Jim McConnon

Spin bowler for Glamorgan

James Edward McConnon, cricketer: born Burnopfield, Co Durham 21 June 1922; married (one son, one daughter); died Altrincham, Cheshire 26 January 2003.

Jim McConnon spun his way into Welsh sporting folklore when he helped Glamorgan to beat the 1951 South African side with amazing bowling at St Helen's, Swansea.

Born in Co Durham in 1922, McConnon came into professional cricket at a late age, having played football throughout his teens and early twenties. He was good enough to have been on Aston Villa's books and went on to play for a number of Welsh League sides.

He joined Glamorgan in 1950 at the age of 28 and made such rapid progress that he made the England Test team four years later. His match-winning performance against Dudley Nourse's Springbok side not only allowed the Welsh county to become the only County Championship team to beat the tourists, but brought him to the attention of the selectors.

Many people thought Wilf Wooller's Glamorgan side were heading for a heavy defeat when the South Africans were 54-0 at tea, chasing only 148 to win. Some of the tourists' lower-order batsmen changed out of their whites, so confident were they of not having to go out into the middle. But everything changed after tea. Len Muncer, who had taken 7-45 in the first innings, made the breakthrough and suddenly wickets began to tumble. The Springboks were suddenly 61-4 and, after McConnon's hat-trick over, they found themselves on the brink of defeat at 68-7. McConnon eventually ended with 6-27 as the Springboks were all out for 83, having lost 10 wickets for only 29 runs.

McConnon took 819 first-class wickets during his career, which ran from 1950 until 1961, at a cost of 19.88 each. Of that tally, 799 wickets came for Glamorgan. On the Test front, he was unlucky to be playing at the same time as the Surrey spin twins Jim Laker and Tony Locke, although he did manage to win two Test caps against Pakistan in 1954. His first representative honours came on the Commonwealth tour to India in 1953/54 and he took 3-19, as well as holding four catches, on his Test début at Old Trafford. He was selected for the MCC tour to Australia in 1954/55, but suffered a broken finger and returned home early.

He seemed to be at his best for Glamorgan against international opposition, taking seven wickets against the 1953 Australians, 6-49 against South Africa in 1955, 6-50 against the West Indies in 1957 and 4-72 in the victory over India in 1959. In the last match he also scored a useful 52 runs and he once hit 95 against Middlesex as a late-order batsman in 1951.

McConnon retired from first-class cricket after his benefit season in 1961 and moved to Cheshire. He had a season in the Lancashire Leagues before working as a sales rep for Guinness alongside the former England fast bowler Brian Statham.

Robert Cole