Charlie Walker's diary from India

The first installment from Oxford MCCU player Charlie Walker out in Pune, India. Charlie was kindly supported by the MCC and travels with Durham MCCU and Oxfordshire's Nat Watkins.

Part 1

It’s been an interesting couple of days to say the least. With absolutely no experience of India and without really knowing the organisation that had gone on behind the scenes I was somewhat nervous of how the travelling aspect was going to run but the flight to Mumbai ran very smoothly. Arriving in Mumbai was an amazing experience and I can’t really explain to the reader just how hot it really is when you get off of the plane. My only real comparison would be that its like walking into a sauna! Nat and I were met at the airport by what seemed to be a very calm man but that perception soon abandoned our minds when he took control behind the wheel. The only word that now comes to mind is ‘lunatic!’

After a long drive it was good to finally get to Kapila hotel and relax and it didn’t take long before I noticed the large room service menu. Without much thought, I rang room service and ask for their finest curry. As I consumed the meal I thought to myself that that was one of the best curries that I have ever eaten and trust me I’ve had a lot. Little did I know that actually that was the hotels standard curry and it has so far appeared a further 4 times including at breakfast.

Moving onto cricket, today was our first day and believe me it was tough. We arrived at the nets and again we know real idea of what we were in for. We were told to put our pads on and have a bottle of water with us at all times. Nat and I went to the crease and batted for roughly 2 and half hours. The Indian lads who were bowling at us were difficult to understand but what we could make sense of was there constant laughter at our relentless sweating, water and towel use! To them it was just another day bowling in the 30+ degree heat. After this first session we returned to the hotel for a quick lunch and a shower before returning to the heat. A lot of water was drunk before returning and some swift trips to the bathroom were made just to make sure our stomachs were still intact.

We made our way back to the ground for a further two sessions in the constantly increasing temperature. The coaches were brilliant all day with their quality of feedback and I look forward to working closely with them for the rest of the week. When we weren’t training today we were sat supporting the Leeds MCCU lads who had a very tense game against a local Indian side. They just managed to win it in the end so well done to them.

It hasn’t been confirmed yet, but the likelihood is tomorrow Nat and I are going to be playing against Leeds MCCU for one of the local sides and that will be a great opportunity to see where my game is after the first days training and the winter.

Part 2

After an unfulfilling 12-hour sleep after our first day of training we were woken up for an early start. We had just been informed that we had made the cut for today's game and were playing Leeds MCCU. After a quick breakfast (more curry) we made our way to the ground with some of our Indian teammates. On entry into what appeared to be an army compound we were informed that this was the TATA motors grounds and there fore we were playing for a select team that were chosen from c.12000 employees!

After a swift warm up with our new teammates, we had won the toss and had elected to field. This to our delight meant that we could field in what appeared to be the coolest time of the day. We were horribly mistaken! I was excited to be out in the mix again at backward point, it’s like my second home. However, this excitement lasted roughly 4 overs before the heat took its toll. The Leeds boys managed a total of 232. Nat and I both bowled and it was good to get some over’s under our belts! This was similar to our batting; it was very pleasing to get some crease time. Despites Nat constant request to simply bat the 50 overs, the Indians were persistant in there game plans resulting in being all out for 180 off of c.30 overs. We returned to the hotel exhausted. It had been a very long but ultimately beneficial day, it was great to play our first game of the season.

This morning we went back to the normal training routine. The morning session was without doubt the best session I have ever had in my life. The intensity and standard was immense. The pitch was damp which made life as a batter very tough. The seamers were bowling quickly and the spinners were turning it square. This made me work exceptionally hard against Nat and the rest of the bowlers. There were inevitably a few minor mistakes but overall I was as tight as I could have been and had therefore, to the delight of the coaches, achieved my goal for the session (not to get out!)

After the morning session we were told that we were to have the afternoon session off and to go and relax. After a quick visit to the shops we went to watch a T20 game which was really good fun. Nat and I are thoroughly looking forward to our last couple of days in Pune and are excited to see what more we can develop in our constantly improving games. 

If you’d like to follow what we are up to closer, follow me on twitter @Charliewalker5

Charlie Walker (Oxford MCCU)