St. John’s reached their first Cuppers final for sixteen years on Friday, with a comprehensive victory over a battling St. Anne’s side. Having already beaten several higher-division teams, they hosted the Mint Green Army on the pitch which they both share. But Anne’s’ familiarity with the ground was to make no difference; John’s triumphed 3-1 to take their most impressive scalp yet.
St. John’s’ form this season had thus far been immaculate: seven wins and one draw. St. Anne’s, however, were one of a number of Premier Division sides who are pushing themselves to maintain their division status for 2009/10, and they came across like a team conscious of that pressure. Wary of the pace of John’s’ front two, Tom Crawford and Adam Zagajewski, they were willing to sit back and soak up pressure. Ed Border was the lone striker, ably assisted by James Owen and George Kynaston on either side. As well considered as their game plan was, it was to take only four minutes for it to be ruined from a set play.

In a season when long throws are back on the tactical agenda, St. John’s have found their own Rory Delap.  Central midfielder James Earle has troubled almost every defence John’s have faced, and it was one of his slingshot throws that zipped across from the right, where it was flicked on at the near post.  It reached Crawford, with time and space.  His right footed volley was exquisite; Anne’s keeper Mike Butler had no chance as it flew into the net.

The upset looked on, but almost immediately Owen cut in from the left and shot on the turn. It took a low stretching save from Alex Berend to keep the ball out. St. Anne’s’ hopes received a real boost minutes later, as John’s’ captain Dave Parsons was forced off with a hamstring strain. Substitute Dom Affron went up front with Zagajewski, as goalscorer Crawford was moved onto the wing. This new strike force could have doubled the home team’s lead on twenty four minutes, were it not for some controversial officiating. Zagajewski was put through from midfield, racing towards the Anne’s goal. The referee saw no flag. Zagajewski’s shot deflected off Butler across to Affron, who slammed the ball into the net. Only as Affron wheeled away did the referee see the late flag. Having consulted with the official, he had no choice but to disallow the goal.

St. Anne’s came out flying at the start of the second half, knowing that their place in the Cuppers final was at stake.  Owen hooked a left footed volley looping towards goal, Berend had to scramble to turn it wide. The resultant corner was flicked on at the near post, but Rich Duffy, thundering in unmarked, headed over the bar. They could not forge an equaliser out of their possession though, and John’s started to retain control.

It was after another quiet spell that they doubled their lead on sixty five minutes. Eugene Duff took advantage of a slip by Clarke to find Affron with a perfect through ball. Butler advanced but Affron clipped the ball over him. There was no denying him this time, St. John’s were 2-0 up and twenty five minutes from Iffley.

Sensing the enormity of the situation, Anne’s moved up a gear. Their passing was crisper, their movement quicker and Hassan al-Wakeel nearly turned a corner in at the near post. But their attacks generally met stiff resistance from a well organised John’s defence.

With sixteen minutes remaining St. John’s effectively sealed their place at Iffley. James Earle hit a perfect pass, putting Matt Evans-Young through the channel between right and centre back. Anne’s were caught square, Butler came out but Evans-Young coolly slotted the ball into the bottom corner before being mobbed by his teammates.

They scored one within two minutes, as Steve Clarke turned in a cross from James Owen. The grandstand finish was set: but hard as they tried, St. Anne’s simply could not break through the John’s back line again. Duff and Eastham were imperious in the middle—McGrath and Matt Feehily threw themselves in front of everything. Anne’s attempts to find two more goals were not helped by a rather unsavoury incident on the touchline. St. John’s linesman Sam Freedman was subject to constant abuse from the St. Anne’s supporters. The referee was asked to intervene and in doing so broke down any momentum the visitors had generated.

There were more chances, but in neither the whole ninety minutes nor in the five minutes of stoppage time could St. Anne’s break through. When the final whistle went, St. John’s and their many supporters erupted in joy. They were through to the final. St. Anne’s joined Lady Margaret Hall, Brasenose and St. Hugh’s as those scalped by the all blacks, who have truly made a mockery of the league system this season. Whether they add the Premier Division Champions-elect remains to be seen. 

Before the start of this encounter Christ Church had recently asserted their position in the top division of the league, but with Worcester having the practise of a recent game under their belts and fielding 2 top level blues players in the back row it was always going to be close.  Promises of the legendary ex-New Zealand captain and prop Anton Oliver turning up for Worcester drew a large crowd, but unfortunately he was unavailable for the game.

The game started with an early spell of pressure from the visitors, who managed to get the first score, after a penalty gave Christ Church territory, and a well oiled backs move saw fly-half Sprague dart around the opposition 10 and beat the covering full back to the line.

Newly confident Christ Church held dominance after this early momentum booster and kept the visitors pinned back. However Worcester managed to turn it around and a sustained period of pressure saw some solid plays that challenged the Christ Church defence. A dart down the left wing and some slick offloading saw the blues number 8 touch-down, and following a superb conversion the score stood at 7-7.  Christ Church again responded, and after some solid forwards drives, Sprague once again carved up number ten for Worcester, and made a long run only to be stopped by the full back.  This led to the awarding of a penalty, which was slotted over by the ever-reliant Gillard, giving them a 10-7 lead at the break.

Immediately after half time, a combination of some poor defence and inspired attack led to a quick Worcester score, sending them into the lead. Hanging their heads, the home side lost composure and the Worcester backs attacked superbly. They eventually scored one try, followed by another, to see the score at 26-10 with ten minutes to go—seemingly out of reach for the frustrated hosts.

The possibility of a late comebackflickered briefley went winger Fifield crashed over.  But Worcester responded strongly, a strong run by winger Toogood leading to possession high up the pitch, and an overlap lead to a forced rush defence that was expertly stepped by the 10 who offloaded for the score.
Christ Church managed a consolation score after a wide pass from a tap penalty, leaving the score at 33-22 to the visitors.  Worcester will take away much from this match after a strong performance, and will look to take the momentum into next week’s match and a chance to progress to the Cuppers semi-finals.

The turbulent run up to this years Varsity match saw the Blues hampered by injury setbacks. After training hard under Captain Zillah Anderson and South African coach Sandra Du Pleiss, the squad overcame recent problems to put in a hard fought performance against Cambridge. Following draws in the league this season, both sides knew that it would ultimately go down to the wire, and the match was both passionate and physical.

The match started positively, with Oxford defence putting the towering Cambridge attack under pressure. Excellent positional play around the circle allowed the Dark Blue shooters to pull Oxford ahead mid way through the quarter. Meanwhile things were heating up at the opposite end of the court; aggression from the Oxford GD and Cambridge GA bubbled over and both players were giving a stern warning by the referee.

The game continued to be played at high intensity, with the Cambridge players demonstrating their desire to overcome last years Oxford double. At the end of the first quarter the Blues trailed by two and were running into problems in the Centre court area. They took the opportunity of the break to bring on the outstanding shooter Lerryn Martin, adding to the experience and pace of the Oxford side.
An exceptional intercept after the restart by Oxford WA George Weetch, on the circle edge, gave Martin an opportunity to push for goal advantage. Cambridge fought back convincingly however, and capitalised on loose Oxford play. Their shooters performed well to gain a slight goal cushion and their physical demeanour was epitomised by the blocking work on Oxford’s centre, Fuller, which made it difficult for the Blues to bring the ball down court.

With Oxford trailing at the half, the game threatened to descend into farce in the second half, as throughout the court players furiously tussled- leading to the game being broken up by referees desperate to impose discipline.
 The third quarter saw Cambridge continue edging ahead and, although the dark Blues pulled back in the fourth quarter, it was sadly too little too late. Cambridge pushed hard, with their WD putting in an exceptional performance. and they continued to convert chances- despite the excellent Oxford defensive teamwork put in by Oxford GK Alice Kelly and GD Zillah Anderson. The Blues finished the quarter pulling back the score to 34-31 and so, narrowly, Varsity was lost.

The Oxford Second Team, the Roos, had an equally challenging match. Led by Captain Cat Clark, the team showed fight and determination early on in the game, with excellent shooting from Oxford GA, Laura Bell and GS Charlotte Constable.

The team was ahead mid-way in the first quarter and defensive duo Jenny Webb and Philippa Coates kept the Light blues working hard, tipping rebounds and turning over the ball for the Roos. The Cambridge second team became frustrated with the pace and pressure as they struggled to find their rhythym. Set plays practiced time and time again in training proved their worth with a classic ‘Net one slip one’ move, the coach’s favourite, executed by the talented Oxford WA Jess Murphy.

Towards the end of the second quarter the Roos began to make sloppy mistakes, giving Cambridge the opportunity to fight back, and the teams went into the second half separated by just one goal. The open nature of play that followed left both sides frantically working to find an advantage, with consistent shooting from Bell matched by the Cambridge GA; every goal counted in what was undoubtedly a nail-biting half. The fourth quarter started positively for Oxford with a fantastic intercept from Oxford GK Webb and the Roos looked to push for a lead.

With the home support urging the Cambridge side on, deep into the final quarter they took the lead for the first time in the match. Feeling that victory was almost slipping away the Roos fought in a manner never seen before. Pulling back to 33-33 they pushed in the remaining minutes to secure an astonishing Varsity Win by two points. With so many senior players leaving next year, this gutsy performance from the seconds should provide hope for the future.

In a one-sided match, Oxford’s Men’s Table Tennis team were trounced 9-1 by Cambridge for the fourth year in a row. The Men’s 2nds were brushed aside with ease, resulting in an unattractive 10-0 scoreline. The girls performed slightly better, losing 6-4.

It was, in fact, a bitter defeat for the ladies. Following one of their best seasons in the run-up to varsity of recent years, the girls were confident of their chances.
Things were looking good for Oxford after they powered into a 2-0 lead after victories for Potjewyd and Shivkumar. But the Tabs fought back to win the next two matches and level the score at 2-2 going into the vital doubles round.

Unfortunately, things didn’t go to plan, with both Oxford teams losing tight matches. The final round of the singles was then more important than ever, with Potjewyd and Shivkumar again pulling out solid performances to pull the match back to 4-4. With all to play for, Cambridge just managed to hold out in the remaining singles and finish the day with a 6-4 victory.

The only point scored by the disappointing Men’s teams came in a dramatic Doubles Match won by captain Paul Lam and Horatio Boedihardjo. The pairs were neck and neck in the first three sets and in the crucial fourth set, the Tabs seemed poised for victory with two game points. It was Lam who kept his nerve and delivered two heavy backspin services, forcing the Light Blues to return the ball to the net, equalising at 10-10. Both sides were nervous and after a tentative exchange, Cambridge decided to initiate the aggression with a soft topspin but Lam decisively counter-attacked with a thundering forehand. The heavy spin on the ball caused it to rapidly curve after bouncing up from the table, bamboozling the unprepared opponents. After that, a massive cheer erupted from the Oxford side; the Men had finally got a point!

In some ways, you have to give credit to Allen Stanford. The man does not do things in half measures. In fact, in all the time he’s been in the public eye, he hasn’t exactly diluted his personality or his actions. First, there was the $1 million per person for the winner of his inaugural 20/20 match, a prize total which dwarfed anything which had previously existed in cricket.

This went hand in hand with lavish promises for the future, a return to the glory days of West Indian cricket, and generally the announcement that Jesus had returned in the form of a brash, American billionaire. And somehow he still found time to court controversy by flirting with the players’ wives during photoshoots. The man is truly a force of nature.

After announcing that he was getting into bed with ECB there then came the recent revelations about his financial misdemeanours. This time, Stanford really excelled himself.

Not even by his standards was it a small time deception. Fraud to the tune of $9.2 billion is what he has been accused of, causing panic and mass queues outside many of his banks.

Not satisfied with massive financial controversy, it now seems as if he was planning on committing bigamy with his English lover. The only thing that could have made this story better is if there had been an OJ Simpson style car chase between Stanford and the FBI, as they attempted to catch the elusive billionaire.

While this all may read like a script for a bad TV show, the departure of Stanford from the cricketing scene, and especially the manner in which he left, has caused widespread ripples of discontent. It raises serious questions about the future of the sport. There have cries for the head of Giles Clark, chairman of the ECB, but with his recent re-election it doesn’t seem like heads will roll. The man is good at making money, which is why the counties keep voting for him. Some counties however, have already raised issues over the Stanford money which they have already been paid, claiming they’re tainted in some way.

Other direct losers from this affair are the West Indies Cricket Board, who by all accounts are still owed their $3.5 million from the first Stanford 20/20 match. Perhaps the most comical people to suffer from the fallout of these allegations are Chanderpaul, Sarwan, Mohammed, Pollard and Joseph, all of who reinvested their $1 million winnings with the now disgraced banker. Seemingly everyone was taken in by the amusing moustache and the bottomless wallet. Now Stanford has been exposed are something other than the second coming with a chequebook, the holes are starting to be seen. One of the more amusing is the truth about his international unveiling; the plane he used to arrive on the pitch at Lord’s in was hired and flew him in from Battersea, and the alledgedly £2 million in cash he was pictured with is now thought to be nearer the $100,000 mark.

However, as ridiculous as the whole episode seems, it is far too easy to ignore the fact that the past few months have highlighted a worrying trend in world cricket. West Indies cricket has been suffering for some time, with youngsters moving towards basketball. The arrival of Stanford was seen as a godsend, as a way for funding in the area to finally receive a boost.

With their benefactor now gone, the Windies will be frantically looking for someone to replace him. It remains to be seen whether anyone will present themselves, with people unlikely to want to be associated with following in the now infamous footsteps of Stanford.

The ECB meanwhile, have come out of the whole affair looking pointedly stupid. After conducting 10 days due diligence on the finances of Stanford, they still allied themselves to him; or more accurately, his ill-gotten money. Whilst this may simply be an oversight by the ECB and their advisors, the desperation for cash is a damning indictment of the state of the game. Organising bodies are compromising their principles in attempt to get a part of the pie, with no end in sight.

While he may end up a footnote in the history of the game, those in the game would do well to heed the lesson of Stanford, if for no other reason than not to fall into the same trap.