We were blessed by a day of pure sunshine amongst countless days of rainfall in London for the Oxford vs. Cambridge Varsity Matches at Lord’s cricket grounds.
In the morning some Society members enjoyed a thorough tour of Lord’s, taking in the full history of the venue and learning about the Oxbridge clash, which dates back to 1827.
Richard Timms won the toss for Cambridge and walked out on to the lush green Lord’s turf to open the batting alongside Philip Hughes. By this time most Society members and guests had arrived in our fantastic double box suite, and were resplendent with their light blue rosettes. Whilst enjoying the drinks service, we witnessed very strong batting performances from Zafar Ansari and Paul Best, who scored 73 and 61 respectively. Our run rate gradually increased as the overs went by and towards the end of our allotted 50 overs we started taking increasing risks, picking up numerous boundaries in the process. We were finally 264 all out, very efficiently paced with just three balls remaining of the 50th over.
This signalled the opportunity to head to the Coronation Garden to enjoy our picnic lunches. Interpretations of the picnic lunch suggestion varied widely: while some had brought a few sandwiches, others carried entire elaborate hampers offering outstanding gastronomic experiences. Several of those in the former group were grateful for the generosity of the latter.
We ambled back to the Society’s box to view our old rival’s batting efforts. The pressure was on Oxford from the off and Thomas Probert took full advantage, having Jeffery caught behind for a second-ball duck and removing Agarwal thanks to a slip catch from Philip Ashton as they fell to 36 for 2. The Dark Blues soon needed six an over as Probert and our bowlers kept things tight. Their hopes rested on Daniel Pascoe and he tried to thwart Cambridge. But, despite constructing an unbeaten 58 off 51 balls, he could not do it on his own and his colleagues fell around him and they were all out for 212 in the penultimate over.
The match’s scorecard is available here: http://www.lords.org/data/files/oxford-v-cambridge-men-10630.pdf
A number of Society members also wandered over to observe the Ladies’ match in progress on the Nursery Ground. I am very glad to report that our Cambridge women also secured a victory over Oxford.
Organised by Alastair Gourlay and David Peace