Malcolm Nash will forever be associated with Swansea and his over of left-arm spin in August 1968 against Nottinghamshire when he was mauled by Garry Sobers. Seven years later, at the same ground Nash came so very close to becoming Glamorgan’s first, and only, bowler to claim a hat-trick against a touring team, this time bowling in his normal swing mode.
His near-miss came during Glamorgan’s contest with the 1975 Australians after 18-year-old left-hander Alan Lewis Jones and Alan Jones had shared a rousing opening stand of 132 before Majid Khan carried on the good work, with a superb century in under two hours as the Welsh county declared on 302-8. After a tricky and short session before the close of the first day, the Australian batters were no doubt looking forward to some decent time in the middle the next day but a fired-up Glamorgan attack had other ideas. Malcolm Nash was bowling at the Pavilion End and, with the total on 44, Nash uprooted Rick McCosker’s leg stump. Next ball, Nash struck Ian Chappell full on the toe with an in-swinger right in front of middle stump, with Tom Spencer – fresh from umpiring the World Cup Final at Lord’s a few weeks before – raising his finger to give the tour captain out l.b.w .
As Nash recalled “Greg Chappell, again a right-hander, passed his brother on the steps. Arriving in the middle, he took guard from Tommy as I prepared to bowl the hat-trick ball. I bowled exactly the same ball and, unbelievably, Greg played exactly the same shot as Ian. With exactly the same outcome – it hit him bang on the toes. In front of middle – “Howzat?” Well, the outcome wasn’t exactly the same because this time umpire Spencer didn’t raise his finger. “Not out,” he mumbled, and his face went as red as the new ball. I stared at him. I just couldn’t believe it.”
However, Nash duly completed the first, and only, hat-trick of his professional career, during Glamorgan’s John Player League contest against Worcestershire at New Road. With Alan Wilkins, the young left-armer from Cardiff CC and Loughborough University having the chance to open the bowling, Nash was used as a change bowler, delivering six of his eight overs before returning towards the end of the Worcestershire innings to complete his quota with the home side on 188-5. With his third delivery he bowled Rodney Cass before Norman Gifford edged the next into Eifion Jones’ gloves. Paul Pridgeon was then clean bowled with the last ball of the over to complete the hat-trick.
Further wickets fell in Nash’s next over as he trapped Vanburn Holder l.b.w. with the second ball before having Brian Brain caught behind by Eifion Jones to complete a seven-ball spell in which he had taken five wickets at a cost of just a single run. His final figures of 6/29 remained Glamorgan’s best in one-day cricket for eighteen years and only five other bowlers in subsequent years have produced superior returns.
Opposite – Alan Wilkins. Photo Credit – Glamorgan Cricket Archives.
Glamorgan’s televised Sunday League match against Northamptonshire at Wellingborough School was also an eventful affair with Majid playing one of the most remarkable innings in the Club’s history in the Sunday League competition, especially as he had been delayed in arriving at the ground. Despite not having had time to warm-up properly before the match, he ripped apart the home attack with the fifty off 22 balls – the fastest televised fifty of the summer – as in the space of just 27 minutes, the Glamorgan captain struck 5 sixes and 7 fours in an awe-inspiring display of grace and power before being caught behind for 75.
Roger Davis continued the assault before falling nine runs short of a deserved century as Glamorgan reached 266-6 – at the time, their highest ever in the competition. Davis then claimed three wickets with his off-spin as Northants collapsed in the face of such a mammoth total. At 66-6 and with a victory firmly in their grasp, Majid then called up Alan Jones for a few overs of gentle spin. Wicket-keeper Eifion Jones also took his pads off to deliver a couple of overs, as the brothers made a rare appearance as bowlers in tandem.
Despite Majid’s fireworks, Glamorgan only won three other games in the League and ended bottom of the table. Their Championship form was slightly better with the Welsh county rising into ninth place and winning seven games. Their finest win of the summer came at Basingstoke where Nash, yet again, played a starring role taking fourteen wickets in the match and taking a career-best tally of 9/56 in the home team’s first innings. After his superb efforts, Nash ended the season as the Club’s leading wicket-taker, with 85 victims to his name, whilst Majid topped the batting averages with 1,413 runs.