaincy. When the committee met during the autumn to review the situation, it was clear that a change of captain was needed.
Click here to read more about Frank Ryan;s remarkable career with Glamorgan.