After Emma Jones’ landmark achievement yesterday for Glamorgan’s Women’s team at Newport, Andrew Hignell looks back at the first-ever centurions in all formats for the Welsh county.
Jock Tait thought he was poised to do it at the end of the second day’s play against Sussex at the Arms Park on 19 May 1921 only to fall four runs short the following morning. I’m talking about becoming Glamorgan Men’s first centurion in County Championship cricket with the jolly batter whose roots were in Scotland telling journalists after being dismissed for 96 in the Welsh county’s inaugural firs-class match, “last night I was seeing the ball as if it was a football, this morning it looked like a pea,” after being bowled by Maurice Tate when seemingly on the cusp of a place in the Club’s record books.
The first century for Glamorgan's Men's team in Championship cricket duly came a few months later with Billy Spiller, the Cardiff policeman and former Welsh rugby international reaching three figures on 26 July 1921 – the final day of Glamorgan’s match at Northampton which, unlike the contest with Sussex at Cardiff, ended in a heavy defeat against the East Midlands team by 244 runs.
In contrast, both of Glamorgan’s first-ever hundreds in limited-overs cricket came in victories - coincidentally against Somerset - with Bernard Hedges’ hundred in the Gillette Cup encounter at the Arms Park on 22 May 1963 underpinning a 10-run victory for the Welsh county as well as winning the opening batter from Pontypridd the Gold Award, and a place in the Club's annals as the first centurion in List A cricket.
Fast forward to 5 July 2004 and it was Newport-born Ian Thomas who struck Glamorgan Men’s first-ever century in the T20 competition, with the hard-hitting left-handed opening batter striking the ball to all parts of the Taunton ground, with his unbeaten 116 seeing his team to a comprehensive victory by eight wickets.
Now Emma Jones’ name can be added to this list as the 22 year-old struck the first century for Glamorgan Women on Sunday 27 April 2025. Like Glamorgan Men’s first-ever County Championship hundred, Emma’s hundred came in a losing cause as she ended unbeaten on 147 in the 11-run defeat against Middlesex Women in their Metro Bank One-Day Cup Division Two encounter at Spytty Park. Having raced to fifty from 34 balls, Emma duly reached her 100 from 72 balls before nearly guiding her team to a thrilling victory.
Educated at Felsted School and Emmanuel College, Cambridge, Emma’s hundred also came on her debut whilst on loan with the Glamorgan Women’s team. She has previously played for Hertfordshire Women as well as Essex Women, besides representing South-East Stars between 2021-2024. In 2021 Emma was also included in The Oval Invincibles squad for The Women’s Hundred but was never selected to start a game – the same fate which befell her in 2023 when chosen in the Trent Rockets. However, during the winter months Emma has been chosen in the England A team, and after her outstanding efforts at Newport, she can expect much more game time in the new Women’s competitions.