1952 saw Glamorgan consolidate on their progress made during the previous summer and, for a while, it looked like Wilf Wooller and his team might again make a concerted bid for the Championship title.
They showed their positive intent by winning their opening game against Middlesex and in the process record their first Championship victory on the hallowed turf at Lord’s. Such an outcome had seemed unlikely on the first evening as the visitors squandered the decent position which Emrys Davies and Phil Clift had set up through an opening stand of 152. But a collapse then followed as Glamorgan were dismissed for 266. Don Shepherd made early inroads before weekend rain changed the nature of the surface with Len Muncer taking 5/7 against his former employers as Glamorgan gained a first innings lead of 143. Allan Watkins then struck a combative half-century as the visitors extended their advantage to 337, before the all-rounder dismissed the prolific pairing of Denis Compton and Bill Edrich in the space of six balls, before Muncer and Jim McConnon spun Glamorgan to a 131-run victory.
A fortnight later, Kent were defeated by an innings at Pontypridd but the victory came at a cost, as during his quickfire innings of 63 Jim McConnon aggravated an old injury and was sidelined for the rest of the summer. With Jim Pressdee still on National Service, Watkins helped to ease the load by bowling cutters, but it was Muncer who ended up shouldering the lion’s share of the spin bowling.
His reward, coupled with promotion up the batting order was that he became only the second Glamorgan player to complete the Double with 1076 runs and 100 wickets, to emulate the pre-war feats of Emrys Davies in 1935 and 1937.
In contrast, Willie Jones was out of luck with the bat during 1952. He had failed to reach three figures in 1951. It was the same story in 1952, so with some wondering if his county career was at a watershed, the committee awarded him a Benefit Year in 1953, largely as a reward for his loyal service since 1937 and his key part in the Championship success in 1948.
Opposite – Willie Jones demonstrates his pull stroke at the Arms Park. Photo Credit – Glamorgan Cricket Archives.
Wilf used other, more subtle, tactics to boost Willie’s confidence. Aware that he fretted on his nerves, and often doubted his abilities, Wilf encouraged plenty of banter in the dressing room about Willie’s rugby playing abilities. Having played for Llanelli and Neath, he had plenty of support from the West Walian contingent in the Glamorgan side, and was not afraid to remind his colleagues that whilst playing rugby for Gloucester, he had also rejected an offer to play county cricket for Gloucestershire. “I’m a proud Welshman,” Willie would say, also referring to the fact that he had played in a wartime international and had it not been for the War might have won a full Welsh cap.
The chatter would then invariably switch to Wille’s kicking abilities, with the Carmarthen-born batsman saying that he could kick a rugby ball further than Wilf. With the Glamorgan captain acting as judge and jury, the upshot would be a wager between the two when they were next at the Arms Park or St. Helen’s, so that those staying around after play in the hope of seeing the Glamorgan side practising their catching on the outfield often witnessed instead a kicking contest between the two, with other members of the team readily adding their vocal support. Wilf’s ploy worked as Willie returned to form the following summer, striking two flowing hundreds and continued playing for Glamorgan until 1958.
With Willie out of form and Watkins absent on England duty, it was 48 year-old Emrys Davies who ended the 1952 season as the Club’s leading run scorer. The veteran produced a Peter Pan-like performance in amassing over 1700 runs and all without a century. Don Shepherd also claimed 115 wickets with his fast-medium bowling and was awarded his county cap ahead of the draw with Lancashire at Preston, but like those of his colleagues Don’s best seasonal haul to date was not enough for Glamorgan to mount a sustained bid for the county title and slid back down to seventh spot.