Swanning about in St Helen's

posted by John Winn

When the county fixtures were published in November they threw up an opportunity for me to visit the only ground in current use where I had not seen first class cricket, namely St Helen's, Swansea; the home of Swansea Cricket and Football* Club and annually host to Glamorgan County Cricket Club. This year for the first time since 1995 Durham provided the opposition. Train journeys and accommodation were booked in early April and to give me the best chance of seeing cricket I opted to stay two nights.

Championship cricket in Swansea is maintained largely through the efforts of the St Helen's Balconiers, an organisation dedicated to continuation of first class cricket in West Wales. The ground has staged first class cricket since Glamorgan entered the championship in 1921 and is as close, if not closer, to the sea as the grounds at Scarborough and Hove. Like other grounds, see last week's concerns about Tunbridge Wells, St Helen's future is far from secure and in any case cricket has to wait its turn for the football season did not finish until May 20th when Swansea played Port Talbot and Swansea CC will not play their first home game until next Saturday when Carmarthen Wanderers will wander into town. From my excellent seat on top of the Fred's Shed, the Balconiers' tea room and bar, the outfield showed little sign that rugby had been played there only a week before. Glamorgan's poor ground fielding could not be blamed on the turf.

Arriving at the ground in good time I was told by a zealous steward that normally gates opened at 9:30, sometimes a little earlier, but, just as I reached for my wallet, that on this day it would be 10:00. The next 20 minutes were passed on a seat she kindly provided for me and come the appointed hour and with bag searched I was allowed in. With an hour to spare before play I took the opportunity to explore the pavilion which is a shrine to Rugby Union with some marvellous photographs and press cuttings recalling the Football Club's great days. Cricket was in the main inconspicuous and there was no evidence that one G Sobers ever hit one, never mind six sixes on this ground.

Inspired perhaps by the lovely warm sunny morning Collingwood took a chance on the toss and opted to bat but within short time Jennings and Cook were climbing the steps back to the dressing rooms. With Richardson injured, relative unknowns Steel and Clark saw the Prince Bishops through to lunch and after being joined by Collingwood,Steel became the first man born in San Francisco to score a fifty at St Helen's on a Thursday, probably

Fred's Shed

 Tea score

The Cricketers' pub, now boarded up and showing evidence of vandalism. The target of a couple of Sobers' sixes.

Collingwood, celebrating his forty first birthday, looked in majestic touch and enjoyed good partnerships with Steel, Coughlin and Poynter and after reaching his century launched into Salter with 18 off four balls before playing a reverse sweep too many and was dismissed for 127 with just two overs left before stumps. 342 for 6, time to see out the day and perhaps go on on Saturday to get maximum batting points. Think again, for within an over Durham  were all out without addition, Poynter had gone for 38, Harding for 0 and Rushworth for the same score playing a shot that could only be excused on the grounds that he has a degree in meteorology and his seaweed told him that the remaining days would all suffer from rain.

On Saturday morning I woke to much cooler weather and by the time I had made the ten minute walk from my hotel to the ground it was obvious that bad light was going to be a problem and before wickets were pitched it had started to rain. With Friday's play safely lodged in the bank of happy memories I decided not to shell out £15 on the off chance, a wise decision for by the time play did begin it was time for me to head for Swansea station and my return train. Only five minutes late into York, a short delay caused by 'animals on the line north of Doncaster' and I arrived home very happy that on Friday I had enjoyed a good day's cricket in the company of friendly, well informed locals and thankful that I had made the effort to visit what is an endangered species. Be assured however that The Balconiers and the denizens of Fred's Shed will not give in without a fight.

* Football played with an oval ball