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Neil’s Diary – Week 6
16-17 FEBRUARY
There will always be ‘relevance’ and ‘context’ to sporting occasions which catch our attention and imagination and, as reporters, we have a sense of responsibility to place contests in the appropriate category of importance. So everyone threw the T20 series against England forward to the T20 World Cup taking place in October/November. All the players were auditioning for that.
But actually, for the vast majority of fans and families who bought tickets in East London, Durban and Centurion it was simply about having a good day out and being entertained. Frankly, were they debating Temba Bavuma’s role at the top of the order, or the merits of Dwaine Pretorius as an international all-rounder? Unlikely.
It’s probably optimistic to hope that Bavuma's sceptics will now back off following his thrilling and compelling performance alongside Quinton de Kock at the top of the order or those armchair critics of Pretorius will bother to look at the specifics of what he did with bat and ball, but never mind. They both made emphatic statements.
SuperSport Park did, too, endorsing its reputation as one of the country’s most atmospheric and vibrant venues. Whatever your view on T20 cricket, three sell-outs and three riveting games cannot be denied.
The only debate some media had was whether to report on the pitch invasion and subsequent banner-unfurling on a floodlight tower by climate-change activists. It happened. It was a real thing. Ignoring it in a match report is fine, but not in a reflection of the day as a whole.
It’s fine if you don't agree with their modus operandi, if you resent them for hijacking a high-profile sporting event, but the people are not crazy and they care about our world and planet.
As does Dale Steyn. His 'high five' with Wonder Woman was one of my highlights of the summer. Yep, it was a serious breach of security protocol and, what if Wonder Woman had been a terrorist, and all that. I agree. SuperSport Park administrators need to answer some serious questions. But Dale Steyn still high-fived Wonder Woman.
Dale Steyn high-fived Wonder Woman. How cool is that in the middle of an international cricket match?
But that wasn't the only unusual contribution Steyn made to the day. Alex Tudor was a brilliant fast bowler for England in the early 2000s, capable of extreme pace and match-winning ability. He only played 10 test matches before a combination of injuries and mismanagement ended his career. He now works as a school teacher but was here commentating for TalkSport radio. His dream is to raise enough money to provide a scholarship a year to an underprivileged child at his school.
Steyn, who played for Essex as a tearaway youngster alongside Tudor when his injury-ravaged career was wobbling, offered his shirt – and any other memorabilia – to raise money for Tudor’s ambitions.
I'm only sorry the sole picture of Tudor I have is of him with a club sandwich two days ago. They are both great men.
13-14 FEBRUARY
Fly SaFair has done a world of good for the aviation industry in this country and the airline deserves even more credit than it already gets. They cut corners on expenditure without cutting down on the basics of good service.
They offered the only direct flight from East London to Durban the morning after the first T20 and it was, as is almost always the case, on time and efficiently run. No bells and whistles but nothing uncomfortable, either. Unless you were an England or South African player who didn’t fancy making polite conversation with a member of the opposition.
There was no reason for the budget airline check-in staff to know who any of the players were on either side and even less of a reason for them to spend time attempting to keep them apart. Time is money. But a sceptic might have wondered whether there was a cricket fan amongst the check-in staff with a devilish sense of humour.
David Miller was seated next to Jos Buttler. As good as Miller is, might somebody have been hoping he might pick up a tip or two from the devastating Buttler?
Right behind me sat Rassie van der Dussen and Tom Curran, having just gone head-to-head in the closing stages of South Africa’s innings the evening before. As far as I could tell, the conversation did not even extend to an elbow battle for the armrest.
Kingsmead was a picture, once again. I make no apologies for once again defending the ground and the KZN administration. They deserved better during the rained-out ODI and thoroughly deserved such a wonderful contest. As I said a week ago, with CEO Heinrich Strydom in charge the great Durban venue will return to its former glory.
England should have won the first game easily and the Proteas will believe they should have got home on Friday. But victory margins of one and two runs suggest a tasty decider at Supersport Park on Sunday!
And then we do it all over again against Australia starting just four days later!
12 FEBRUARY
It’s easy to mock East London and a lot of people take the easy route but there is no doubt about the enthusiasm for the game and willingness of the locals to support it. Buffalo Park is routinely better attended than St.George’s Park for internationals and people are prepared to travel great distances to be here. They deserved a thrilling finish and they certainly got one.
Lungi Ngidi enhanced his death-bowling credentials for the second game in succession after the Pink Day ODI, and a one-run victory defending just five runs in the final over will stay with him for many years to come. Having done it once he’ll believe he can do it again on any stage, including the World Cup at the end of the year.
He insisted that ‘conditions’ were in his favour with England having so many left-handers all hitting to the longer boundary, but he was still facing a monumental task.
It’s difficult to know which parts of Quinton de Kock’s captaincy are instinctive and which parts are planned. Sometimes they can be a bit of both. Was Beuran Hendricks always going to be kept for the 15th, 17th and 19th overs? Is Dwaine Pretorius really playing as a specialist batsman?
And, what went wrong at the back end of the Proteas innings with just 46 runs coming from the final six overs?
None of these questions mattered to the crowd of almost 9 000, most of whom appeared to have accepted the inevitable when Jason Roy was smashing 70 from 38 balls. At the end they were screaming and celebrating as though the World Cup had been won, complete strangers hugging each other and cheering with joy.
That’s what happens when you stage a big game in front of people starved of big games – and then win it in such dramatic fashion.
11 FEBRUARY
East London’s unflattering nickname and reputation have never meant anything to me, except as a trigger to be contrary and buck the trend.
I’ve enjoyed every single visit on the international calendar in the last quarter of a century and was at the forefront of protestors when CSA opted for a ‘big city only’ policy a few years ago.
Sadly, we’re not staying next to the ocean this time and I’m missing it. Hemingway’s Hotel and Mall is massive and impressive – cinema, casino, food court and any shop to take your fancy, but we could be anywhere. The SA team and the umpires are here, too. It feels a little like we’re being hidden from the real ‘Slummies’, which isn’t what I would have chosen. Still. The sign at the entrance to the mall was all the reminder our English colleagues needed that we were not ‘anywhere’.
If we can’t be close to the harbour then at least we have the Daily Dispatch. Local stories are still celebrated as they once were in the 1970s and ‘80s. Love it. Great to be back!
Dale Steyn commands not just the attention of local media but the international press, too. He may be 36 but he is still box office gold.
“It’s the best place to play your cricket, at the highest level and for your country,” he said about yet another international comeback almost a year after his last appearance.
“I’m still learning about T20 cricket, although I’ve played over 200 games – you never stop learning. An unspoken role for me, apart from playing, is to help the young fast bowlers with their decision-making, to talk about different situations so that, when they happen, they know what to do although they haven’t been there before,” Steyn said.
Is T20 cricket unfairly a ‘batsman’s game’, as is stated so often? Not necessarily…
“Someone has to bowl the ball to get things started. I’m a bowler, so I’m biased, but fields are small and bats are big, but that doesn’t mean they always get the better of us. I would argue that we have our moments and that it’s not always a batsman’s game.
“Fast bowling in T20 cricket goes through fashion circles, it depends what the successful teams are wearing for their bowling attack. Rashid Khan burst onto the scene from nowhere and then everyone was looking for a mystery spinner.
“Trent Boult was swinging the new ball then suddenly everyone wanted someone who could swing the ball in the first six overs. When Shaun Tait was bowling 150 gun-barrel straight and demolishing the stumps everyone said that pure pace was the way to go.
“T20 goes through these trends and it depends who the coaches and captains are and what style they want to play. In South Africa we have a rich tradition of fast bowling, helped mostly by the pitches we play on, so that’s why we’re never short of them.
“Teams really didn’t know how they wanted to tackle things, where they wanted to be after six overs, building an innings until the 15th or 16th overs and then capitalising. There was no real idea of where the game was heading. Now, somebody has got a stat for absolutely everything. You need to be 50-1 or 50-2 in the power play on a particular ground to win. If you lose three or more wickets in the power play on another ground, then consider your chances almost gone.
“We are made aware of all that stuff and then it’s up to us to capitalise on that knowledge and our resources. The game has changed massively from the days when the batsmen were just trying to whack everything out of the ground and the bowlers were trying to bowl dot balls. Bowlers are smart now and they’re bowling balls to take wickets, even youngsters are outsmarting seasoned professionals. It’s good…
“The T20 World Cup is at the end of the year, so that has been my goal for a while, but just a few days ago I heard that there is another T20 World Cup next year…which is insane! What happened to taking things one-at-a-time, hey? But white-ball cricket is obviously where it’s at for me now, it’s much easier on both the body and the mind than test cricket.
“I’d love to go to another World Cup, they are fantastic events and it’s the greatest privilege. Most teams go in with the belief that they can win it but only one team can, but that’s okay, I’m cool with that. That’s the risk you take. I’m not going to stay at home because we might not win. If I’m good enough, and I’m selected, I would absolutely love to represent my country again at another World Cup.”
10 FEBRUARY
Fifteen players dressed comfortably in Proteas team tracksuits and another ten, or so, management members dressed similarly. Not tracksuits, necessarily, but team kit. New Balance golf shirts etc…
And then the biggest name of all joins up with the squad in East London and he looks like he’s just come straight from the beach. Which he might well have done.
Dale Steyn is comfortably the biggest (non-retired) name in South African cricket and he is serious box office. But he is also a serious, world-class consideration on the field.
Joining up with the rest of the squad in flops, long shorts and an unbranded t-shirt may seem irresponsible, even arrogant, but nothing could be further from the truth. Steyn is furiously devoted to delivering an ICC trophy to South Africa’s supporters which is why he remains as dedicated to playing the game as he is.
There is no compromise. Steyn was devastated when he gave up test cricket but he did so with the acknowledgement that "giving up test cricket hurts massively but not as much as the thought I might never play for South Africa again, so T20 cricket is where I'm at…"
Steyn has been around a long time. On arrival in the hotel reception in East London he bumped into a commentator he played with over a decade ago, former England fast bowler Alex Tudor. “Yo bro, still going fast…” the words were virtually simultaneous.
The Proteas have an unwieldy squad of 16 for the three T20Is against England but, presumably, they will be kept intact for the three matches against Australia which start just four days after England leave. Steyn’s inclusion means he must play, surely. He was the bowler of the MSL and remains the best in the country. Good enough reason to watch…
7-9 FEBRUARY
It's been a frenetic and blisteringly dull few days. KZN Cricket CEO Heinrich Strydom is one of the most dynamic sports administrators in the country and there is no limit to the time and effort he devotes to improving both the conditions and reputation of Kingsmead, but even he can’t change the weather.
A refurbished food and concession area at the venerable old stadium has undoubtedly improved the spectator experience and a spruced-up Castle Corner has helped. There is still a problematic lack of shade when the mid-afternoon sun is at its most brutal but, sadly, that appears to be on most non-match days. The issue on match days is umbrellas.
But despite the wash-out and the many hours spent filling air-time or just ‘hanging out’, it was not as tiring as it has been in previous years. Strydom is working within the confines of a strictly limited budget and goodness knows what other limitations and yet, with a dedicated team of colleagues and assistants, he is making a material difference to both the stadium and its visitors. He, and they, might not always be able to see that because they are there every day, but us annual visitors can. Kingsmead was neglected for decades, but it is being slowly and surely resurrected.
The eighth Pink Day was, as always, another sell-out and quite the occasion. It would be unjustified hyperbole to suggest the event gets better and better each year because there have already been a couple of Pink Days which will be hard to beat in the next 50 years! We won’t get to see many 31-ball ODI hundreds in the next half century. But it was an excellent day nonetheless and one nobody was expecting 24 hours earlier when weather forecasts predicted a near-certain washout.
It is impossible to escape the reality that ODI cricket in the immediate aftermath of a World Cup lacks significance or even relevance, except as entertainment in it’s own right. Put on a show and give spectators value for money. That is certainly what Kingsmead tried to do with a stunning display of Zulu dancing and the Wanderers did with a host of inter-match activations.
Onward to the T20 series where the re-appearance of Dale Steyn ahead of the T20 World Cup in 10 months will provide plenty of focus.
6 FEBRUARY
Tabraiz Shamsi entertained the media today to such an extent that it was worth spending half an hour carefully transcribing and then editing the best parts of his press conference. And then Microsoft ate everything. The whole lot. Just as I was ready to press ‘send’. Such is life. Many people will have lost more important documents at far more important times.
Shamsi recently turned 30 but feels like his career is starting all over again after six years in the shadow of Imran Tahir. From our point of view, it has been an admittedly long apprenticeship but, with Tahir now retired from ODIs, the role of match-winning wrist-spinner seemed a foregone conclusion. Not for Shamsi.
"I feel like I'm starting my career all over again, trying to establish myself in the team. It has been difficult all these years playing a game here and there, you learn something and then it can be three months before you get the chance to correct it," he said.
The wicket-taking celebrations for which he has become famous will, for now, remain hidden: "I'll stay in my box for the moment but who knows, with a few more wickets they may come out," he said.
"There is a very good energy within this squad. A lot of us started our careers at roughly the same time through second XI, semi-pro and then Franchise cricket. We have reached the Proteas at different times, but we know and appreciate the journeys we have taken so there is a lot of mutual respect.
"Quinny was 15 when we started playing together and we all respect him. He is a man of few words but when he speaks he is clear about his plans. He will make mistakes but, as far as tactics and field placings, he will learn and get better. He has always been my 'keeper so nothing much has changed since he took over from Faf, we work well together," Shamsi said.
This evening ended with a convivial meeting of the KZN Cricket Association at which I was invited to say a few words. Turned out to be several thousand words. The personal highlight, however, was finally getting to meet John Arthur about whom I have heard so much over the last 10 to15 years.
Mickey's father and I reminisced like old friends before and after my boring talk in the middle and it will, hopefully, not be long before we catch up again. With Mickey now on his fourth international assignment, with Sri Lanka, there will be much to discuss.
5 FEBRUARY
Checked in at Cape Town International with the Proteas en-route to Durban and there's no doubt that an air of 'new boys on tour' exists, boosted by their outstanding victory the night before. "It was a proper win," said David Miller, "so good to get that one under the belt."
Andile Phehlukwayo offered a sizzlingly honest appraisal about the fact that England's World Cup-winning squad contained seven changes from the one that clinched the country's first-ever title – including the omission of four of their best players, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Jofra Archer and Mark Wood.
"It’s fair to say," said Phehlukwayo, "that 50-over cricket isn't at the top of their priority list at the moment." It isn't just England, of course. The international cricket calendar has become increasingly focused on ICC events and this year it's all about the T20 World Cup. Stokes, Buttler and Wood will be back for the T20Is which follow this ODI series.
Does it devalue the ODI series? The cynic in me says 'yes', but that's nonsense. Ask Lutho Sipamla or Jon-Jon Smuts whether their ODI debuts were diminished by the fact that England rested players. No, they thrashed the World Cup champions by seven wickets with 14 balls to spare.
Liverpool have played three entirely different teams in various competitions this season but they are still Liverpool. The England cricket team is including new faces but they are still representing their country. England's selection for the Newlands game, admittedly in retrospect, smacked of arrogance. It was all about their XI, what was best for them and who they wanted to see playing. There was no thought about the opposition which may have been fair enough given the test series result.
"A lot has happened, for good and bad, but the time away from the national team has given me the time to reflect on my goals, where I want to go, but also to continue enjoying the game," said Temba Bavuma after his magnificent 98 which won the game with captain Quinton de Kock's 107.
The Proteas were entirely comfortable with the fact that they were not only flying economy class but were required to board the aircraft at the rear and fly in rows 30-32. Sport is, after all, about winning games before receiving perks. Oddly, for a reason unknown, I was at the front of the aeroplane. I offered to swap but there were no takers.
For almost two decades both the national team and the visitors – as well as the media – stayed in the Elangeni Hotel in Durban. Everybody was happy. But it changed, gradually, until finally, the teams stayed elsewhere – in Umhlanga. For the first time in 10 years, I'm back, nostalgically, at the old stamping ground. The sweat is literally dripping onto the keyboard. Air-conditioning, above all, needs to work in this city for those irregularly accustomed to the heat and humidity. It's going to be a long few days.
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