Proposition:

Has the weather we’ve had so far ruined sport this Trinity? Yes, yes it has. Well, that’s certainly the case if you subscribe to the view that summer sport is synonymous with sunny afternoons spent at one with balls and a crease.

Aside from the impact of the weather on tennis and croquet, this term’s cricket has been decimated by the rain, hence why I am writing this instead of reporting on a game. At an academic institution of such high esteem as Oxford one might assume that the summer term is a time reserved for revision and exams. Not so for those that have spent the Easter vac toiling in the nets perfecting their slower ball or dreaming of a glorious half-century on a balmy Tuesday evening. Cuppers has been ruined by coin-tosses and bowl-outs. This farcical institution is a by-product of the British weather, dreamed up in a bid to be able to settle cricket matches that are tied, or have fallen victim to rain.

I haven’t played any cricket this term. Sure, the Blues have played a bit. But sport at Oxford is about so much more than the top-level representing the university. So much money is spent on the upkeep of college grounds, and yet college cricketers have as yet been unable to showcase their unquestioned ability to display their admittedly extremely average cricketing ability.

I’ve just heard the expected bad news from our groundsman that unfortunately due to the build-up of rain over the last few weeks, the mid-afternoon flashflood that turned into a short hailstorm has rendered the ground more suited to an aquaplaning contest than me trundling in and bowling some quite tame medium pace against the very best that the St Peters 2nd XI have to offer. But that’s what summer sport is all about. The rain is denying a whole host of distinctly average sportsmen their moment in the sun (literally).

It’s hardly a tragedy in the grand scheme of things. But for those of you that are holed up in the library and those that couldn’t care less, then at least enjoy the fact that it is the second year arts students with nothing much else to do that are ‘suffering’ the great injustice of seeing their sporting summer being a wash-out.

Jack McKenna

Opposition:

Let’s get the obvious arguments out of the way first. I enjoy cricket as much as the next man. As with many second-team stalwarts my game’s modelled on a slightly lessened Chris Harris, or possibly Glen Chapple without the flair. An early summer deprived of college cricket is indeed a potential nightmare, and certainly a term lessened. But a term ruined? I wouldn’t say so.

Before now I’d have thought that cricket was the alpha and omega of summer-term sporting hijinks. If nothing else, a few weeks as Cherwell Sports Editor during this rain-clogged Trinity has taught me that there’s a multitude of sport that endures while the clouds open. Rugby’s commonly perceived to stop after Cuppers final, but there’s been as much played so far as there was with last term’s freeze-offs. With three well-contested tournaments at Iffley in as many weekends, there’s been plenty for sportsmen (and women, mixed touch sevens was a comprehensive success) to be happy about.

That’s not all, either. Mixed hockey cuppers has been picking up steam, with a bit more attention and commitment than last year, and this weekend looks set to provide a festival of hockey, regardless of the weather. With the semi-finals on Saturday and the final on Sunday, anyone with a yen to watch some sport should head down to Iffley this weekend.

It’s impossible to entirely escape cricket though. Much as all the above is true, I can’t wait to get back out there. So the best I can say is to drag out that old saw about absence and the heart growing fonder and hope that in a week or so the sun’s going to come out alongside my batting form. Trinity term is far from ruined, but even putting sport aside for a moment I’d be the last to hope the weather continues. It’d mar those post-finals weeks for one thing, when all the third years want to do is sip Pimms, punt and play croquet (the Trinity triple-whammy of clichés, each one of them conformed to).

So Trinity hasn’t been ruined. There’s plenty else to do, and it might mean we’ll enjoy the cricket and the sun all the more when they arrive. But it had better be a matter of when, not if, and it had better be soon. Otherwise, it’s just not cricket.

James Nottage

At the end of every season, everyone tries to find meaning in their own team’s performance over the nine months. Did we fulfil expectations? How will we look back on this season in ten years’ time?

Listening on Sunday evening to BBC 5Live’s football phone-in, the home of knee-jerk reactions and misinformed opinions, one of the many morons to phone in argued that Alex Ferguson’s time was up. The loss of the title supposedly pointed to the fact that he was no longer an adequate manager for Manchester United. Now aside from the fact that it’s a stupid opinion to hold, we can probably assume that if Sergio Aguero hadn’t have scored his winner for Manchester City on Sunday in stoppage time to clinch the title, the caller wouldn’t have come to that conclusion. United would have won the league out of nowhere and Ferguson would have been lauded as having masterminded yet another triumph.

This exposes the absurdity of trying to conclude anything from success or failure of a season when the margins are so thin. One goal separated Manchester United from a ‘disappointing season’ and a 20th league title. One goal separated Spurs from their highest finish ever and ‘an underwhelming campaign’. One Jonathan Walters goal separated Bolton from different divisions. These different conclusions about how well your team has performed are false – there is nothing you can conclude about the quality of your team’s season right now that you couldn’t conclude prior to this last weekend’s final set of fixtures. QPR were still a very poor side for most of the campaign. Manchester City still had very poor patches throughout. Arsenal still have deep-seated problems. The respective success of all three is due to the very fine margins in sport.

It’s easy to be revisionist when watching sport. We are constantly driven to hyperbole concerning the current game or season we are watching, as we are wrapped up in the drama and narratives of the present day. Indeed, the 2011/2012 season was voted the best of the 20 seasons of the Premier League we have had. It is true that Sunday was an exceptional end to a season by most standards – the title race of 1998/1999 is perhaps the only campaign that could rival this season’s in terms of length and quality of race.

98/99 was the season United won the treble – for which most people simply remember the late Sheringham-Solskjaer show in the Champions League final – but the battle United fought to be crowned domestic champions was exceptional. It was the famous United team of Cole, Yorke, Beckham, Keane, Scholes, Giggs et al, against an Arsenal side which managed to combine their famous British defence of the 90s (Winterburn, Adams, Dixon), just at their final peak, and the devastating European frontline of Bergkamp, Anelka and Overmars. The season was the culmination of what was one of the best Wenger-Ferguson narratives of the last fifteen years, epitomised not actually in a league game but in that year’s FA Cup SemiFinal replay. That Giggs goal settled one of the greatest English matches of all time at Villa Park of all places, back when the FA Cup used to be romantic.

Few also remember that the 98/99 title race was indeed a three horse race – the Chelsea side of Leboeuf, Desailly, Di Matteo and Zola were top at Christmas and lost only three times all season, let down by too many draws, finishing four points off the top on the final day.

What did perhaps set this current year’s title race apart was quite how many times each side threw it away. United had won the title when Mikel Arteta scored against City six weeks ago. Then City had won the title when Yaya Toure scored his second against Newcastle. United had won the title when Jamie Mackie headed in for QPR on Sunday. Then City had won it when Aguero wheeled away. Margins are too fine to make conclusions if this had/hadn’t have happened, things would have been differently. But when there are so many turning points in fifteen minutes of one match, let alone 38 games of each team’s season, one is tempted just to sit back, forget meaning, and watch Gary Neville go crazy

Whether it’s a useful break from the stress of revision, an attempt to work on that beach body for the inevitable summer holiday photos, or simply a way of enjoying the occasional breaks in the early summer deluge that has hit Oxford recently, there is no better way to see the city and surrounding countryside than to run through it. Running is the most basic and inclusive of sports and the enjoyment of it derives from its simplicity. You can run with anyone, anytime, almost anywhere; all you need is a pair of trainers and the motivation to get out through the door. This article will hopefully give you the kick-start to take those first few strides and give you some ideas of where to go when you do.

At just over a mile long, the loop around Christ Church Meadows is perfect for those just starting running. Enjoy running past the tourists and watching people suffer their way along the Isis at the bottom end of the meadows. Keep an eye out for the frequent visitor to the area, a man I’ve named ‘Old Man Meadows’, who can often be found on a bench by the path along the Cherwell and will always offer cheerful words of encouragement as you run past. University Parks is also a great place to get out to for a short run close to most colleges. Catch a bit of sport on one of the many pitches as you run past, or, if you’re looking for somewhere a bit quieter, head over the bridge at the East of the parks and explore the many fields out towards Marston.

If you’re historically or Olympically-minded, where better to practice your own sprint finish than the site of the world’s first 4 minute mile, the Iffley Road Sports Complex? The track is steeped in history and free to use for all Oxford University students, so there’s no excuse not to try your hand at rivalling Roger Bannister’s famous achievement.

The best place to run without heading too far from the centre of Oxford, however, has to be South Parks. The soft grass and gentle slopes are perfect for easy running or can provide a good challenge if you want something a bit tougher. As Joseph Fellows put it in his short running video, which won the recent ‘Guardian London film competition’, ‘if I wake early, and stand upon this hill, for a brief moment, the entire city belongs to me’. The same could not be truer of an early morning jog around South Parks and the view from the top of the hill offers arguably the best view of the Oxford skyline.

Although within the confines of the ringroad, and only about 2km from the Rad Cam, the 300 acres of ancient grazing land at Port Meadow is the perfect place to up your mileage. Weave your way through the nature reserve to the East or revel in the miles of interrupted, flat grass to get your running fix. Cross the river by the marina and turn right along the footpath to explore the ruins by Godstow Lock for something a bit different too.

On the other side of the ring road, Wytham Woods are a must visit for anyone who wants something a bit more interesting than the flat grass of Port Meadow. The woods, from the Isis at Swinford down to Botley Lodge, are some of the most analysed in the world, and with over 30km of undulating rides to explore are an excellent place to test your stamina with a long run.

Similarly Shotover Country Park to the east offers the ideal off-road challenge for runners who want to test themselves, a tough, hilly area. When your legs get too tired for the hills, drop down to Brasenose Wood just across the road to appreciate the flat, leaf-covered trails.

To misappropriate the ever-insightful lyrics of Jay-Z, ‘only thing that’s on my mind is who’s gonna run this town tonight’. So dig your trainers out from the bottom of your wardrobe and go out and enjoy a run around the parts of Oxford you’ve neglected until now

A s per usual, Trinity term plays host to Cricket Cuppers, the pinnacle of college cricket at Oxford. This year 29 colleges are vying for the chance to play at Uni Parks in the final, when hopefully the weather will remember that this is Trinity, and is therefore not meant to rain every day. The road to cricketing glory this year (at least for St Catherine’s and St Hugh’s) began with a wet, muddy bowl-out, in which a traffic cone was very nearly used for the wicket. Perhaps not the ideal first step.

This was a scene roughly repeated across Oxford, as few teams were able to play games on the often waterlogged pitches. The idiosyncrasies of the OUCC Cuppers rules means cuppers games are scheduled for a Monday, with the reserve day, should the game need to be cancelled for bad weather, being Thursday. If this slot is missed, as has been fairly common this year for obvious reasons, then a bowl-out ensues. This involves the stumps being placed at one end of the nets (the pitches were too wet for even this curtailed version of the game) and a set number of bowlers trying to hit them, whilst the team’s batsmen watch on helpless.

The reigning champions, Worcester, failed to meet this somewhat unusual challenge as St Catz won their second bowl-out in two weeks to progress to the quarter finals without yet playing a match. Balliol, Brasenose, Trinity, Keble and last year’s runners up, New/St. Hilda’s have also all progressed into the quarter finals, while there is a degree of disarray in some sections of the draw, with first round ties yet to be decided.

Whilst the journey to Uni Parks so far has been bizarre and enjoyable as a result, all those involved in college cricket will be desperate for the weather to continue its erratic, but discernible, upward trend towards some sun. If it doesn’t then you have to wonder how many people will turn up for a bowl-out to decide the final in 6th week. The most that can be said is that at least it’s more spectator-friendly than a coin toss.

Trinity term isn’t host to many of the marquee Varsity matches, at least not until towards the end when cricket takes the stage, but this can give lesser-known sports the chance to flourish.

On Sunday 13th May Oxford Triathlon Club competed at their annual Varsity match, again held at Grendon Triathlon in the heart of Northampton. Triathlon is one of the fastest growing sports at the moment, and one on the whole dominated by British athletes. This weekend saw Britain complete the double in the World Triathlon Series race in San Diego with Helen Jenkins and Jonny Brownlee winning the men and women’s races respectively. The omens are good for the Olympics!

Back at Grendon the Varsity wave set off at 9:00am, with around 50 Oxbridge triathletes churning up the water of Grendon lake. Open-water swims can be fairly brutal, and this was no exception, with a large bunch of triathletes fighting to occupy a small stretch of excruciatingly cold water, bursting their lungs to complete the 750m swim as quickly as possible. Cambridge triathlete Alex Young was the first athlete out of the water and onto the 20km bike course. It was a fairly smooth course with a couple of small climbs in it. The race then finished with a 5km run.

Young’s lead proved unshakeable, and the first Oxford man home was Lee Harper (Merton) in 3rd place, leading from the front as always with a quick result of one hour, five minutes and eight seconds, taking the podium in his final race as OUTriC President.

However, the men’s Blues match was won by a dominant Cambridge performance, a result which was gratifyingly reversed in the women’s Blues match as Oxford comfortably beat Cambridge by over fifteen minutes. Sophia Saller (St Catz) came first and Hannah Johnston (Pembroke) second, with Cambridge triathlete Madzia Kowalski rounding out the podium in third place.

In the seconds matches OUTriC demonstrated the depth of its talent, with the men destroying Cambridge by 95 points to 150 points (the lowest score winning), and the women’s second team containing some fantastic individual results, though they won by default as Cambridge failed to field a full team.

After some strong performances at BUCS Sprint Triathlon the previous weekend, four Oxford athletes were looking to satisfy the stringent Blues criteria at Varsity. All four had their efforts rewarded, with Sophia Saller getting a full blue, and Hannah Johnston, James Felce (Oriel) and Iona Richards (St Catz) taking home half-blues.

It was a fine climax to the triathlon club’s season, winning Varsity 3:1. Whilst Varsity and BUCS Sprint triathlons are the main focus of the club, many of its members race longer distances. OUTriC will be racing at the standard distance National Championships triathlon in June in Shropshire, which is made up of a 1.5km swim, 40km bike and then 10km run. A number of athletes are also preparing to compete at the infamous Ironman distance, which comprises a 3.8km swim, 180km bike, followed by a full marathon.

The seconds’ match demonstrated the breadth of talent in the club, with the majority of our triathletes having started the sport from scratch when they started Oxford, and the club can look forward to another successful year under its new President Hannah Johnston.

Last Wednesday, about 325 of Oxford’s finest sportswomen gathered in the Natural History museum to witness history being made as the Atalanta’s Society launched the very first official Blues presentation evening to be held in the University. Until now, despite the international prestige attached to an Oxford Blue, there has been no formal recognition or ceremony to denote its achievement. This Olympic year, Atalanta’s decided it was time for Blues to be awarded in style.

The evening saw sportswomen from over 30 sports receive Blues which, despite the commitment and often extremely high standard of the players, aren’t for’ally recognized within Oxford. Eloise Waldon-Day, current President of Atalanta’s, commented, “This underwhelming arrival of the much-vaunted Oxford Blue is emblematic of a wider issue. Up until now, the university establishment has seemed to disregard any sport that wasn’t male, or rowing. Atalanta’s was therefore delighted that the Pro-Vice-Chancellor, William James, accepted his invitation to represent the university and acknowledge the high performance of its female athletes.’

Waldon-Day went on to explain the reasons behind the inauguration of this event: ‘The Atalanta’s Committee all agreed it was a shame that there was no official presentation of Blues. I was disappointed in first year when my Blues certificate was handed to me months after Varsity before a training session, creased from someone’s rucksack. But many sports don’t order certificates at all.’

This is partly because the procedure for ordering Blues was previously left very much up to individual clubs – a problem Atalanta’s has addressed by subsidizing the certificates and centralizing the process. The sheer numbers present at awards evening itself demonstrated the enthusiasm with which such an idea was received among the clubs. Many captains, when replying to the invitation on behalf of their teams, voiced their excitement and pleasure that such an event had been organized.

Karolina Lada, the women’s volleyball captain echoed these sentiments: “The Blues Presentation Evening was a delightful and elegant culmination of a year of the highs and lows of a year in women’s sport. It proved a valuable reflection on our own accomplishments; a sense of personal and team pride shared in the beautiful surroundings”.

From the minority of men present, Out of the Blue provided musical entertainment, and gifts from sponsors Deutsche Bank produced much excitement too. There was also a display of Blues jewellery on the night, designed as a female alternative to the Blues blazers by ex-Cambridge Blue Laura Davidson.

Atalanta’s acts as a social complement to the Women’s Blues Committee, with membership offered to any girl who has competed at the highest levels of her chosen sport: in a Varsity match. This inclusive criteria of entry for women is almost entirely opposed to that of the Vincent’s Club, which admits men as much on social merit as much as sporting ability.

As such, Atalanta’s is the perfect body through which to host an evening designed to officially celebrate the achievements of Oxford’s sportswomen. Lada commented: ‘I sincerely hope this tradition will continue for the sake of mutual appreciation of the importance of sporting excellence in so many women’s lives – notwithstanding the challenges of an Oxford degree!’

Waldon-Day added: ‘Deutsche Bank were extremely accommodating in helping cater for such numbers and have agreed to sponsor the awards evening for the next few years, so this looks like the beginning of a new Oxford tradition! Word on the street is that the boys have already begun discussing one of their own for next year; a couple of centuries slow off the mark perhaps, but better late than never.’

Brasenose came out on top as College Sevens Champions after a keenly contested tournament, with 24 teams taking part. Although the tournament, held at Iffley Road, did not quite attract the raucous crowds or breathtaking skills we are accustomed to seeing on the IRB tour although St Peter’s chunky playmaker Luke Jagoe claims he ‘’came close to a Waisale Serevi level of jazz’’. Either way, this won’t matter to the victors as they were able to reclaim some of the pride lost during their double-relegation season.

With only one team from eight pools of three, the first round saw some of the traditional heavyweights of the college leagues fall at the first hurdle. Christ Church and Keble, two teams that have enjoyed good seasons in the Premier Division of college rugby, were knocked out at the pool stage by the eventual finalists, St Hildas and Brasenose, with Brasenose sending an early warning to the other teams by scoring 78 points in their three 10 minute games. It soon became clear that the teams playing the best brand of ‘Sevens’ rugby, keeping the ball alive, avoiding contact and moving the ball laterally across the pitch waiting to find an opening, would triumph. In contrast, those teams that played in a more conventional manner of keeping the ball tight around the ruck area, driving the ball up the middle of the pitch and working through the phases would come unstuck against teams that moved the ball around the park and possessed the speed to run in tries from 40 or 50 metres. On the whole, the teams that adapted best to Sevens won their pools, often overcoming teams that had been playing in higher leagues than them in the regular season, with performance in the 15 man game not a good indicator of how a team would fare.

As the competition heated up at the quarter final stage, some six or seven hours after the first pool match had taken place, Pembroke proved this to be true, outscoring the reigning Premier Division winners and Cuppers Champions Teddy Hall by 3 tries to 1 to win 15-7. Another team found in the lower reaches of the college leagues, St Hildas, put Oriel, the other 2012 Cuppers finalists to the sword 26-10, with the pace of Ali Shipman and George Darrah out too much for Oriel to handle. In the other quarter finals, Brasenose put in another clinical performance to run in 5 tries to dispatch New 26-5. The highest scoring quarter-final saw St Catz and Lincoln score a combined 48 points. St Catz led comfortably through tries from the aging Chris Copplestone, Ross Williamson and young prop Dean Irvine, who had the crowd on their feet with an outrageous goosestep and then proceeded to burn the Lincoln winger on the outside, to the adulation of the crowd. Clinging on for a 29-19 victory in the end, St Catz proved they are now once again a force to be reckoned with in college rugby following a double-promotion back up to the Premier Division and a narrow Cuppers semi-final defeat.

In the first semi-final, Pembroke came out the victors over St Catz in a topsy-turvy game. Leading by a couple of scores at half-time, after some telling runs from Will Rowlands, Pembroke struggled in the second half, with St Catz striking back to gain the lead with a couple of minutes left. However, on the last play of the game, a speculative pass saw Pembroke intercept and score under the posts to win a thriller 33-26. The second semi-final proved to be just as exciting, with Brasenose and St Hildas, the two teams that had looked the most dangerous throughout the early stages going toe to toe. In what was probably the game of the tournament, Brasenose emerged as winners 19-12, but it really could have gone either way. After this, the final was somewhat of an anti-climax. In the end, Brasenose ran out as winners quite comfortably by 26 points to 7, with double try-scorer Ben Claxton playing a starring role.

What was most encouraging about the tournament is that it showed the strength in depth of rugby in Oxford. Colleges not necessarily seen as ‘rugby colleges’ and those that had not fared particularly well in the league of Cuppers flourished. None of the four semi-finalists competed at the top end of the Premier Division this season, and with decent teams such as Christ Church, Univ and Exeter failing to make it out of the group stages, next season certainly promises to be one in which more teams than ever compete for places at the top of the tree. If the form showed by some of the teams during this Sevens tournament is carried over into the regular season next term, college rugby will no longer be defined by the dominance of a Teddy Hall-Keble dichotomy. Special mention should go to OURFC for organizing such a successful event, and with around 200 players taking part, there is certainly scope for more Sevens to be played in Trinity term, provided finalists can be persuaded to leave the library.

As the rain continues to wreak havoc on English domestic cricket, it is perhaps more appropriate to look at slightly dryer settings: namely those of the Indian sub-continent and the gaudy carnival of Twenty20 cricket that is the Indian Premier League (IPL). Launched in 2008, the IPL was one of cricket’s most glamorous tournaments, promising explosive batting, cheerleaders and Bollywood all mixed together.

But five years on, observers are starting to feel the hangover of the Twenty20 party: stadiums go unfilled, TV ratings are plummeting and international teams appear to be suffering, with their best players away for the better part of three months. The inevitable question must be asked: is the IPL and the culture of Twenty20 franchise leagues damaging the quality of international cricket? Certainly MS Dhoni needs no reminding that after IPL 2011, he has lost 8 consecutive Test matches abroad, while even his coveted ODI team have failed consistently in the last year.

Worryingly, such an assertion seems strongly justified when looking at that current situation in Indian cricket. With the decline in popularity of India’s domestic first-class tournament, the Ranji Trophy, the IPL has become virtually the only platform for young players to gain exposure and recognition. They do this by sacrificing technique, painstakingly learned for survival in the longer formats of the game, for an aggressive brand of “slog-style” cricket: low on technique, but high on smashing sixes and getting pay checks.

In the IPL, with its flat, dry pitches, this form of cricket is highly rewarded, but does players absolutely no favours in the more demanding and ultimately more respected Test arena. The consequences have indeed been grave. India’s team, composed of IPL superstars like Jadeja and Ashwin, unable to cope with the swinging ball and bounce of pitches abroad have been found wanting: accustomed to merely twenty overs of aggressive batting and seam bowling, they simply haven’t cultivated the discipline and technique needed for longer formats of international cricket.

But the implications are not just there for India. When international players actively choose to play in the IPL, they are essentially removing themselves from international selection for almost three months. The problem comes when six or seven of the country’s top players, eager to cash in on the lucrative salaries that the IPL offers, decide to do just this. Moreover, the IPL further crowds the international schedule with yet another fixture and overwhelms participating players with a staggering 74 matches played in the gruelling heat of the subcontinent. Take the experience of Kevin Pietersen this year. After a tough winter in the UAE and Sri Lanka, he immediately flew out to Dehli for the IPL and is now back in the England side with absolutely no rest in between. Such a schedule can only serve to weaken players, and damage the balance of international teams.

But perhaps even more pertinent is the question: do fans even want the IPL? This year’s ratings are dropping week by week and approximately 3 million less people are watching the tournament on TV this year. Moreover, whatever the commentators would have us believe, the camera cannot hide the ugly, empty stands in places like Chennai and Jaipur which are becoming regular features of each match this year.

So is it an overstatement to say that the IPL is killing cricket? I still believe it is however. Let us not forget it has provided a lucrative and extensive platform for players, who would otherwise still be unknown, to rise into the ranks of national sides. Witness the careers of Ashwin, Raina, Warner and Marsh. With better communication with the ICC, the IPL could be integrated into the international calendar, hence eliminating the risk of players having to choose between club and country. Whatever the accusations that the IPL is “just not cricket”, it is undeniably entertainment in its most glossy form, smartly packaged with all the colour, culture and vibrancy of India. Despite Australia, South Africa, England, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka all trying to emulate the product, the IPL still remains the Premier Cricket League in Twenty20 cricket, and for this, it surely deserves some applause. There are of course concerns that must be addressed, but I firmly believe that the tournament, when executed and integrated properly is “crickertainment” in its most exciting form.