Andrew MurtaGH

My father never played cricket! Coming from solid Irish stock, he had barely heard of the game; my brother and I taught ourselves to play by dint of endless games of cricket in the back garden. That is why he was non-plussed by my stated desire to play professionally. “Yes, but what are you going to do when you get a proper job?” he remonstrated. So we compromised. He would not stand in my way provided I went to university and got a degree. In those days, the two – a university education and a summer of playing cricket – were not mutually exclusive so I set about the task of choosing a suitable seat of learning. I lighted upon Southampton University for the sole reason that they were the current British university cricket champions.

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