It's a tranquil sight. The crowd was usually quiet; the occasional boundary cheered before more calm descended. Two local batsmen are going at more than five an over but the peace was retained. No rhythmic clapping, no hooting. It was like two big football clubs battling it out in a school ground. But despite the security being beefed up, despite TV cameras stationed on the boundary line, there was very little that took away the charm of the contest.

Most of the crowd were swathed in woolens. We've had a couple of chilly days and the sight of Sachin Tendulkar walking out to bat, dressed like a puffed up doll, told a tale. Cricketers will tell you about the challenge of adapting to all conditions. But the hacks usually don't need to worry. Enclosed press boxes provide shield them against the elements, they rarely experience extremes, be it heat, dust or chill.

No chance of that here and around 5pm, someone switches on the deep frost. It's the time when the players have left the field and the start of a hectic period for journalists and photographers. Suddenly, the sun disappears, the temperature dips, the chilly breeze begins to bite and fingers start to tremble. It's in such times that the internet connection slows drastically, when saved files don't open, when one trips over wires. All you want to do is get your face in an oven but what you get is – "Action canceled. The page might be temporarily unavailable."

The only consolation came while reading the papers this morning: yesterday was one of the coldest days in Lahore's history.