Mike Selvey, the former England and Middlesex seam bowler, became the Club’s seventh captain in the space of eight years as the administrators desperately sought the best combination of players and the right leader. The new captain and the Club’s officials faced an added complication in that they could not play both Javed Miandad or Winston Davis, with both being registered as overseas players. In the end, the West Indian played in 15 of the 24 Championship matches, whilst the Pakistani appeared in four of the three-day games and a handful of the limited overs contests.
The West Indian duly claimed 52 wickets at 27 runs apiece but, as other batters struggled, the selection of the lanky West Indian annoyed a faction of the Club’s membership who, having been thrilled in previous season by the Pakistani’s batting exploits, felt that his talents were being wasted.
Their feelings of disillusionment and resentment only heightened as Glamorgan won just two Championship matches during 1983 and yet again, had a nondescript summer in the one-day competitions, ending in tenth spot in the Sunday League after an impressive start.
Four batters passed the 1,000-run mark in first-class cricket – Alan Jones, Alan Lewis Jones, Rodney Ontong and John Hopkins whilst Selvey ended the summer as leading wicket-taker with 62 wickets to his name. Davis also topped the 50-wicket mark, but Malcolm Nash struggled to maintain fitness and was released at the end of the summer, whilst Steve Barwick was hindered by various back and side ailments. Having recovered from a back injury Greg Thomas then suffered a leg injury and the only crumb of comfort was that Rodney Ontong, after hours of practice in the nets, successfully switched from medium-pace to off-spin and also top the 50-wicket mark.
The closing weeks of the 1983 season also saw some bizarre matches, starting at Cardiff where Selvey withdrew from the side to play Northants and then saw his deputy Rodney Ontong opt to bowl first on a true batting surface at Sophia Gardens only for the visitors to amass 529-8 with Wayne Larkins hitting a century before lunch en route to a fine 252 against an attack which was low in confidence. At the time, it was the highest-ever team total at the ground and caused a few problems for the scoreboard operator as the highest number which could be displayed on the revolving units was 499! A ladder was put up alongside the scoreboard and a metal plate showing ‘5’ was nailed into place.
The contest ended in a draw before Glamorgan travelled to Edgbaston where they welcomed the return to fitness of Selvey. The game saw Glamorgan make a decent 389-5 with new acquisition Stephen Henderson, via Cambridge University and Worcestershire completing a century. But after setting Warwickshire a target of 414 on the final day, Selvey could only watch in horror as Alvin Kallicharran and Andy Lloyd shared a triple-century stand to see their side to victory with over an hour to spare.
Glamorgan then travelled to Hampshire for the final match of the summer at Southampton. On the eve of the game it was announced that it would be Alan Jones’ last and the veteran opener signed off with innings of 9 and 4. On the Sunday, the two teams travelled to Dean Park in Bournemouth for the closing Sunday match of the season. It had been a lucky ground in the past for the Welsh county, and so it seemed in 1983 as Hampshire slipped to 145-9 chasing Glamorgan’s target of 159.
With heavy cloud building up, the umpires told Selvey they would take the players off if he recalled Winston Davis. Knowing that an early end to the contest would hand victory to Hampshire by virtue of a faster run rate, Selvey had to stay out in the middle and call up the off-spin of Charles Rowe, plus the occasional seam of Henderson. Steve Malone, the Hampshire number eleven who had more wickets than runs to his tally, then hit two boundaries to clinch victory.
Eifion Jones also effectively finished his first-class career during 1983. He was given a one-year contract and a well-served Testimonial but was also told that Terry Davies, the talented 23 year-old from St. Alban’s would be the first choice wicket- keeper. With his brother Alan becoming the Club’s coach and 2nd XI captain, it brought an end to a playing link in first-class cricket for the Jones family of Velindre which stretched back to the mid-1950s.