Two new lounges were opened at The SSE SWALEC on the first day of Glamorgan\'s County Championship season, providing new facilities for Members and other match day attendees, as well as dedicating the rooms to former illustrious players who have represented the club, writes journalist Edward Bevan.
The Legends Lounge was opened by Hugh Morris, the club’s Chief Executive, and the other by Tony Lewis, captain of Glamorgan’s 1969 championship team.
Five members of that team were present, including the newly appointed President Alan Jones, Don Shepherd and Peter Walker, and the room was appropriately named the Lewis Lounge.
A decision had been taken that club supporters would choose twelve Legends; whose pen pictures adorn the Legends Lounge but there has been divided opinion regarding the final composition of the 12.
There has been no argument regarding eight players, namely Jones, Shepherd, Matthew Maynard, Steve James, Robert Croft, Morris, Eifion Jones and Steve Watkin, but the selection of four overseas players, Viv Richards, Waqar Younis, Majid Khan and Javed Miandad does not represent a sense of national identity.
When such luminaries as Lewis (a former England captain and past President of MCC), Allan Watkins - who played 15 times for England - Gilbert Parkhouse, Wilfred Wooller and Walker are overlooked in favour of overseas players, it could be argued that there are obvious omissions.
Certainly Waqar, who was an integral part of the 1997 championship winning team, Richards, who was an inspiration in the two and a half years he played in the early 90s and the other two Pakistan batsmen played some outstanding innings, but surely they were legends of their respective countries – and in Richards’ case – Somerset.
There are many who remember these famous names, but do they not remember the sterling work undertaken by Maurice Turnbull, a former captain, Test batsman and chairman of the club, who was killed in action at the end of World War Two.
He also represented Wales at rugby and Hockey and had not Turnbull and Johnnie Clay travelled the country raising funds in 1933 when Glamorgan were in a perilous financial state, the club would certainly have folded.
Everyone, off course, is perfectly entitled to their opinion, but as soon as the decision was made to include overseas players, some of the great names of Glamorgan would be absent, and of the 16 Glamorgan players who have played for England 11 are not among the chosen 12.
By Edward Bevan