As the Glamorgan players returned to Championship action after the defeat at Chelmsford, they knew their only chance of silverware during 1997 now lay in the four-day games. They had also slid back to third in the table after losing by 54 runs at Worcester, and all after Matthew Maynard had played a majestic century at the New Road ground. Although Steve James struck his fifth century of the summer, none of the Glamorgan batsmen could master an accurate Worcestershire attack chasing 374 to win from 81 overs.
However, Glamorgan returned to the top of the Championship table at the end of August after a six- wicket victory over Northamptonshire in a bizarre match at Abergavenny. Events on the first morning began in usual fashion with the Glamorgan players warming-up by playing a game of soccer but during this Morris turned an ankle and with his foot badly swollen, Alun Evans was summoned from a 2nd XI match. With Evans still in transit, it was something of a blessing when Northamptonshire won the toss and decided to bat this was the pre-cursor to another unusual event as after an over apiece from Waqar, and Watkin, play was halted as the umpires, Graham Burgess and Tony Clarkson, took a close look at the wicket.
After calling out the groundsman, they discovered the stumps were four inches out of line. The players duly returned to the pavilion as a series of correctly aligned creases were marked up with the stumps replaced to their proper position. Following the 27-minute delay, play resumed with the Glamorgan bowlers soon making inroads into the visitors batting. Kevin Curran halted the clatter of wickets with a combative 159, before a century from Steve James, plus half-centuries from Adrian Dale and captain Matthew Maynard gave the Welsh county a first innings lead. Waqar Younis then took 6/56 as Glamorgan faced a target of 196.
This wasn’t though the end to Glamorgan’s woes as Maynard dislocated a finger, whilst Evans sustained a back spasm forcing wicket-keeper Adrian Shaw to be pressed into service as an emergency opener, with Waqar promoted up the order to number four! With doubts over whether the injured pair would be fit enough to bat, the Welsh county were grateful to Steve James for making his second, disciplined hundred of the game as they eased to victory by six wickets.
Opposite – Alun Evans. Photo Credit – Glamorgan Cricket Archives.
With four Championship games remaining and both Surrey and Kent in the title hunt, every match and every bonus point became vital as the Welsh county maintained their Championship quest. But rain intervened with Glamorgan’s match at Leicester causing it to end in a draw, and with Surrey also breathing down their necks, Glamorgan’s next contest at The Oval assumed extra significance. After securing a first innings lead of 234, and Surrey 32-3 in their second innings, it looked as if Glamorgan might wrap up a victory inside three days. But Graham Thorpe fought back with a high-class double- hundred, and in dubious light, Glamorgan called off their chase of 254 in 46 overs in the final session, knowing that the draw extinguished Surrey`s hopes of a title challenge.
Welsh joy at ending Surrey`s title quest was short-lived as news came through that Kent had defeated Gloucestershire to leap-frog a dozen points clear at the top of the table. Maynard and his team knew they now had to secure maximum points and beat Essex in their following game at Cardiff. At first everything seemed to be going to script as Glamorgan made 361 in their first innings, before dismissing Essex for 169 and forcing the visitors to follow-on.
But Ronnie Irani and Paul Grayson staged something of a fightback in their second innings, but Waqar had been signed to take wickets at important times, and this was a case in point. It also followed a period of play when Irani tried to wind Waqar up by hitting him straight back over his head. Like all fast bowlers, this was something that Waqar really hated and after one blow by Irani back over the Pakistani’s Waqar’s head, Grayson went down the pitch and said to his partner, “I don’t think you should have done that.” He was proved right as Waqar stormed in and clean bowled Irani, besides sending him on his way by saying “it was a shame you couldn`t hit that one” – or words to that effect!
With Steve Watkin claiming 5/68, Glamorgan were left with a target of 149, and the nerve ends were jangling in the Glamorgan dressing room as Maynard`s team slumped to 26-3 with the captain also surviving a chance early on behind the wicket as the ball started to turn. During the lunch interval, Fletcher had a quiet word with Maynard and Cottey and told them just to play their normal game, and not to worry about the circumstances. His wise words paid dividends as Cottey showed what a fine player of spin bowling he had become, using all of his experience to nullify the visiting spinners. Just over an hour had elapsed in the afternoon session, when the winning runs were scored with Glamorgan winning by seven wickets and taking maximum points from the decisive game.
Later that afternoon there was further good news as Kent could only manage a draw with Yorkshire so Glamorgan travelled to Taunton for the final match of the season, one point above Kent and knowing that they needed to beat Somerset and pick up full points to bring the Championship pennant back to Wales for the first time since 1969.
Click here to read more about the Championship-winning victory at Taunton with Steve James hitting the winning runs.
Steve James therefore entered the Club’s record books as their first batter to secure the Championship title. As the opener remembered “I will not forget that innings at Taunton as long as I live. The prospect of needing to score just 11 got to me more than any other innings I have played. It was the most nervous I have ever been on a cricket field. I didn’t really want to bat and I had hoped we wouldn’t need to. Caddick was at the top of the Whyte and Mackay Rankings at the time, and as there was a bit of money in it, he was keen to get a few more scalps. I scratched around for a few runs before eventually middling one down to fine-leg and thought we would get one run, maybe two if I ran quickly. But when I got down the other end and turned around, I saw Hugh gleefully picking up the stumps and running off. I still thought we needed one more to win, and quickly realised that I had miscounted.”
For a few seconds, he must have been the only person in the ground not to realise what had happened as the ball sped to the boundary boards and it was not long before the Taunton outfield was covered in happy Welshman as the players and their loyal band of supporters celebrated the club’s first Championship success since 1969. The champagne corks were soon flying out from the visitor’s balcony whilst below the songs began, with chnats of “Waqar is a Welshman” reverberating around the County Ground. News came through that Kent had beaten Surrey but it didn’t matter a jot – Glamorgan were the County Champions of 1997, and all with a day to spare.
A host of joyous post-match interviews were undertaken with warm tributes to Waqar’s 68 wickets at 22 runs apiece and James 1605 runs at an average of 66.87. But, as Maynard was quick to point out, cricket is a team game and he toasted his side by saying “We never lost faith, we never lost heart and now we have done it. It has been a pleasure to lead the team. What pleased me was that we coped with the pressure as it increased. In our biggest game of the season we won by ten wickets. We had to get 24 points to be sure of winning the title and we did it in two days and a session – what more can you say?”
Click here to read more about aspects of the 1997 season.