A Nice Afternoon's Cricket

I wasn't playing, of course, just lounging around on the pavilion while New College played a village team from Essex. The Essex men played an agressive game which saw them quickly retired. New College played a cautious, crafty game which saw them score 48 points by tea, with their first two batsmen still in the game, and another hour and a half of play remaining. They seemed confident, but I do hope they went after the ball with a little more agression.

If you don't understand all that, no worries. It was a glorious, beautiful, immaculate English summer day, temperature in the low 70's, nice breeze, cloudless sky, clipped green grass, and all that with men in white racing around playing a strange game. Perfect. There was beer served, as well.

I asked a friend of mine who was playing for New College if they still observed an actual tea break. After all, I thought that like professional cricketers they probably down some gatorade or an energy bar, ice up the sore spots (someone is always spraining a finger when they catch an air ball barehanded), and head back out into the field. "Oh, no", he says, "I always have three or four cups, a couple of sandwiches...and there are always some very nice cakes."

Just when you think that the old cozy England is dead, it pops back up where you might hope that it would.

Oxford play Hampshire next week. I shall be there, and hope that someone will bring the pork pies. There was an English captain, two back, who despite everyone else on the team drinking only energy drinks demanded pork pies for his tea. And I think it was his team which was the last to beat Australia. When was that now, 1958?