Glamorgan rose up to 8th place in the table during 1926 with their two rising stars – Cyril Walters and Maurice Turnbull – confirming their rich potential by each posting maiden Championship hundreds. With Jack Mercer enjoying a vintage summer, plus Clay and Ryan exploiting turning surfaces, Glamorgan were in the race for the county title for the first time in their history, whilst for a short spell in early June, they were top of the table having defeated Derbyshire at Chesterfield.
It followed the period in May when deteriorating labour relations culminated in the General Strike. With the railway network thrown into turmoil, the Club hired a charabanc to take the players and their erstwhile scorer to away games at The Oval and Leicester. The Trade Union Congress, who had called the Strike, had fervent supporter in Dai Davies, and some of the other professionals so, for once, cricket was barely talked about as the Glamorgan side travelled around in their open air vehicle.
As life got slowly back to normal, it was back to train travel for the Welsh county’s players, but with the network still in a chaotic state, they endured a nightmare journey to Hull for the away match with Yorkshire. In fact, it was more like travelling to Hell, with the first train from Cardiff General being both late and overcrowded, with the kit being stowed in the guard`s van, whilst the professionals sat nearby playing cards to while away the hours heading north. Their train was further delayed at Birmingham, and after missing their connection at Derby, the weary Welshmen eventually arrived at 2 a.m. at their hotel in Hull, only to find to their horror 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.
Frank Ryan, who earlier in the day had bowled Glamorgan to an eight-wicket victory against Surrey then became the saviour of the team for the second time in the space of twelve hours. “Don`t worry boys,” said the spinner as Clay 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 a few hundred yards away and after waking up his pal, he successfully negotiated for everyone to get some sleep on the seats in the lounge. It was therefore no surprise that later that morning the Welsh county were bustled out for 52 as Yorkshire recorded an innings victory which saw them leapfrog Glamorgan to the top of the table.
Clay’s team swiftly bounced back by defeating Gloucestershire, Warwickshire and Nottinghamshire, with Ryan and Mercer played a leading role in each victory. The batsmen also had a fine time in subsequent game with Norman Riches making 136 in front of a decent-sized crowd in the inaugural game in Pontypridd, before John Bell, the former Yorkshire opening batsman, became the Club’s first double centurion in the County Championship as he made 225 against Worcestershire at Dudley. The Batley-born batsman occupied the crease for almost five hours and later in his career-best innings, he shared a rapid partnership of 177 in just 70 minutes with Trevor Arnott.
1926 was a memorable summer for Bell as he also recorded centuries against Warwickshire, Northamptonshire and Somerset, but it was Mercer, with 129 wickets to his name. who proved to be the Club’s player of the season. He had returned match figures of 13/98 in the innings victory at Dudley, before claiming another ten-for against Somerset at the Arms Park – a contest which also saw Arnott claimed Glamorgan’s first-ever Championship hat-trick.
The victory over Somerset was the last win of the summer, and although the Club slid down the table, Mercer continued to take wickets aplenty in Championship matches, besides claiming a five-wicket haul in the first innings of the Australian’s at Swansea where, to the delight of the Club’s Treasurer, a bumper crowd of around 20,000 was shoehorned each day to watch the men in the baggy green caps. Later that week, Mercer took his 100th wicket of the season in the draw with Somerset at Weston-super-Mare – a game which saw the visitors use yet another form of transport as they travelled across the Severn Estuary from Pier Head on a Campbell’s Steamer.
A fortnight later, Mercer returned his best innings return to date, 8/39 against Gloucestershire at Swansea. Once again he was aided by some fine fielding, not least by veteran wicket-keeper Danny Sullivan. The efforts of the former Surrey gloveman were even more praiseworthy considering the fact that he frequently played with bruised and swollen hands. “Like many others, I made use of raw meat to protect my hands,” he later recalled. “A butcher would cut a few thin strips of steak and they would be kept in the pavilion in iced water until I needed them. Sometimes though my hands were so sore I could hardly hold my bat.”
At the end of the season, he appeared for the Players against the Gentlemen in the traditional match at the Scarborough Festival. Further accolades came his way, with Wisden nominating him as one of their Five Cricketers of the Year, and then in November, whilst staying in Paris where he was attending Longchamp Races, Mercer received a telegram from the MCC calling him into their party for the tour of India, Ceylon and Burma – a most worthy reward for his magnificent efforts in 1926.