Alun Rhys Chivers, Golwg360's cricket correspondent, has written about his Favourite Game, in both Cymraeg and English.
Fy hoff gêm
Fyddai rhywun ddim o reidrwydd yn meddwl am ‘Alouette’, cân fach hwyliog yn Ffrengig am bluo aderyn, fel trac sain ar gyfer un o achlysuron gorau eu clwb. I’r miloedd ohonom heidiodd i Taunton ganol Medi 1997 ar gyfer penllanw’r Bencampwriaeth, daeth gweld (a chlywed!) Robert Croft yn arwain y dorf wrth ganu’r gân honno’n rhan annatod o’r fuddugoliaeth a’r achlysur na welwn ni mo’i debyg eto ers hollti’r Bencampwriaeth yn ddwy adran.
Dechreuodd yr ymgyrch gartref yn erbyn Swydd Warwick yng Nghaerdydd, ben draw’r ddinas i’r safle lle byddai’r Stadiwm Genedlaethol, cartre’r tîm rygbi cenedlaethol, yn cael ei dymchwel. Heb fod allan ar 233, daeth y cyfan i ben i Hugh Morris ar wastad ei gefn ar ôl iddo fe gael ei lorio gan fownsar o belen gan Allan Donald.
Ymhlith y perfformiadau cofiadwy eraill y tymor hwnnw roedd bowlio campus Waqar Younis. Cipiodd e 7-25 yn Aigburth (gan gynnwys hatric, wrth fowlio Swydd Gaerhirfryn allan am 51), a’i 8-17 yn San Helen yn erbyn Sussex. Os cyrhaeddodd cenhedlaeth o gricedwyr o Gymru oed yr addewid yn y 1990au, doniau’r athrylith hwn o Bacistan oedd yr eisin ar y gacen. Oedd, roedd Waqar yn Gymro anrhydeddus!
Yn anffodus, roedd ambell berfformiad ystrydebol o siomedig yn ystod y tymor hefyd. Fe ddigwyddodd y gwaethaf ohonyn nhw yn erbyn Middlesex yng Ngerddi Sophia ym mis Mehefin, wrth i Angus Fraser (4-17) a Jamie Hewitt (6-14, sef ffigurau gorau’i yrfa) fowlio Morgannwg allan am 31.
Mae’r ffaith mai un gêm pedwar diwrnod gollodd Morgannwg wedi hynny’n adrodd cyfrolau am hyder ac ymroddiad y tîm oedd yn sicr wedi cael gair o gyngor gan Duncan Fletcher, y prif hyfforddwr o Zimbabwe. Ac yntau’n hyfforddwr uchel ei barch yn Ne Affrica, daeth ‘Fletch’ i sylw Morgannwg pan drechwyd Morgannwg gan ei dîm De Affrica ‘A’ y tymor blaenorol – a’r tîm hwnnw’n cynnwys Jacques Kallis, seren amryddawn y dyfodol i Forgannwg.
Chwaraeodd y pêl-droediwr Eric Cantona a’r chwaraewr pêl-fasged Michael Jordan eu gemau olaf yn 1997. A doedden ni ddim yn gwybod cyn y daith i Taunton mai hon, hefyd, fyddai gêm olaf Hugh Morris cyn gadael am swydd gyda’r ECB.
Ar ôl cael eu hachub yn y gêm flaenorol yn erbyn Essex gan y capten Matthew Maynard ac un arall o’r hoelion wyth, Tony Cottey, roedd Morgannwg yn gwybod beth oedd angen iddyn nhw ei wneud i ddod â’r tlws ’nôl dros Bont Hafren am y trydydd tro erioed. Byddai’r iselfannau wedyn yn mynd yn angof. Yn gefnlen i hyn oedd y gêm rhwng Surrey a Chaint. Roedd Surrey, yn eu gêm flaenorol yn erbyn Morgannwg, yn grac fod Maynard wedi bodloni ar gêm gyfartal ac, wrth wneud hynny, wedi tynnu Surrey allan o’r ras am y Bencampwriaeth. Fydden nhw’n sicr ddim am wneud ffafr â Morgannwg yn y gêm olaf yn erbyn Caint, prif gystadleuwyr Morgannwg yn y ras am y tlws. Cafodd capteniaeth Maynard ei gwestiynu gan rai y tu allan i Gymru, ond fe arweiniodd e drwy esiampl ar y cae yn Taunton.
Ro’n innau’n fachgen ysgol 12 oed ar y pryd, ac yn cefnogi Morgannwg ers wyth mlynedd. Roedd gorfod bod yn yr ysgol yn golygu mai o bell fyddwn i’n dilyn deuddydd cynta’r gêm olaf yn erbyn Gwlad yr Haf. Wedi cyffroi’n lân ar drothwy’r daith ar y trydydd – a’r pedwerydd – diwrnod, wnaeth y capten yn sicr ddim fy siomi. Ynghyd â 165 gan Hugh Morris, fe wnaeth ei 142 arwrol osod y seiliau wrth i Gymru gyfan, fe ymddengys, baratoi i’w throi hi am dde-orllewin Lloegr.
Cafodd Morgannwg eu bowlio allan am 527, gyda mantais batiad cyntaf o 265. Manteisiodd Darren Thomas ar y llain a’r tywydd i gipio 5-38 mewn pymtheg pelawd. Cipiodd Steve Watkin dair wiced, a chipiodd Robert Croft un hefyd cyn i Dean Cosker gipio’r wiced olaf. Nod o 11 oedd gan Forgannwg yn nhywyllwch y nos.
Daeth Hugh Morris a Steve James allan i fatio. Ro’n i’n sefyll wrth gât y chwaraewyr yn barod ar gyfer y dathliadau oedd, awr ynghynt, yn edrych yn debygol o gael eu gohirio tan y bore wedyn wrth i holl oleuadau’r sgorfwrdd ddisgleirio. Roedd y tensiwn yn anhygoel er gwaetha’r nod. Doedden ni, gefnogwyr Morgannwg – ac yn enwedig y rhai ieuengaf y nein plith – yn sicr ddim yn gyfarwydd â’r fath uchelfannau.
Daeth ochenaid o ryddhad cyn y gorfoledd pan sgoriodd Steve James y rhediadau buddugol, wrth lywio’r bêl i gyfeiriad y goes fain. Heidiodd pawb i’r cae. Cydiais i mewn darn o laswellt sy’n dal mewn bocs ar silff yn y tŷ, ochr yn ochr â het roddodd Duncan Fletcher i fi, ac arni mae’r gair ‘Fletch’ mewn llawysgrifen. Roedd y dathliadau’n syfrdanol, a ninnau’r Cymry wedi gwasgu i mewn i’r bar wrth i ni gymryd ein tro i afael yn y tlws. Mae’r llun enwog o’r garfan, ynghyd â Tom Maynard ifanc, yn dathlu y tu ôl i’r Ddraig Goch yn un o gyfres o luniau sy’n crisialu’r hyn olygai’r achlysur i gynifer o bobl. O, am gael Dyddiau’r Daffodil drachefn.
My favourite game
‘Alouette’, a French ditty about plucking a bird, isn’t an obvious soundtrack to accompany one of the greatest moments of the club’s history. To the thousands of us who flocked to Taunton in mid-September 1997 for the Championship decider, seeing (and hearing!) a jubilant Robert Croft leading the crowd in that very song has become synonymous with a victory and occasion unlikely to ever be experienced again in the era of two-division Championship cricket.
The campaign got underway at home against Warwickshire in Cardiff, across the city from the National Stadium, the soon-to-be-demolished home of Welsh rugby. It started with a bang, in more ways than one for Hugh Morris who had struck 233 before being stretchered off having been hit by an Allan Donald bouncer.
Other notable performances during the season included Waqar Younis’ impressive 7-25 at Aigburth (including a hat-trick, as Lancashire were dismissed for 51), and his 8-17 at St. Helen’s against Sussex. If the 1990s had been about a generation of Welsh cricketers coming of age, it was this extraordinary Pakistani talent who was the icing on the cake. Waqar was, indeed, a Welshman!
There were, unfortunately – and arguably, stereotypically – some notoriously poor performances during the season too. The lowest point came at Sophia Gardens in June, when Middlesex’s Angus Fraser (4-17) and Jamie Hewitt (with a career best 6-14) dismissed Glamorgan for just 31.
That Glamorgan subsequently lost just one more four-day match speaks volumes for the belief and commitment of a side undoubtedly knocked into shape by head coach, Zimbabwean Duncan Fletcher. A well-respected coach in South Africa, ‘Fletch’ came to Glamorgan’s attention when his South Africa ‘A’ side, including future overseas all-rounder Jacques Kallis, had beaten Glamorgan the previous season.
In 1997, footballer Eric Cantona and basketball star Michael Jordan left the sporting arena. Little did Glamorgan fans know ahead of that memorable trip to Taunton that it would also be Hugh Morris’ final curtain call before heading to the ECB.
Glamorgan, having been rescued in the penultimate match against Essex by stalwart Tony Cottey and captain Matthew Maynard, knew what they needed to do to bring the trophy back across the Severn Bridge for just the third time ever. The lows of a rollercoaster season would soon be forgotten. A final round sideshow came in the form of a clash between Surrey and Kent. The former had felt aggrieved in their match against Glamorgan at Maynard’s decision to settle for a draw, effectively taking them out of the title race. They would certainly do Glamorgan no favours in their final match against Kent, the Welsh county’s main rivals in the quest for glory. Maynard’s leadership was questioned in some quarters outside Wales, but he did his talking on the field at Taunton.
Myself only 12 years old at the time and a supporter of eight years, having to be at school meant that I’d followed the first two days of the finale against Somerset from a distance. Excited at the prospect of what lay ahead for the trip on the third and, potentially, the fourth day, the captain certainly didn’t disappoint. His majestic 142, along with Hugh Morris’ 165, set the stage as, seemingly, the entire population of Wales prepared to descend on the West Country.
Glamorgan were dismissed for 527, a first innings lead of 265. Darren Thomas took advantage of the wicket and conditions to claim five for 38 in 15 overs. Steve Watkin picked up three of his own, Robert Croft one, before Dean Cosker chipped in with the final wicket. Glamorgan would chase a target of just 11 in near darkness.
Hugh Morris and Steve James came out to bat. I positioned myself at the players’ gate ready for the celebrations which, just an hour or so previously, had looked likely to be put on hold until the final morning as all the lights on the scoreboard shone. There was palpable tension despite the modest target. As Glamorgan supporters, especially those of us in the younger age bracket, we weren’t used to such dizzy heights.
A huge weight was lifted when Steve James scored the winning runs as he clipped the ball down to fine-leg. Everyone poured onto the field. I grabbed a handful of Taunton turf, which sits in a small box on a shelf at home, alongside a sun hat with ‘Fletch’ handwritten on the inside – given to me by the great man himself. The celebrations were euphoric. Everyone, in true Welsh fashion, crowded into the bar afterwards, whilst the trophy was passed around. The famous photo of the squad, along with a young Tom Maynard, behind the Welsh flag is just one image which sums up what the day meant to so many people. Oh, how we’d all love just a taste of those Daffodil Days once more.
Alun Rhys Chivers, golwg360
Twitter: @alunrhyschivers