The Cardiff University Cricket Club, who admit that they are not particularly occupied with cricket during the long winter months, hope to transfer their sporting talent to IMG football.
The Athletic Union club have taken the unusual decision to register a team into the competition to provide their members with a regular and competitive sporting outlet in the lengthy off-season, which sees the clubÔÇÖs activity limited largely to socials and indoor nets sessions.
With two pre-season matches already played, it is clear that CUCC FCÔÇÖs captain Josh Allen is serious about making his side a strong competitor in their debut season in IMG.
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What made you enter a CUCC football team this year?
A lot of the cricket boys enjoy their football and we spend a lot of the winter season doing absolutely nothing, so it just makes sense. ItÔÇÖs been something that we have been thinking of for a while now and weÔÇÖve decided to put it into action this year.
What do you hope to gain from competing in the IMG league?
The championship. Why not? WeÔÇÖre not a bad team and weÔÇÖre very confident in what we can achieve this season. So far, weÔÇÖve played two games, one against BioSci, which we drew, and the other against Time Team, which we won. They were both decent teams and, realistically, we should have beaten both of them, so we know that we have the potential to do well.
As you are aware, there were previously a limited number of teams this year. How would you respond to anyone who criticised your decision as a cricket club to enter?
WeÔÇÖre fully entitled to enter a squad. Anyone can enter ÔÇô you just have to be organised. We were the organised ones and registered before other teams did. So, if someone criticised us for taking their space, I would just tell them that they should have been more proactive and entered earlier.
WeÔÇÖve heard you that have a lot of boys wanting to play for you. How do you intend to manage the demand?
Although we have about 50 people in our Facebook group, only about 35 have ordered kit. We have a solid number and easily enough players to get a team out each week, but probably not enough to have entered two teams into the competition.
Having said that, we are already planning for next year as we look to get more freshers involved. The main thing is getting those guys to feel comfortable within the group. The more that they get to know the older boys, the more that they will be inclined to join us. The involvement on the football side of things will only help strength the team spirit ahead of the summer.
Who in your squad would you say are the players to look out for?
Jack Hobbs plays for the rugby club, but he knew a few of us so plays for us as well and is one of our most highly-rated players. Our goalkeeper Thomas Bamford, otherwise known as ÔÇÿTrampÔÇÖ, along with Omkar ÔÇÿNolberto SolanoÔÇÖ Khot, will also be key players for us. You could say that ÔÇÿNobbyÔÇÖ is our most experienced player, having played for quite a few years in the IMG set-up already for FC Euros. On the whole, I would say that we have a solid team throughout that should do well.
You seem confident for the season ahead. Would you agree?
I guess you might say that weÔÇÖre a little┬á bit too confident. Before we started, I was a bit wary, but after playing two decent teams, I realised that we were stronger than we originally thought. Like I said, we have a solid team with players who play regularly.
IÔÇÖm hoping to finish in the top third of the league at the very least. Saying that, I would love to test ourselves by having a friendly against the University football team and to see how good both they and we really are.
There has been talk of the FA introducing measures to address the under-representation of British Asians in British football. How would you explain this trend?  
I donÔÇÖt really know the reason why more Asians arenÔÇÖt involved in football. I think parents are more wary about their children losing focus on their studies and, therefore, can become maybe too influential over them to prioritise their academic work. Any encouragement to get more Asian representation into the professional and grassroots game can only be a good thing.
Zoe Hunt & Beth Miles
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