In the 5th week edition of the Cherwell, we falsely gave the title of this piece as “What to do on Saturday of 6th?” when it should have been “What to do on Friday of 6th?”. This is because the Varsity Twenty20 match will happen on Friday the 4th of June at the University Parks and the Varsity one day match is on Sunday the 4th of July at Lords.
Think Friday 6th week at 4pm, coloured clothing, pink balls, big hitting, beer, Pimms, picnics, strawberries and cream, and watching cricket’s most modern and arguably exciting form of the game in one of the most picturesque venues in Oxford.
On Friday the 4th of June, Oxford University Cricket Club Blues take on their Cambridge rivals at the University Parks in the first of three Varsity matches, Twenty20. This short format was first introduced to the Varsity schedule 2 years ago and was used as an experiment to see whether it would be approved by the masses and to trial the pink ball.
To those who are not huge cricket lovers, a 20 over cricket match lasts for just under three hours but it is stuffed full of excitement with batsmen and bowlers needing to be crafty and shrewd in order to outthink each other.
In the Varsity match, each captain has named a squad of 16, which will be whittled down to a 12 on the day. As well as the obviously strong rivalry between Oxford and Cambridge, there are some more personal rivalries within the squads themselves. As The Perse School, Cambridge, has produced 3 players for each of the Light and Dark Blue sides. In the Oxford side there is also a brotherly rivalry with Rajiv Sharma, the Oxford captain, being joined by his wise older brother, Avinash, for the 2010 season. On top of this both squads have been bolstered by returning Blues who will have a history of Varsity matches behind them.
After poor weather resulted in an abandoning of the match in Cambridge last year, OUCC is using the opportunity to really make its mark on the event. There will be a bar (in partnership with the Cricketers Arms, Iffley Road) serving Pimms and beer, and also stalls around the ground selling strawberries, snacks and soft drinks. Music will be used around the ground and each batsman has the opportunity to pick their own song for when they walk out to bat. One interesting choice so far is John Lodwick’s request for J-Lo’s Jenny from the block.
If this wasn’t enough of an incentive to go down and watch the Twenty 20; the Varsity Match will also be preceded by the Cuppers Final, which will be a strongly contested battle between Univ and Oriel.
These are not the powerhouses of college cricket that the majority of people expected to see in the final this year but the Cuppers competition has been full of surprises with New College and Christ Church (both division one sides) being dumped out in the early rounds. The greatest shock however, was Baliol beating Worcester in the quarter finals, a historically strong side that can currently boast 5 Blues players when at full strength. This final of the underdogs between Oriel and Univ starts in the Parks at 9:30 am and will run until approximately 3pm.
The day promises to be thoroughly entertaining and prayers to the weather gods have already begun. Come down to support your Blues and Colleges and help ensure that Oxford can secure their maiden victory in the Charles Russell Twenty20 Varsity Match.
