Cambridge

A day in the life...

Finally a sunny April day in Cambridge – in fact Cambridge appears to be the only place in England where the sun is shining this week as we build up to our first game against the counties. The inclement English weather has been the only winner in most pre-season cricket matches last week. We managed just one game against Essex 2nd XI, which we narrowly lost. This year’s fixture on Monday was a close run game between two young sides, excluding the ever-present of Matt Friedlander of course – who recently celebrated his 28th birthday by reading a law journal or two. I managed to spend some time in the middle, which was nice in the run up to the first class game against Northants this week, but the rest of the week was a write-off, which meant more hours in the indoor school, and the gym of course.

We have nets in just over half an hour and I am running late for the daily ritual of the breakfast meet at Subway with boys (Chris Huntington, Mo Amin, Mark Bott and Will Rist). As I make my way up Mill Road, I see the guys walking towards me and it becomes evident that they could not wait for me to eat and smash a foot long sub already. So we make our way through the gates and on to the picture perfect for the first time in sunshine this year and long may it continue. Initially, there is a slight feeling of apprehension in the camp that we are slightly under prepared for tomorrow’s game with Northants, but these doubts are swiftly blown away after our full training session, by the end there was a real buzz in the side. The session included 90 minutes or so in the nets and some fielding to finish. But there seemed to be a real intensity about the practice today, everyone had energy in the warm-up , the nets played superbly, thanks to John (Groundsman) and every catch seems to stick in the fielding practice. Moreover, the fact the ground looked brilliant, the pitch was a cracker and the outfield like a carpet filled everyone with confidence.

The morning flies by and by 12:00 we have finished for the day, all that is left is a few words of inspiration from our captain Zobi Sharif and the yearly routine of meeting Ray (scorer) before the first county game of the season to see if any of our information has changed in the past year for cricinfo. After training the boys are heading home for a quick shower and change before a stroll into town for a coke or two by the river. You see, there is one thing you must understand, Cambridge in sunshine means all the Cambridge uni girls come out for lattes and drinks by the river. What better way is there for the guys to relax and more importantly focus before a big game? Unfortunately, I have prior engagement with an assignment that is little over a week away from hand-in and I crack on with that. The rest of my afternoon will be spent struggling over an essay on the commercialisation of Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill. If you were wondering why I would be doing this, I study Communication and Film Studies; yes that is a real course!

By 18:00 I am finished work for the day and I have to quickly get changed before visiting The Kohinoor on Mill Road for a pre match curry. This becomes somewhat of a habit for the season as few of the guys, namely myself, Chris, Mo, Mark and Will who enjoy the banter and the love the food but, importantly for students, it is cheap! The food goes down well and after a much-needed walk home, it is off to bed for early night before tomorrow’s game. Let’s hope it all goes well!

Kunal Jogia