The College warmly congratulates DPhil student Chris Mingard who has been selected for the Varsity cricket team taking on Cambridge at Lord’s tomorrow. We asked Chris about his journey to this point and he told us about some of the highlights along the way.
How did you first get into cricket?
I walked past a local village game at the age of four and apparently decided this was the only thing I wanted to do. I had a series of very good local club, school, and now university coaches that kept me motivated and improving.
What’s it like playing at university level while studying at Oxford? How do you manage the balance?
During undergrad it was hard to fit around exams, but the cricket season is a very enjoyable summer break now that I’m doing a DPhil.
Are there any standout moments or matches that have been particularly memorable so far?
Winning the one-day varsity at Arundel by one run last year, followed by winning promotion to the national premier league (for the first time ever) the following week. This happened thanks to two great team performances and our left arm spinner bowling two fantastic last overs under pressure to win both games.
What are you studying — and do you find any parallels between your academic and athletic discipline?
I’m doing a DPhil in Machine Learning – studying optimisation and generalisation in neural networks. I think the main parallel is figuring out what you’re good at and spending your time doing that is much easier than trying to learn how to do something you’re really bad at.
Where’s your favourite place in College to unwind after a long day on the pitch or in the library?
The garden.
What would you say to a school student who loves their sport but worries it’s not compatible with Oxford life?
Nobody can work all the time (nor should they) and if you love your sport, it’s obviously a great way to spend time not working. Also, a lot of the people I’ve played cricket with at Oxford have some of their best memories with their friends on the cricket field (myself very much included) and wouldn’t swap that for a few extra hours in the library.
Can you recommend a book?
Understanding Power by Noam Chomsky.
Chris is pictured with his team in the back row, far left.
