Cricket captain speaks with confidence ahead of new season

James Moss talks to LS Sport

By Jamie Presland and Callum Brown

LUUMCC’s Club Captain James Moss took time out of his busy schedule to talk to Leeds Student Sport about the up and coming cricket season. 

James, who captained the Seconds since his fresher year and now, in his fourth and final year, he is in a prestigious new role. 

James is a middle order batsman who has got off to a slow start this year, scoring around the 30s and 40s but not going on.  However this doesn’t seem to faze James as his team goes from strength to strength.

Callum and Jamie: Team bonding is obviously important for the morale and success of any sporting institution. How have you gone about keeping the team together in the closed season?

James Moss:  With cricket being a summer sport we made sure we trained throughout the winter, so as to keep the team gelling and in constant communication with one another.

We maintain a hectic social calendar, a recent highlight being a messy night in Sheffield! On the flipside we decided to combine training, socialising and a holiday with our tour to India, where we played against some of the country’s top teams.

At the start we found it difficult to cope with their style of play and the high humidity, however by the end of the tour we were competing on the same level and overall had become a tighter-knit unit.

C&J: Well James, that’s all well and good, but has this been translated into success on the pitch?

JM: We’re a few games into yet another fixture packed season; so far the three teams have only dropped a single game between them.

The first and second teams are currently maintaining a one hundred percent record, with the thirds losing just one of their games.

Having won the Championship last year, I’m confident the firsts can gain promotion to the Premiership this season.

C&J: Sounds like we have a promising season to look forward to, what is the reasoning behind your supreme confidence?

JM: The size of the squad this year is large enough to deal with absence for coursework and exams, the best part about our squad is everybody can adhere to the same high standards.

We’ve been lucky to have UCC coaches involved with us-they take the time to work with the players both in-group scenarios and on a one-to-one basis.

The freshers this year have been an especially impressive addition to the squad, in particular Sam Burge who is a middle-order batsmen and wicket-keeper who has opened his LUU account with a flurry of runs, with an impressive 84 and well-rounded 60.

We also have a host of players who are partaking in the UCC team, with our very own Chris Prowting captaining the side.

C&J: The funding and facilities must be top-notch for such a large squad.

JM:  Our facilities at Weetwood are used by Yorkshire Academy, which obviously speaks for itself.  We feel very lucky and privileged to have the chance to work with such facilities. 

As for our funding, the university funds the cricket aspects, and we raise our own money for socials and tours, usually by selling Fruity tickets, so please buy them!

C&J: The British Isles are renowned for torrid and unpredictable weather conditions.  How difficult does this make organising fixtures and arranging teams?

JM: One of the hardest things about being a club captain is the administration and bureaucracy of putting teams together when you know there’s a good chance the game will be called off, it’s a bit of a pain contacting players to tell them they are in the squad then ringing them a few hours later to say they’re not.

After enjoying a good chat and a bit of banter with James, we believe we have dispelled all rumours that cricket is an exclusively gentleman’s club, and is more about hard work and friendship. 

Just as we were about to leave, James asked us to give the 20/20 matches on 15th June at Weetwood against Met a special mention-get down there and give the boys some support!