Having made further Test appearances for England against South Africa in 1930/31, Maurice Turnbull was eager to return to South Wales and help Glamorgan consolidate on the headway they had made the previous summer. The playing staff for 1931 was unchanged, but there was one cloud on the horizon, namely the club`s modest finances.
The massive attendance at the match against the 1930 Australians had helped to swell the club`s coffers, but there were still quite sizeable rents to use the Arms Park or St. Helen’s. Playing at Pontypridd had helped but the inclement weather in the Taff Valley had disrupted games so other clubs were approached, including Cowbridge CC with whom Turnbull and his able lieutenant Johnnie Clay had close links.
As a result, their ground at The Broadshoard was made available completely free of charge, with the games against Northamptonshire and Essex being awarded to the market town in the Vale of Glamorgan. It turned out to be an inauspicious debut on the first-class calendar for Cowbridge, as the match with Northamptonshire ended controversially and landed the two captains in hot water with the MCC after what they considered to be a pair of freak declarations.
Rain had prevented any play on the first day, so Turnbull got together with his opposite number Vallence Jupp, and the two captains tried to produce some entertaining cricket for the crowd by declaring their first innings at 50, and in effect play a one innings match in what little time remained. A sensible decision in modern-day terms, but by declaring on 51-1 after Northants had done the same on 51-1, Turnbull unwittingly broke Law 54 that said that after a declaration in a two-day match, the side batting second must occupy the crease for at least 100 minutes. Nobody was aware of this infringement until after play had ended, and then only when the umpires were approached by a journalist from the Press Association who had spotted the irregularity in the length of Glamorgan`s innings.
The two teams, the umpires and a posse of pressmen then retired to The Bear Inn, Cowbridge;s famous hostelry where a series of heated discussions took place over the legality or otherwise of Maurice’s decision. The next morning all of the national newspapers carried a front-page story about the events at Cowbridge and the apparently illegal declaration. But Maurice remained undeterred by the rumpus and went out into the field with his bowlers eager to dismiss the opposition. Even he could hardly have wished for an easier outcome as Northamptonshire subsided for just 59. Clay exploited several damp spots on the wicket to take 5/22, whilst Ryan took 4/12.
By 3 p.m. Glamorgan had reached their target for the loss of five wickets, but this was not the end of the matter, as heated debates took place as to whether Glamorgan’s victory should stand if a Law had been broken. Both captains and umpires were summoned to Lord’s to explain their actions. As far as the umpires were concerned, they were both quite embarrassed by what had happened, and to an extent, they sympathized with the two captains about wanting to provide bright cricket for the public. Indeed, the story goes that in an attempt to make light of the whole thing, one of them, Bill Reeves, a chirpy Cockney, said “the rule does not apply Sir, it was in a foreign country!” The authorities though were not amused, and severely reprimanded the umpires and captains.
Only three other games were won whilst the match against Northamptonshire at Kettering during June saw field an all-professional eleven for the first time in their history, with Eddie Bates in charge as Turnbull and Clay were both unavailable. The two amateurs had plenty on their mind, not least the Club’s rising deficit which now stood at £4,271 and with falling gate receipts once again, the end of the summer saw another cost-saving exercise with a number of these professionals being told they would not be re-engaged, including Bates, Frank Ryan, John Bell and Joe Hills.