John Charles Clay (18 March 1898 – 11 August 1973) was a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

er who played first-class cricket for

Glamorgan , HQ = Cardiff , Government = Glamorgan County Council (1889–1974) , Origin= , Code = GLA , CodeName = Chapman code , Replace = * West Glamorgan * Mid Glamorgan * South Glamorgan , Motto ...

from 1921 to 1949. He also played one Test match for England in 1935.

Personal life and war service

Clay was born in Bonvilston,

, the son of Charles and Margaret Clay. His father had a shipping business in Cardiff. John attended Winchester College from 1911 to 1916. He served in France in the First World War as a second lieutenant in the Royal Artillery. He married Gwenllian Mary Homfray (1905–2004) at

Cowbridge Cowbridge ( cy, Y Bont-faen) is a market town in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, approximately west of the centre of Cardiff. The Cowbridge with Llanblethian community and civil parish elect a town council. A Cowbridge electoral ward exists for e ...

in 1928, and they had three sons. In the Second World War he served as a

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

in the Territorial Army. He died at St Hilary, near Cowbridge, in 1973.

Cricket career

At Winchester College, Clay bowled mostly fast but occasionally leg-spin. He first played for Glamorgan as a fast bowler in 1920, the year before they achieved first-class status, but switched to off-spin after some back trouble. Wilfred Wooller, "Johnny Clay – Pillar of Glamorgan Cricket", '' The Cricketer'', Vol 54, No 10, October 1973, p. 19. He played for the club till 1949, as

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

from 1924 to 1927 and then again in 1929 and 1946, when they finished sixth, their best position to that time, and at the age of 48 he took 120 wickets at an average of 12.72. Between 1933 and 1938, he served as the club's treasurer and with the captain,

Maurice Turnbull Maurice Joseph Lawson Turnbull (16 March 1906 – 5 August 1944) was a Welsh cricketer who played in nine Test matches for the England cricket team between 1930 and 1936. A talented all round sportsman, Turnbull excelled in several sports. In ...

, helped raise money through functions and contacts that kept the club afloat. In 1935 Clay was called up to play a Test match for England at the Oval against South Africa, but did not take a wicket and did not bat.

1937 Events January * January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua. * January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into Fe ...

was his most successful as a bowler, taking 176 wickets, which remains a Glamorgan record; against Worcestershire at

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...

he took 17 wickets in the match. At the age of 50 he was a key player in Glamorgan's first County Championship title in 1948, taking 19 wickets for 145 runs in the two consecutive innings victories in August that clinched the title. Clay took nine wickets in an innings three times. His best figures were 9 for 54 in the first innings against Northamptonshire in 1935; he also took 6 for 32 in the second innings. He was a useful lower-order batsman who hit two centuries, with a highest of 115 not out against the New Zealanders in 1927. In 1929 he made his only Championship hundred against Worcestershire at Swansea, batting at number 10; his stand of 203 with Joe Hills for the ninth wicket is still the club record. John Arlott thought Clay was the best off-spin bowler in England: "Some others, perhaps, spun the ball harder – though not markedly so – but no-one until Laker of a later generation combined his degree of spin and such accuracy, subtlety, and variety of flight." John Arlott, "A Builder of Cricket in Wales", '' The Cricketer'', Vol 54, No 11, November 1973, p. 73.

After cricket

Clay was a Test selector in 1947 and 1948. He contributed an annual essay to the ''Glamorgan County Cricket Club Yearbook'' from 1933 to 1950. On the basis of these essays, John Arlott declared that Clay was his favourite cricket writer. Benny Green, ''Benny Green's Cricket Archive'', Pavilion Books, London, 1985, p. 73. He served as President of Glamorgan from 1961 until his death in 1973. He died at St Hilary, near

, Glamorgan. Outside cricket he had various business interests which often prevented him from playing cricket, which he always played as an

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

. He was a keen fan of horse-racing and was the owner of several long-distance steeplechasers. He served as secretary of the Glamorgan Hunt, and steward and director of

Chepstow Racecourse Chepstow Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing racecourse, course located just north of the town of Chepstow in Monmouthshire, Wales, near the southern end of the Wye Valley and close to the border with England. It is one of 16 racecourses op ...

, which had been laid out in the grounds of his family home at

Piercefield Park Piercefield House is a largely ruined Neoclassical architecture, neo-classical country house near St Arvans, Monmouthshire, Wales, about north of the centre of Chepstow. The central block of the house was designed in the very late 18th century, ...

in the 1920s. A long-distance steeplechase is held there annually in his memory.

References

External links

Clay, John Charles
at ''

Dictionary of Welsh Biography The ''Dictionary of Welsh Biography'' (DWB) (also ''The Dictionary of Welsh Biography Down to 1940'' and ''The Dictionary of Welsh Biography, 1941 to 1970'') is a biographical dictionary of Welsh people who have made a significant contribution to ...

''
Family Tree

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Clay, Johnnie 1898 births 1973 deaths People from Cowbridge Cricketers from the Vale of Glamorgan People educated at Winchester College England Test cricketers Welsh cricketers Glamorgan cricketers Glamorgan cricket captains Wales cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Gentlemen cricketers England cricket team selectors Gentlemen of England cricketers English cricketers of 1919 to 1945 Cricket historians and writers H. D. G. Leveson Gower's XI cricketers British Army personnel of World War I Royal Artillery officers