Well, what can we say? It was of course enormously enjoyable – old friends, new friends, guests, families, and so on, all the normal ingredients of our annual private box at Lord’s for the One Day Varsity Matches. And did anything go wrong? All we can say, really, is that “the results were not exactly as we had hoped” – but we can blame (a) the weather, and (b) Messrs Duckworth and Lewis! And for those who don’t know who they are, we’re certainly not going to explain here (partly because their formula for computing “what if” scores foxes evens our Committee’s brains).
Our early batsmen took us to 48-4 and then under threatening skies we soldiered on to a score of 153-8 off 46.3 overs, at which point the heavens opened and we retired for lunch under the stands or with picnics beneath the trees of the Coronation Garden.
We returned to a sunlit ground to find that the Lords of Lord’s had interpreted Messrs D & L’s alchemy by ending our innings and offering Oxford a target of 158 to be achieved in 43 overs. Oxford charged ahead amassing 25-0 off the first six overs and they powered on to 73-1. Rain stopped play once again and (pace D & L) Oxford faced a revised target of just 89. They were finally able to celebrate with a score of 89-3. The Devil was in the Duckworth-Lewis Detail!
Humour aside, it was a super day in our suite with friends in high humour from a wide mix of disciplines, interests, backgrounds, nations, and ages – and here we send our good wishes to one of our oldest members, 94-year-old Martin (Emmanuel 1938), whose fall occasioned excellent help from a doctor and a search-and-rescue colleague in our Society group and then from the Lord’s and St John’s Ambulance teams. After hospital treatment Martin is back in full vigour and is determined to join us again next year!
A commentary on the day’s action may be found here:
http://cambridge.tab.co.uk/2013/06/15/varsity-cricket-2013-live/
The full scorecard is available here:
http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/current/match/601762.html
And we’re still trying to get a record of the Ladies’ Match!
Organised by Alastair Gourlay and David Peace