OUCC India Tour Blog

In the first instalment Robin Thompson and Tom Chadwick round up the squads activities when they were in Mumbai for the OUCC Blues Tour last month.

Arriving in Mumbai on Sunday March 20th, we were all stunned by the intense heat (around forty degrees) and humidity, the chaos of the traffic and our fortune at being able to play cricket in a country in love with the game.  After an afternoon either spent relaxing or exploring the city (highlights including Jonathon Lodwick being bowled in by an eight year old in a game of street cricket), we gathered the following morning for a community coaching session, followed by our first match, a twenty20 fixture against the Global Cricket School at the Oval Meidan.

We were impressed by the enthusiasm and the ability of all the children that we coached (some as young as fourteen years old, travelling for hours to reach the session), and we led them through a number of fielding drills and a practice match.  The Oval Meidan is a beautiful ground, a public park set in the middle of Mumbai and surrounded by government buildings.  Oxford won the toss, and were led to a score of 160 including a fluent 102 not out from captain Rajiv Sharma, with supporting scores of 25 and 31 from Jamie Dalrymple and Oliver Richards respectively.  In the field, OUCC found it hard to adapt to conditions initially, but tight bowling from Paul Higham (3-15) built pressure initially, and further wickets from Robin Thompson (4-24) helped to achieve a 26 run win.

An early start on Tuesday morning saw OUCC travel to the Bombay Gymkhana, the ground that hosted the first ever test-match in India (against England in 1933).  As in the first match, hundreds of locals gathered to watch the action unfold.  OUCC bowled first on a particularly humid day, and tight spells from Paul Higham, Rajiv Sharma and Jamie Dalrymple helped restrict the hosts to 225 after 45 overs, with some innovative shots typical of one-day cricket from the local batsmen.  Oxford’s innings got off to a shaky start against some accurate swing and seam bowling, but a bullish fifty from Willem Klopper (58) with support from Thomas Bryan (18) and Neil Kruger (38) saw OUCC bowled out 58 runs short.

The third match of the tour saw us return to the Oval Meidan for a forty-over fixture against the Global Cricket School.  Once again Oxford’s top order struggled against the moving ball, but hard work from Thomas Bryan (24) and Rajiv Sharma (28) saw Oxford reach 123 all out.  GCS got off to a flying start (reaching 60-0 after five overs thanks to some calculated hitting from an opening batsman who is tipped to make appearances in the Indian Premier League), but tight bowling from Sam Agarwal (4-42), Alex Scott (1-19) and Robin Thompson (1-5) alongside energetic fielding (including a spectacular run out by Oliver Richards) saw the hosts scrape home by three wickets.  The team drowned its sorrows at the rooftop bar atop the Four Seasons hotel, surrounded by spectacular views of Mumbai.

The team then had a day off, and after trips to the Gateway of India, a Lion and Tiger safari, and the women’s carriage of an intercity train (including a variety of disembarkation techniques), they gathered to watch the much anticipated World cup quarter final between India and Australia.  India won by 4 wickets to set up a semi-final against Pakistan.

OUCC’s fourth match was at the Brabourne Stadium, against the Cricket Club of India (CCI).  After losing the toss, OUCC restricted their opposition to 239 (Jonathon Lodwick taking 4-33).  They then got off to a solid start with the bat, with openers Robin Thompson (43) and Sam Agarwal (50) putting on 91 for the first wicket.  A flurry of wickets put CCI in front, before some late order hitting from Willem Klopper (41) and Lodwick (37*) guided OUCC to a one wicket win (with number 11 Don Gordon elegantly late cutting a boundary in the final over to win the match).

At two games apiece, OUCC now move on to Jaipur.  Thanks to Zubin and his Royal Fleet, “Get the” Bill Frewen, Sachin Bajaj, Bombay Gymkhana, CCI and all our opponents in Mumbai for a fantastic start to the tour.