My cricket season started today, Sunday 23rd April. I was playing for the University Club against St.Johns in a friendly. The match was to be played at St.Johns which being the richest college in Oxford flaunts it by having a mechanical roller!
The groundsman is paid as well as a post-doc and is highly respected for preparing sporting pitches. The ground is situated North of Oxford up Banbury Road and is among the prettiest grounds in Oxford. The ground is right in the center of a residential area and surrounded by these rows of red brick houses. The pavilion is old and not very large. The ground is manicured,with a fast outfield and very large. The green ground in the foreground of the red brick houses(each costing in excess of 500,000) makes a lovely sight.
The obscene thing about the ground though was that one boundary was incredibly shorter than the other. The pitch was a good pitch,firm and had good carry. However, it was the first game and we were playing in April so I don't think we were playing on the main track. The pitch was bowed from end to end which meant that from the pavilion end the pitch rose a couple of inches, which meant that the ball sat up quite well. However from the other end you were bowling down a slope much like Lords and left a very small length on the pitch from which the ball had carry but anything short of that and the ball kept very low.
The weather - no cricket match can ever be played or planned without looking at the weather forecast. Saturday was a gorgeous day and I thought it was the first day of summer. Unfortunately, Sunday dawned wet and gray. I portered in the morning and by 1.30 it was dry and the sun was bashfully peeking out from among the dark clouds. However, just as I was going to head off for a 2pm start the drizzle began as if just to spite us. I dawdled before heading off to play.
With overcast skies and a bowling attack replete with swing bowlers Martin Booth decided to take the field. The ground was wet,with pools of water on the field. Anyway, I am not going to write a match report simply because its usually done and I shall link to it.
The great thing about the game was the fact that the home team had organised this fantastic tea. There were sandwiches, biscuits, tea,squash,jaffa cakes,crisps - a great spread and it was much required after 40 hours of squatting behind the wicket in a constant drizzle and slippery outfield. St.Johns piled on 200 or so for 6. I kept reasonably well. A couple of byes,one missed catch,one catch!
I went in 2 down,exhausted.My first stroke was a four followed a streaky couple,a big six and a single. Scored 19 and was setting myself up for a big score against a weak attack. Then the expected happened. They gave the ball to a pie-chucker geeky kid whose first ball bounced four times outside the pitch before reaching the keeper. Then in the only ball of the over which he bowled on the stumps, I tried to run it down to thirdman and missed it completely. Bowled Mr.&*$)*#$ 19!
Anyway, we won. I felt stupid and annoyed. End of story. Looking forward to my next match on Thursday for Linacre against Oriel and then the weekend match against Pakistan.
I am very excited about playing Cricket this season. I have worked on my batting in the nets and am actually looking forward to having a decent season. I have a strange feeling that with my heightened anticipation and excitement, I am going to have a disastrous season compared to last year.
Next report to follow soon.
