Tributes have been paid to George Clement, the “legendary” former head groundsman at Swansea’s St Helen’s sports ground, who died on 10 November, 2007, after a short illness.

Among those leading the praise for Mr Clement, 88, who held the post for 36 years, was former Glamorgan cricketing legend and record wicket-taker Don Sheppard.

Mr Clement retired in 1984 after preparing the surfaces for many famous Glamorgan victories, including back-to-back wins over Australia in 1964 and 1968 and the championship win of 1969.

Mr Sheppard said: “I think more than anything, he understood the cricket square he was working on and knew how to treat it and dress it to get it in the condition that he wanted.

“At times, when Wilf Wooller was captain, if he wanted the pitch to take a bit of a turn, George could do that also.

“Apart from the machinery available he would get down on his hands and knees and work the dressing into the square by hand.

“He was a tip-top groundsman as far as cricketing was concerned. He used to joke with Jim Pressdee and I who were working in tandem and getting a lot of wickets. He would say, ‘I made you buggers’, or words to that effect.”

A tribute to Mr Clement on the Glamorgan website said: “His advice about the quirky nature of the Swansea wicket — laid out on reclaimed sand dunes — was invaluable to a host of Glamorgan captains including Wilf Wooller, Ossie Wheatley, Tony Lewis and Alan Jones.”

John Williams, chairman of St Helen’s Balconiers, added: “He was a highly respected groundsman, respected by visiting captains immensely. He was a very sociable man. The umpires coming to Swansea loved coming here and used to stay at George’s cottage in Tycoch. He was a legend at St Helen’s.”