Fifty years ago today, Glamorgan – under the captaincy of Tony Lewis – secured a dramatic victory over Essex at Swansea which left them one victory away from the County Championship title. This is the second of three special articles (written by Andrew Hignell) to appear on the Club’s website this week celebrating the achievements of Tony and his team during September 1969
With a game in hand over nearest rivals Gloucestershire, Tony Lewis and his team knew that wins in two of their last three matches would secure the title. Fortunately the next game, against Essex, was at Swansea, and an enormous crowd, plus the BBC TV cameras were present at St. Helen’s. for one of the most dramatic games in the history of the Club and a contest which went down to the final delivery as Essex chased a target of 190 on the final afternoon of the game on September 2nd.
It was a case of nip and tuck over the course of the next two hours as Ossie Wheatley firstly removed both openers, before Gordon Barker and Keith Fletcher mounted a recovery. Fletcher eventually succumbed to the home spinners as another clatter of wickets took place. But Robin Hobbs used the long handle to help Barker take Essex closer and closer before the wily Don Shepherd removed Hobbs in the penultimate over. Essex duly needed seven more runs and Glamorgan two more wickets in the last over of the game from Roger Davis.
Singles were scored off the first two balls, before Barker was brilliantly stumped by wicket-keeper Eifion Jones. Last man John Lever joined East and two more singles were scored, leaving Essex requiring three off the last ball. Lever duly slashed the ball towards the third-man boundary where Ossie Wheatley, rarely known as the most agile of fielders, intercepted the ball. But as the batsmen turned for a second run to tie the game, the former captain sent an arrow-like throw back to Eifion who whipped off the bails with Lever a yard short of the crease.
The crowd erupted as Glamorgan won by one run, whilst up in the BBC commentary box a hoarse Wilf Wooller was almost speechless in excitement. The nerve-jangling win had put Glamorgan in a virtually unassailable position at the top of the table and with two games remaining, the Welsh county needed one more victory to clinch the 1969 title.
To be continued…