To think Don Shepherd took more than 2,200 first-class wickets yet was never called up to play Test cricket.

England must have had some team back then.

Shep will forever be revered as a Glamorgan legend — a man who realised he was not destined to spearhead his county's pace attack and reverted to bowling devilish off-cutters.

Devilish, that is, if you were unfortunate enough to be standing at the other end of the wicket.

As former England captain Tony Lewis says in Don's biography Born to Bowl: "His run-up and delivery came perfectly from within — never strained, never too fast and certainly not too slow. But just right.

"It was as if someone had set a metronome ticking and left it running for more than 20 years — and for more than 2,000 wickets."

Don Shepherd was a fixture in the Glamorgan team for more than two decades after he made his county debut at The Oval as a 22-year-old in the first match of the 1950 season.

By the time of his final match at the same ground in August 1972, he had amassed an incredible 2,218 wickets — more than any other cricketer without a Test cap.

Highlights included memorable victories over the touring Australians at St Helen's in 1964 and again four years later.

In 1969 there was a County Championship to celebrate — only the second in Glamorgan's history — followed with the honour of him being named one of Wisden's five Cricketers of the Year.

Ironically, that was one of his more modest seasons. But come 1970 — then as a 42-year-old — he was back to his best.

Just as in 1956, the year he first bowled off-breaks, he was the leading wicket-taker in first-class cricket and was the only bowler to take 100 wickets in the championship.

Only Majid Khan — with 11 wickets — was ahead of him in the national averages.

The finest player never to feature for England? There are few who would argue with that.