{"id":115528,"date":"2025-09-03T11:25:13","date_gmt":"2025-09-03T11:25:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/115528\/"},"modified":"2025-09-03T11:25:13","modified_gmt":"2025-09-03T11:25:13","slug":"st-helens-cricket-over-after-150-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/115528\/","title":{"rendered":"St Helen’s cricket over after 150 years"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Cricket supporters at St Helen\u2019s on August 31. Image: Richard Youle<\/p>\n

Richard Youle, Local Democracy Reporter<\/p>\n

Around 150 years of sporting history at St Helen\u2019s \u2013 a ground where giants of cricket had their day in the sun \u2013 came to end at 6.42pm on a blustery August afternoon when a 15-year-old Olchfa School pupil, Jacob Protheroe, was clubbed for four by Owen Barton, a 42-year-old former solicitor.<\/p>\n

His boundary against the promising left-arm seamer sealed a win for Pontardawe Cricket Club\u2019s first team against hosts Swansea Cricket Club\u2019s second team in their final South Wales Cricket Association Division 3 match of the season.<\/p>\n

The players shook hands, walked up the steps to the clubhouse and cricket at St Helen\u2019s, as of August 31, was no more.<\/p>\n

With regional rugby side the Ospreys set to redevelop the seaside ground into a rugby-only venue, the pitch where 57 years to the day West Indian all-rounder Sir Garfield Sobers had made history by hitting six sixes off an over is surplus to requirements.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Emotional<\/p>\n

Swansea CC vice-chairman and treasurer Steve Davies, whose involvement with the club began 44 years ago, said he he\u2019d been trying not to dwell on the impending end as he knew he would become \u201ca bit emotional\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe day we are facing today has been 30 years in the making,\u201d he said. \u201cThe sword has been hanging over our head. We knew this day would come at some stage, and it has come today.\u201d<\/p>\n

Swansea CC has 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.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Swansea Cricket Club treasurer and vice-chairman Steve Davies. Image: Richard Youle<\/p>\n

Mr Davies said there had been a period of stability two decades ago when fellow users of St Helen\u2019s, Swansea RFC, knew they\u2019d be remaining at the ground while the recently-created regional side Ospreys headed to a new stadium at Landore.<\/p>\n

Then a revamped Sophia Gardens cricket ground \u2013 home of Welsh county side Glamorgan \u2013 opened in Cardiff and it felt like St Helen\u2019s was really up against it.<\/p>\n

According to Mr Davies there has also been \u201clittle or no capital investment\u201d in St Helen\u2019s and that the cricket club \u201cknew our time was up\u201d when the council first shared proposals early in 2024 which could result in the Ospreys moving to the ground.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will miss St Helen\u2019s \u2013 it is a sad day,\u201d said Mr Davies. But he is also looking to a bright future a mile or two up the road in Sketty.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

First-class<\/p>\n

Also present at St Helen\u2019s on Sunday was in many people\u2019s opinion Glamorgan\u2019s best-ever batter, 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.<\/p>\n

The 86-year-old left-hander, of Penllergaer, talked about some of the greatest knocks he\u2019d seen at St Helen\u2019s \u2013 among them a Majid Khan century for Glamorgan against Middlesex in 1969, Clive Lloyd\u2019s \u201cfabulous\u201d double century for the visiting West Indies in 1976, and Glenn Turner\u2019s 141 not out for Worcestershire a year later when the away side could only muster a total of 169.<\/p>\n

He recalled serial wicket-taker Don Shepherd\u2019s bowling performance in Glamorgan\u2019s victory over Australia in 1964, not forgetting Jim Pressdee\u2019s superb efforts at the other end \u2013 the duo took 19 wickets between them. \u201cDon had so many great performances at St Helen\u2019s \u2013 \u2018Shep\u2019 and Jimmy Pressdee were a great pair,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

But it was Sobers\u2019s record-breaking innings in 1968 which stands out for Mr Jones. \u201cEveryone talks about the six sixes but he played some shots along the ground, through the covers, beforehand which were out of this world,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe 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. Off the pitch he was a lovely man.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last rites<\/p>\n

Newlyweds Robin and Lorna Holland were at St Helen\u2019s when Sobers made first-class cricketing history and were back again 57 years later to watch the last rites being performed.<\/p>\n

They had got married a month before, in July 1968, and Mr Holland admitted that his wife \u201cindulged me\u201d in joining him on a visit to the ground when Nottinghamshire\u00a0were in town. Mr Holland said everyone thought the Sobers\u2019 fifth six was \u201cout\u201d as Glamorgan fielder Roger Davis caught the ball but then fell and carried the ball over the boundary line.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Robin and Lorna Holland. Image: Richard Youle<\/p>\n

Describing the sixth and final six, Mr Holland said: \u201cI\u2019ve never seen a cricket ball hit so far. We all knew this was a one-off.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr Holland, 82, of Swansea, also recalled being part of a huge crowd at St Helen\u2019s in 1951 when Glamorgan beat South Africa. \u201cIn those days it was a spinners\u2019 paradise,\u201d he said. \u201cI ran onto the pitch at the end of the match.\u201d<\/p>\n

St Helen\u2019s also has romantic associations beyond a sporting nature for former Swansea CC first-team captain Keri Chahal. Two days after his wedding in 2000 his side won the Welsh Cup there against local rivals Pontarddulais.<\/p>\n

\u201cLots of the wedding guests stayed to watch the game,\u201d he said. \u201cStraight after the final presentation around 7.30pm I darted off to pick up my wife, Becci, to drive to Heathrow to jet off to our honeymoon! We still talk about it now, every anniversary.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Swansea Cricket Club player and former first-team captain Keri Chahal at St Helen\u2019s. Image: Richard Youle<\/p>\n

Andrew Hignell, Glamorgan archivist and a leading authority of Welsh cricket, has written how St Helen\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

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 one-and-a-half day\u2019s play between Glamorgan and Australia in 1948.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Dr Hignell, who is also curator of the Museum of Welsh Cricket, watched that World Cup match in 1983 and had visited St Helen\u2019s since the early 1970s.<\/p>\n

Speaking there on August 31, he said: \u201cIt is a bitter-sweet\u00a0day. It brings back happy memories. But Swansea Cricket Club will survive. They have some great plans.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also paid tribute to the sterling efforts of the St Helen\u2019s Balconiers \u2013 a supporters\u2019 organisation dedicated to supporting Glamorgan cricket and at the same time trying to ensure the continuation of first-class cricket in west Wales.<\/p>\n

Cricket excellence<\/p>\n

There has been talk a new centre of cricket excellence in west Wales. \u201cThere is a lot of cricketing talent down here,\u201d said Dr Hignell.<\/p>\n

The council said the sporting heritage of St Helen\u2019s would never be forgotten.
\u201cWe\u2019re pleased that the Ospreys want the ground\u2019s heritage to be commemorated at the new-look stadium should their move go ahead,\u201d said a council spokesman.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re happy that St Helen\u2019s has created many outstanding sporting memories, including rugby union and rugby league, first-class cricket \u2013 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cStaff 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Without increased future investment in the ground, he 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\u2019s, although the future of the professional game remains under discussion.<\/p>\n

Funding<\/p>\n

The council said its funding proposal \u201coffers no ongoing burden to the council tax payer with improved facilities and top-flight rugby remaining in Swansea\u201d and that the finalising of a lease with the Ospreys remained conditional.<\/p>\n

The spokesman added: \u201cThe Sketty Lane sports ground will provide the opportunity for a future home for Swansea Cricket Club and others \u2013 including improved community facilities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Club vice-chairman Mr Davies said Swansea, which has three senior teams, a women\u2019s team and many junior sides, would be sharing the Sketty Lane ground with \u201cnew friends\u201d \u2013 Swansea Civil Service Cricket Club \u2013 who have played there for years.<\/p>\n

A new square has been laid off 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.<\/p>\n

Looking ahead, Mr Davies said indoor nets would be a great addition if possible. \u201cThere is a bright future for us,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Cricket supporters at St Helen\u2019s on August 31. Image: Richard Youle Richard Youle, Local Democracy Reporter Around 150…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":115529,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[564],"tags":[64,63,740,85],"class_list":["post-115528","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cricket","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-cricket","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115528","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=115528"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115528\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/115529"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=115528"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=115528"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=115528"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}