SPORTS YEARBOOK 2011 (Including the 2009-2010 Review

some of the cricket and to meet
the team, as did the Vice
Chancellor’s party. A tour itinerary
was hastily put together by Sachin
Bajaj, the founder of the Global
Cricket School, who lives in
Mumbai and organises many
coaching courses in India for
county, club and school cricketers.
He organised accommodation and
fixtures and on Thursday 7th
January the team arrived in Delhi,
leaving behind the ice and snow
in the UK.
That same evening the first match,
a Twenty20, took place with the
High Commission team under
floodlights.The floodlights were
poor in the dusk and the dark, the
seasonal fog made matters worse
and seeing anything from the
boundaries was almost impossible
for fielders and spectators alike.
Despite that handicap the CUCC
team held on to a number of good
catches when the ball was skied.
The match was won by seventy
runs and several of the team had
the chance to bat against some
friendly club bowling and bowl
without too much pressure.The
hospitality back at the High
Commission bar was warm and
friendly and it seemed to have
been a long day by the time the
coach arrived back at the Ashok
Country Resort at about 11.00pm
The following day the team had an
early start to travel from the hotel
in South West Delhi to St Stephen’s
College Ground in North Delhi to
play a Delhi and District Cricket
Association XI.Yet again there was
thick mist and fog and it was cold.
There was no chance of starting
on time because of the fog but
eventually it was agreed to reduce
the match to another Twenty20
and start at 12.30pm.
Disappointingly, CUCC batted
poorly, only scored 114 and the
match was lost by six wickets,
though there were a couple of
moments in the DDCA innings
when they might have been
restricted to fewer runs.The game
against Roshanara Cricket Club
was less disturbed by fog,
although the weather was still
cold. CUCC batted first and four
batsmen started well without any
of them dominating the attack or
going on to a big score.The
innings lost momentum on a
couple of occasions and CUCC
scored about thirty runs too few,
ending on 205 for 6. After a
disastrous start, with numerous
wide deliveries, the team was
always on the back foot, although
the bowlers did manage to claw
their way back into the game, until
a big left hander put the result out
of doubt, striking the ball well,
both straight and over wide mid
on.The match was lost by six
wickets; the second loss to a team
which was no better than CUCC
and could have been beaten.The
reception with the Vice Chancellor
afterwards was well organised and
the team mingled well.There were
speeches and a buffet and the
Cambridge alumni were
welcoming and interested to meet
the present-day students.
The trip from Delhi to Mumbai saw
a considerable rise in temperature,
better grounds and a real
opportunity for the team to
experience Indian playing
conditions.Two matches were
played at Bombay Gymkhana
Ground, the venue for the first Test
Match ever played on Indian soil,
one was played at the Brabourne
Stadium, the home of the Cricket
Club of India and an international
match venue, and the other game
was played at the Mumbai Cricket
Association Recreation Ground,
where Sachin Tendulkar was
having a short practice net in the
background.These were all
impressive grounds with excellent
facilities and the cricket was
always close. It was disappointing
that Bombay University chose to
treat their fixture as a practice
game.They played fourteen
players, despite the CUCC’s
captain’s insistence, rightly, that
this had not been agreed before
the start and therefore should not
have been allowed by the umpires.
This game was also shortened
from a two-day match to a oneday
game, so it was necessary to
arrange another fixture for the
second day, which was achieved
by playing Nirlon CC at the
Bombay Gymkhana Ground.The
game with Bombay University saw
two large scores and some good
striking of the ball. It would have
been good to have seen a
competitive match because the
two squads looked reasonably
well matched. Nirlon CC were
beaten and after the match there
was plenty of time to spend at CCI,
where the team swam and went
to the gym before being treated
to a meal by Sachin Bajaj at the
Pool Café.
The CCI team had one or two
really good players, but the
remainder were not outstanding.
CUCC batted first and should have
scored 15 or so more runs. 217 was
always a few too many short of the
target. Once again batsmen
played themselves in and then
failed to go on past fifty, although
the CCI bowling was not very
penetrative.This inability to make
large scores was one of the
abiding memories of the tour and
always put the bowlers under
pressure.The CCI innings was led
by a batsman who paced his
innings very well and, although
CUCC had moments when they
were able to put some pressure on
the batsmen, the main batsman
guided them home by six wickets
with one over to spare in a 40-over
match.This match was the first
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