The final match happened to be played on the anniversary of the record-breaking feat the ground is arguably most famous for
15:52, 01 Sep 2025Updated 15:54, 01 Sep 2025
The cricket scorebox at St Helen’s, Swansea, with the Patti Pavilion behind (Image: South Wales Evening Post)
Around 150 years of sporting history at St Helen’s – a ground where giants of cricket had their day in the sun – came to end at 6.42pm on a blustery August evening when a 15-year-old Olchfa School pupil, Jacob Protheroe, was clubbed for four by Owen Barton, a 42-year-old former solicitor.
His boundary against the promising left-arm seamer sealed a win for Pontardawe Cricket Club’s first team against hosts Swansea Cricket Club’s second team in their final South Wales Cricket Association Division 3 match of the season. The players shook hands, walked up the steps to the clubhouse and cricket at St Helen’s, as of August 31, was no more.
With regional rugby side the Ospreys set to redevelop the seaside ground into a rugby-only venue, the cricket pitch where 57 years to the day West Indian all-rounder Sir Garfield Sobers made history by hitting six sixes in one over is surplus to requirements. For the latest Swansea news, sign up to our newsletter here.
Swansea Cricket Club’s vice-chairman and treasurer Steve Davies, whose involvement with the club began 44 years ago, said he he’d been trying not to dwell on the end of an era as he knew he would become “a bit emotional”.
“The day we are facing today has been 30 years in the making,” he said on Sunday. “The sword has been hanging over our head. We knew this day would come at some stage, and it has come today.” The cricket club celebrated its 150-year stay at the council-owned ground this year and is to relocate to an upgraded facility off Sketty Lane, Sketty, next season.
Supporters at St Helen’s on the ground’s final day of cricket (Image: Richard Youle )
Mr Davies said there had been a period of stability two decades ago when fellow users of St Helen’s, Swansea RFC, knew they’d be remaining at the ground while the recently-created regional side Ospreys headed to a new stadium at Landore.
Then a revamped Sophia Gardens cricket ground – home of Welsh county side Glamorgan – opened in Cardiff and it felt like St Helen’s was really up against it.
According to Mr Davies there has also been “little or no capital investment” in St Helen’s and that the cricket club “knew our time was up” when the council first shared proposals early in 2024 which could result in the Ospreys moving to the ground. “We will miss St Helen’s – it is a sad day,” said Mr Davies, who is nevertheless looking to a bright future a mile or two up the road in Sketty.
Swansea Cricket Club’s vice-chairman and treasurer Steve Davies(Image: Richard Youle )
Also present at St Helen’s on Sunday was a man considered by many to be Glamorgan’s best ever batsman, Alan Jones, who scored 1,000 runs in every season from 1961 to 1983 and amassed more than 36,000 first-class runs in his long career.
The 86-year-old left-hander, of Penllergaer, talked about some of the greatest knocks he’d seen at St Helen’s – among them a Majid Khan century for Glamorgan against Middlesex in 1969, Clive Lloyd’s “fabulous” double century for the visiting West Indies in 1976, and Glenn Turner’s 141 not out for Worcestershire a year later when the away side could only muster a 169 total.
He recalled serial wicket-taker Don Shepherd’s bowling performance in Glamorgan’s victory over Australia in 1964, not forgetting Jim Pressdee’s superb efforts at the other end – the duo took 19 wickets between them. “Don had so many great performances at St Helen’s – ‘Shep’ and Jimmy Pressdee were a great pair,” he said.
The famous old ground will no loner host cricket matches(Image: South Wales Evening Post)
Another bowling display which sticks in his mind was the seven wickets taken by Brian Lewis, of Maesteg, against another visiting Australia team in 1968. Glamorgan won both those Australia contests.
But it was Sobers’s record-breaking innings in 1968 which stands out for Mr Jones. “Everyone talks about the six sixes but he played some shots along the ground through the covers beforehand which were out of this world,” he said. “He was also a great left-arm seam bowler. His concentration in the field was excellent. Sobers was the best all-rounder I ever played against it. Off the pitch he was a lovely man.”
Nottinghamshire’s Gary Sobers hits six sixes in the same over against Glamorgan’s Malcolm Nash at St Helen’s in August 1968
Newlyweds Robin and Lorna Holland were at St Helen’s when Sobers made first-class cricketing history and were back again 57 years later to watch the last rites being performed.
They had got married a month before, in July 1968, and Mr Holland admitted that his wife “indulged me” in joining him on a visit to the ground when Nottinghamshire were in town. Mr Holland said everyone thought that Sobers’ fifth six was “out” as Glamorgan fielder Roger Davis caught the ball but then fell and carried the ball over the boundary line.
Robin and Lorna Holland at St Helen’s on Sunday(Image: Richard Youle)
Describing the sixth and final six, Mr Holland said: “I’ve never seen a cricket ball hit so far. We all knew this was a one-off.” Mr Holland, 82, of Swansea, also recalled being part of a huge crowd at St Helen’s in 1951 when Glamorgan beat South Africa. “In those days it was a spinners’ paradise,” he said. “I ran onto the pitch at the end of the match.”
St Helen’s also has romantic associations beyond a sporting nature for former Swansea Cricket Club first-team captain Keri Chahal. Two days after his wedding in 2000 his side won the Welsh Cup at the ground against local rivals Pontarddulais.
“Lots of the wedding guests stayed to watch the game,” he said. “Straight after the final presentation at around 7.30pm I darted off to pick up my wife, Becci, to drive to Heathrow to jet off on our honeymoon! We still talk about it now every anniversary.”
Keri Chahal, who rushed to Heathrow with his new wife Becci for their honeymoon straight after a cup final victory for Swansea Cricket Club (Image: Richard Youle )
Andrew Hignell, Glamorgan archivist and a leading authority of Welsh cricket, has written about how St Helen’s was first created on a reclaimed sand bank and took its name from a former convent dedicated to Saint Helen that was built on the foreshore during medieval times.
Cricket and rugby have co-existed there and the two sports have left indelible memories on countless supporters. Dr Hignell said around 50,000 people turned up to watch a day and a half of play between Glamorgan and Australia in 1948.
He said the ground also hosted the sixth ever one-day cricket international in 1973 between England and New Zealand, as well as a high-scoring World Cup fixture between Pakistan and and Sri Lanka 10 years later.
A massive cricket crowd at St Helen’s for a match during the 1930s(Image: West Glamorgan Archive Service )
Dr Hignell, who is also curator of the Museum of Welsh Cricket, watched that World Cup match in 1983 and had visited St Helen’s since the early 1970s. Speaking at the ground on Sunday, he said: “It is a bitter-sweet day. It brings back happy memories. But Swansea Cricket Club will survive. They have some great plans.”
He also paid tribute to the sterling efforts of the St Helen’s Balconiers – a supporters’ organisation dedicated to supporting Glamorgan cricket and at the same time trying to ensure the continuation of first-class cricket in west Wales. There has been talk of a new centre of cricket excellence in west Wales. “There is a lot of cricketing talent down here,” said Dr Hignell.
Dr Andrew Hignell(Image: Richard Youle )
Swansea Council said the sporting heritage of St Helen’s would never be forgotten. “We’re pleased that the Ospreys want the ground’s heritage to be commemorated at the new-look stadium should their move go ahead,” said a council spokesman.
“We’re happy that St Helen’s has created many outstanding sporting memories, including rugby union and rugby league, first-class cricket – and even a football international in the 1890s; now we want it to create many more memories as a sports facility that meets modern needs, from elite to community levels.
“Staff in our leisure and parks teams have maintained this much-loved facility for many years and the last time first- class cricket was played there was in 2019.” Without increased future investment in the ground, the spokesman said, there was a risk of deterioration. Cabinet has approved funding to help the Ospreys create an 8,000-capacity rugby ground at St Helen’s, although the future of the professional game remains under discussion.
Robert Croft celebrates his 1,000th wicket alongside fellow Glamorgan legends Don Shepherd (left) and Peter Walker (right) in 2010(Image: HUW JOHN PHOTOGRAPHY, CARDIFF)
The council said its funding proposal “offers no ongoing burden to the council tax payer with improved facilities and top-flight rugby remaining in Swansea” and that the finalising of a lease with the Ospreys remained conditional. The spokesman added: “The Sketty Lane sports ground will provide the opportunity for a future home for Swansea Cricket Club and others – including improved community facilities.”
Swansea Cricket Club has also enjoyed some memorable moments at St Helen’s. Club chairman Mike Hayden recalled a crowd of 4,000 watching Ammanford play the home side in the Welsh Cup final in 1981. He said: “Ammanford beat us and Linton Lewis, Ammanford’s West Indian overseas player, hit 95 in the final. It was an unforgettable day , even though we lost.”
Mr Chahal said the club won a hat-trick of league titles in 2001, 2002 and 2003. “We went on to have further success but that time was a unprecedented period of success,” he said.
St Helen’s on the last day of the cricket season on Sunday (Image: Richard Youle )
Vice-chairman Mr Davies said Swansea, which has three senior teams, a women’s team and many junior sides, would be sharing the Sketty Lane ground with “new friends” – Swansea Civil Service Cricket Club – who have played there for years.
A new square has been laid at Sketty Lane, outfield drainage is being worked on, and there are plans for eight modular units to be craned into place to create a club room and changing rooms. Looking ahead, Mr Davies said indoor nets would be a great addition if possible. “There is a bright future for us,” he said.
Batsman Owen Barton, who scored the winning runs for Pontardawe in the last cricket match ever played at St Helen’s(Image: Richard Youle )
We asked five cricket experts to recall the best performances with bat and ball they ever witnessed during decades of glorious cricket at St Helen’s. Here’s what they said….
Edward Bevan, who covered cricket for BBC Wales between 1983 and 2011:
“Alan Jones was Glamorgan’s finest batsman, and in 1966, he played one of the greatest innings I ever witnessed at the famous ground .
“After scoring an undefeated century at the same ground the previous day against Essex, Jones opened the innings against the West Indies touring team which included a fearsome opening bowling attack in Wes Hall and Charlie Griffith.
“There were no protective helmets in those days, but Jones stood firm to bat throughout the innings and remained undefeated on 161, the second successive day he had batted throughout an innings.
“There were many outstanding bowling performances, notably by Malcolm Nash, Waqar Younis and Robert Croft, but the most memorable for me was Don Shepherd’s outstanding contribution when the county defeated Australia in 1964.
“After taking 4-22 in the tourists’ first innings, Shepherd was later instrumental in Glamorgan gaining a thrilling victory. Australia required 269 to win but were thwarted by the Gower born off-spinner, who recorded figures of 52-29-71-5 in the second innings.”
Richard Thomas, who covered cricket from 1989 to around 2014, including 15 years for the South Wales Evening Post:
“Viv Richards’ 162 not out against Oxfordshire in the 60-over NatWest Trophy in 1993. It might not have been the best ever innings from the West Indian ‘master blaster’ against what was minor counties opposition, but it was his very presence striking balls out of the ground to the sea end in what was his final year as a county player. His swagger down the St Helen’s steps and onto the pitch was worth the entry fee alone.
“As for bowling, Waqar Younis’ 8-17 to help beat Sussex by an innings was one of the victories on the way to Glamorgan winning the 1997 County Championship title. A devastating spell of swing bowling which saw him finish with figures of 11.5-4-17-8.”
Waqar Younis, pictured in 2003(Image: Birmingham Post and Mail)
Mike Hayden, Swansea Cricket Club chairman:
“The best batting performance would have to be Javed Miandad’s 101 not out (in 1980) against a full West Indies pace bowling attack of Malcolm Marshall, Andy Roberts, Michael Holding and Collis King. I just remember him dancing down the wicket to Andy Roberts and hitting him out of the ground.
“Bowling, it was left-arm spinner Bishan Bedi for India (against Glamorgan in 1979). I’d come up to Swansea for a job interview. He took six wickets in the first innings and six in the second.
Dr Andrew Hignell, Glamorgan CCC archivist:
“Matthew Maynard’s debut County Championship innings against Yorkshire in August 1985, with Matthew reaching his audacious century with three successive straight sixes against spinner Phil Carrick. This just edges out Majid Khan’s century against the 1975 Australians.
“Bowling, Roland Lefebvre’s remarkable return of 11-5-13-2 in the Nat West Trophy quarter-final against Worcestershire in 1993. His parsimony, despite a groin strain, helped Glamorgan to a 104-run victory.”
Alan Jones, former Glamorgan batter:
“The one that still stands out was Garry Sobers’ six sixes against Malcolm Nash (in 1968). I played in that game and it was something special to be involved in.
“Bowling, Don Shepherd against the Australians in 1964 was something special. He had so many great performances at St Helen’s.”