Tour Diary – Sri Lanka in South Africa, Week 3

4 MARCH

The world is getting smaller and smaller, as we keep on being reminded.

You can now reach any destination around the world within a day if you have to. And, if you can't do that, you can instantly hook up a call via Skype, or any other connection facility.

Truly, the world is getting smaller. That proximity of all things has its disadvantages, though, as it also creates a culture of not being there in the moment.

One of the great joys - privilege, actually - of sport journalism, is to travel to different parts of the world to watch a national team in action.

It is long, and demanding work. With different time-zones, the expectations can be almost impossible. But, it is one of the very best things you can experience.

Sri Lanka's historic victory in the test series was something for their country to remember forever. There was, however, just the one scribe from the island in Durban.

Fidel Fernando writes for the most prominent cricket website in the world as Sri Lankan scribe, and he had a field day at Kingsmead.

The phone never stopped ringing after Kusal Perera's incredible knock. Fernando was belatedly joined in Port Elizabeth by the unmistakable Rex Clementine, a gentle giant of a man.

He dominates the Lankan press boxes by sheer size and personality, and is always a popular addition to media centres around the world. Rex had encountered visa challenges after the tour of Australia, which led to him missing the first test.

However, wild horses couldn't have stopped him being in Port Elizabeth when the series was clinched. He couldn't stop beaming as he churned out triumphant story after triumphant story on the history-makers.

Within a few days, his presence in Port Elizabeth was justified, because he had unrivaled access to players trying to explain their state of disbelief.

He could have just as easily decided to stay home after missing Durban, and assumed that South Africa would level the series.

Which, of course, didn't happen. His determination to get across in time for the second test flew in the face of general South African logic, which paid little attention to the series - until Sri Lanka were on the brink of history.

In test cricket, you simply don't know what could happen. Which is why it is vital for scribes to do their utmost to convince editors to send them on tours. If something happens, no one is in a better position to capitalise on that than the people on the ground.

Rex had a smile as wide as the Indian Ocean for days after Port Elizabeth, as he sampled the delights of South African cuisine, and wrote furiously about what this result means for his countrymen.

The inclination for most publications is to say that writers must watch most things on television, then hope for reaction crumbs from those who happen to be there. It is a modern trend, one encouraged by the immediacy of things.

We can only hope that travelling on important trips or tournaments doesn't die, because the best stories are still told by those who are right there, in the heart of the action.

Ask Rex...

2 MARCH

If the Proteas World Cup door is still slightly ajar, there have been some very late submissions from some quality players in this week of quiet in the Sri Lankan visit.

While both the Proteas and the visitors have been preparing for Sunday's start of the five-match ODI series, the local Momentum One-Day Cup has delivered some exceptional cricket - particularly from the batsmen.

The world record, 272-run partnership between Aiden Markram and Farhaan Behardien for the Titans was a case in point.

Markram remains one of the very best looking players in the game. In full flow, he looks impossible to bowl to, and he took the Cape Cobras apart in exceptional fashion.

His World Cup considerations would not have been harmed at all by that showing, because the South African squad has provision for an extra batsman.

Markram came in at number five, ostensibly to show his versatility. But he was pretty much in when a number three would be at the wicket, and he took the chance to remind those who might have forgotten.

It is also easy to forget the abilities of his partner in destruction against the Cobras. Behardien was a big part of the last World Cup, but he has fallen off the selection radar. Funny how the game works, sometimes.

JP Duminy made a return to action for the Cobras, but his second-ball duck didn't tell anyone anything about his state of readiness. Duminy needs time at the crease, and he also needs to make runs when he gets there.

The clock is ticking, but him getting back on a field is a source of relief for the selectors. A fully fit, in-form Duminy has the ability to control the tempo of an innings, and that is something that has been amiss in the Proteas middle-order for a while.

Chris Morris has looked to be enjoying his cricket again, and his batting is usually a giveaway of that. He still hits it cleaner than most top-order batsmen when the mood takes him, and it is a grim reality that his talent may never grace a World Cup event.

As they say, timing is everything.

As the clock winds closer and closer to April, and the date when South Africa have to submit their final XV, it will be very interesting to see which way the selectors lean.

This series against Sri Lanka is the final chance for auditions, unless there is a significant change of heart - and the men entrusted with the wisdom look outside the box.

If they do that, then there are plenty of players putting their hands up, screaming for attention. Young Kyle Verreyne and Sinethemba Qeshile are keeper-batsmen with promise.

Anrich Nortje and Lutho Sipamla have plenty of skill and speed with the ball, and then there are the recognised batsmen who find themselves out in the cold.

If it really is not too late, then they are doing all the right things to get back into the warmth of the Protea fire.

The 50-over affair should be fun, fast and most interesting.

Sri Lanka were supposed to compete strongest in this format of the game, but they have already jumped the gun and surprised everyone with a test series triumph.

We can only wonder what sorcery they will bring in the 50-over stuff.

27 February

KOLPAK TRAFFIC WON'T SUBSIDE JUST YET

This was supposed to be a quiet week, a chance to catch breath and make sense of the test series that has just been.

Sri Lanka are up north, preparing for the one-day series, while the Proteas have been taking a few days to take stock of where they are.

The show is back in Gauteng, with the opening 50-over match on Sunday at the Bullring.

However, South African cricket finds itself answering yet more questions about its future. Yet again, that dreaded term, Kolpak, has reared its head into conversation.

Duanne Olivier has signed a three-year deal with Yorkshire, and will no longer be available for the Proteas.

The same Olivier who was man of the series against Pakistan, and the same man who was a key man in the Mzansi Super League for the Jozi Stars.

All of that will be no more now because, at just 26, Olivier has decided to take the county road.

The bright lights of international cricket are not enough of a lure, and the strength of the pound is.

It is a heck of a call.

This is not a disgruntled Kyle Abbott, or a satisfied Morne Morkel. This is not a has-been international who knows his best days are behind him.

This is a player in his prime, and he has somehow reached the conclusion that this is the best thing for him and his cricket.

It is a dangerous decision for the game, and he might not be the last one to do so, just before the Brexit window shuts forever.

If players can choose to go for pounds instead of the pride of a nation, international cricket has to ask serious questions of itself.

There are uniquely South African problems playing their part, no doubt, but Olivier had chosen the safety of a county deal over the possibilities if an international career.

It can't be good for the English game, either. Olivier, like every other Kolpak signing, takes a place away from a potential England player.

There is mounting resentment for these outsiders who come in, on inflated wages, and settle down.

There will be a breaking point, but Olivier and his ilk will not care one jot.

The gap left behind in South Africa will be filled by someone else, but the domestic game also suffers with another quality bowler out of the franchise system.

The fear is that the Kolpak traffic is not done just yet, and there may be a few more, high-profile names taking the bait of pounds.

Where does that all leave the game?

Week 1
Week 2