Alan Jones – a true Glamorgan record breaker!

 

I met Alan Jones when he came to Haverfordwest Cricket Club as a guest speaker at the then-annual dinner to support of Glamorgan beneficiaries and I had the privilege of being MC for the evening and meeting this veritable legend of Glamorgan Cricket as I sat next to him for the dinner.
 
To describe him as a ‘Glamorgan Legend’ doesn’t do justice to the influence he exerted in his time as a left-handed opening batsman over a prolonged period of almost 25 years, where consistency was his byword, who played once for Englqand but found a little later no caps were to be awarded – but much later was awarded his deserved cap.
 
That will crop up later in this feature but first impressions when I met him were that he was so modest about all he’d done for Glamorgan and his amazing scoring statistics – and he was a little flustered because he arrived a little later than planned and I had to fill in for him for 15 minutes, telling a few yarns about great characters in the club like Stewart Williams (now the president), Rob Summons, Steve James,
Micky Field, Micky Phillips and Co.
 

A record never to be repeated for Glamorgan

 
I asked him if he was happy to speak for a while and then answer questions and he readily agreed – and didn’t want to be ‘shielded’ from any contentious question (and luckily there were none!)
 
He was not a big man and was quietly spoken but crystal clear – and I tried to make it clear when I introduced him how great his contribution had been. I felt that when I said that it was unlikely there would ever be another like him at Sophia Gardens, he was a bit embarrassed but I would stick to that comment today, especially with so few Welsh players involved and the emphasis now a lot more of limited overs cricket.
 

Amazing stats back up his ‘Glamorgan Greatness’

 
Alan made his debut in county cricket in 1957, which was the mainstay of cricket, and after National Service he returned to play full time in  and received his county cap in 1962, as he started a unique run of seasons until 1983 where scored the magic 1,000 runs every season, with a top tally twice of well over 1,800 runs. His top score was 204 not out and he amassed 56 centuries, a feat only matched by another ‘Glamorgan Great’ in Huw Morris.
 
In county cricket he ended up with 36,049 runs alongside another 7,552 runs in cup matches, benefit games or playing against touring sides, the most ever scored by a non-test player – and was a major part of Glamorgan winning the county championship undefeated in 1969 alongside other influential players in Alan’s brother Eifion (Wicketkeeper), Majid Khan (Simply brilliant),skipper Tony Lewis, Majid Khan (what a stroke-player), Malcolm Nash (hit for 6x6s in an over by Gary Sobers at Swansea), Tony Cordle, Peter Walker and the incomparable Don Sheppard (as a canny bowler). Everyone contributed and they were undefeated all season.
 

Finally selected for England but later found he would not be capped

 
He was finally chosen for England at a time of so many quality opening bats, after the South African tour here had been stopped because of apartheid and England played The Rest of the World in 1970`, with Brian Luckhurst as his opening partner. Unfortunately, it was a South African in top pace bowler Mike Proctor who removed Alan for 5 and 0, and he wasn’t selected again – and after receiving his cap, blazer and tie it was announced that it wasn’t going to regarded as a full test!
 

A ‘Wisden Cricketer of the Year’ and ‘Welsh  Sports Hall of Fame’ inductee

 
Alan was Glamorgan captain twice, in 1977 and 1978, where he was chosen as the Wisden Cricketer of the Year, as well as being inducted into the Welsh Sports ‘Hall of Fame’ in 2016.
 
It is nice to finish our feature with mention of an innings for Glamorgan in 1966 which summed all his attributes of style, correct stroke play, footwork and, above all else; his courage, as he took on the mighty West Indies quartet of fast bowlers that included Wes Hall and Charlie Griffiths, and ended up on 161 not out.
 
It was an innings that is still remembered by all those, like me, who were privileged to watch it – and made his quiet, modest demeanour at Haverfordwest Cricket Club all that delightful because with his contribution to Glamorgan Cricket Club he could be forgiven for being just a touch more full of himself – but Alan Jones just wasn’t like that!