The conditions were reminiscent of the Captain Scott Commemorative South Pole cricket match. Any sane Test player would surely have been huddled up in the changing room with a cup of hot Bovril, but NUBS staff and students are made of sterner stuff. Nothing was to stop the completion of the 15th annual match with the Undergraduates. Up to this point, the student record stood at 12 wins and no defeats (the other two matches being rained off) so the odds on a staff victory were lower than those for a single-party majority in the general election.
Having won the toss, the students were asked to bat. The staff took to the field with 3 debutants in their midst – Anshuman Chutani (Assistant Professor in Quality Management), Arijit Mukherjee (Professor in Industrial Economics) and Roberto Hernan-Gonzales (Associate Professor in Industrial Economics), the latter being the first Spaniard ever to play for the School and playing his first ever game of cricket. All three proved to be stars, bowling superbly and each taking at least 1 wicket. Further wickets, backed up by superb catching meant the students were restricted to 109 all out in 18.4 overs.
Over tea, both sides were pensive. 110 in 20 overs sounded ‘gettable’. On the other hand, the staff only made 72 runs in the match last year. The odds had narrowed, but the students were still favourites. The next part of the afternoon will go down in history.
Staff spirits are buoyed by the presence of our one spectator Simona Spedale (Director of Undergraduate Programmes) who braved the elements and turned up to finish off the strawberry scones and swell the staff presence in the crowd.
Tight bowling by the students created enough tension to cause an early run out - the Swingometer moves towards the students.
Tim Bailey (Associate Professor in Industrial Economics) moves into top gear, backed up by James Jarret. Both retire on 20 and the Swingometer moves back to the staff side.
A stunning piece of bowling by the students sees two wickets fall in two balls and suddenly the students are favourites again.
A cracking 23 not out from Anshuman and the Swingometer creaks back towards the staff only to be followed by a quick shift back as wickets fall at the other end.
Roberto then achieves the striking distinction of getting out twice in exactly two balls (it’s a long story).
Not to be outdone, Steve Wilcoxson (Undergraduate Programmes Administrator) achieves the even more striking distinction of getting out twice having faced exactly one ball (it’s an even longer story!).