Does SA's victory in the West Indies tell us much? 28/07/2010

As expected, South Africa thrashed the West Indies.

I don’t know why this would arouse much interest at all. This once great bastion of cricket has become the perennial whipping boys of world cricket. While most teams still hold some ability to play well at home, West Indies, where any team would normally shudder at touring there before, is now considered almost a guaranteed win for most team.

After a dismal World Cup T20 tournament, where South Africa’s mental fragility was again exposed, questions were finally asked. Actually these questions get asked all the time, its just nothing really changes, or rather changes happens which just makes no sense.

Take for example poor Albie Morkel. South Africa has already had a love affair with big hitting left handers, (Lance Klusener) and Albie is not different. In fact, South Africa has relied a lot in the past of big hitters lower down to bail them out, the likes of Boucher and Pollock to name a few.

Albie Morkel if one looks statistically at some of his performances in tournaments and games, seems to have failed. But is this really the case.

First of all, in the T20 team, there is a batsman who bats too slowly, and in doing so places pressure on the rest of the batsmen. This has happened countless times, I dont even need to mention who.

If Albie Morkel keeps getting sent in with a score like 50 runs required in 4 overs, how many times is he expected to save South Africa? Surely not even Superman would be able to save every grave situation like this. Neither could Klusener, for all his heroics.

Many cricket experts were of the opinion that Albie Morkel was been sent in too low down, and was not getting enough time to bat. Even more interesting, the game where SA lost to Pakistan, the batting order was changed, Kallis dropping lower down the order. The management knew that an average run chase would turn into a pressure cooker. Unbelievably, the batting order reverted to normal, Albie coming in his usual spot.

After this tour, Albie Morkel was sent home. This makes absolutely no sense, since he already came in when the games were practically lost. Yet he bares the brunt of the finger pointing.

Beating West Indies has not really solved any of the issues within the team’s selection, especially the one day and T20 teams. South Africa will continue to fail until something is done to resolve it, especially at big tournaments, where consistency, and big match temperament is key.

Alas, this will not happen, and South Africa are probably again picking the same losing team to go to India for the World Cup.

When it goes wrong, everyone will ask, " Why didnt we see all this problems? " The answer is simple. After crushing weak teams, South Africa and the administration think they have done well. They haven’t. The true test comes against real competition.

Unfortunately by the time SA learn their lessons, another World Cup goes by.

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Concorde 26/06/2010

Our arrival in Barbados was delayed by some four hours due to a problem with the charter flight which was fortunate because it meant we could watch England’s last qualifying match against Slovenia. A tense affair with England playing marginally better than they have so far in this World Cup and just doing enough to qualify.

A visit to the coin operated laundry before leaving St Kitts would mean another session of ironing today which I was not looking forward to with relish and have now just completed. I would really like to know who the clever individual is that invented such a thing as a pleat in the back of a shirt and have sworn that I will never take long sleeved shirts on tour again!!

Last night, however, was awesome. Once again we were invited to the Digicel welcome party which was held in an aeroplane hanger next to the airport inside which was Concorde. Although no longer in service, we were able to board the aircraft and experience a little of what it would have been like to have flown in this extraordinary plane. The seats were comfortable although not luxurious. There is no first or business class but they tell me that the catering was of a very high standard with champagne and drinks complimentary on all flights. The whole idea was merely to get to the final destination as quickly as possible. The flight time from London to New York was just 3 hours and from London to Barbados was four hours (a nine hour flight these days). The cost of flying from London to Barbados return was US$10,000. The party was a lively one with local musicians and dancing girls entertaining the guests. All in all, a thoroughly enjoyable evening with a very different theme.

The Accra Beach Hotel in Barbados is very nice indeed. The balcony of my room on the third floor overlooks the sea to the left and the swimming pool to the right. The pool has two features one of which is a rock formation with a cave at the bottom and water cascading down like a waterfall across the entrance to the cave. The other feature is the pool bar (much more important to most of us) two thirds of which protrudes into the pool with underwater seats that the swimmers sit at sipping on their margarita’s and rum punches. In my heyday I could have thrown a cricket ball from my balcony into the sea and I can almost reach out and touch the top of the palm tree growing outside my room. The hotel is built in the shape of horse shoe around the pool with the beach making up the empty side so to speak. I think I’m going to like it here.

As far as the cricket is concerned we are all hoping that the Barbados pitch provides a lot more entertainment than the flat, lifeless surface that the bowlers toiled manfully on in St Kitts.

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A Personal Triumph 19/06/2010

Victory over the West Indies in the 1st Test was comprehensive and thorough. Given that play didn’t start until 14h30 on the first day, winning by the close of the fourth day translates into a 3½ win. Celebrations followed and the next day we were on our way to the island of St Kitts and the venue for the 2nd Test starting today.

The Marriott Hotel & Resort is an enormous hotel which seems to spread over a couple of acres. I am fortunate enough to have a room in the main building thus negating the ten minute walk to the breakfast room every morning.

Yesterday was a groundbreaking day for me. Unchartered waters had to be navigated and a brand new challenge was set. The self operated laundry!!! On arrival in St Kitts my bag was full of dirty clothes and being as I travel particularly light, laundry was top of the list of priorities for the day. Now the hotel has a coin operated laundry but I am happy, though somewhat embarrassed, to admit that I have never ever operated such a machine in my life. Basic requirements were 8 x 25c Eastern Caribbean pieces (4 for the washing machine and 4 for the dryer) and 1 x small packet of washing powder available at the hotel shop.

I was hoping to drag some unsuspecting die hard bachelor along with me and who would know exactly how these monsters worked. Unfortunately the crew had already left for the ground to go and rig so I was alone and nervous and yet inwardly excited with the task that lay ahead.

When I found the laundry I was confronted with three identical washing machines and two dryers. Fortunately my apprehension was unfounded because I reckon my 6 year old granddaughter could have worked this thing. Okay so I had to read and follow the pictures on the inside of the lid and I did take ten minutes to work out how to put the money in because the instructional pictures did not correspond with the machines coin mechanism, but I did it!! Such dilemma’s as selecting hot, warm or cold wash and tricky questions like fast or medium caused some moments of vulnerability but in the end, I did it!!

The afternoon was taken up with ironing my pile of freshly washed laundry which I did in my room whilst watching Bafana Bafana go down 2-0 against Uraguay. I confess too, to standing in front of my TV during the National anthems with tears pouring down my face as I felt such pride in my adopted country as to how far they had come since that dark day in Soweto 34 years ago.

Oh, by the way, I did manage to leave one sock in the washing machine but I reckon almost everyone has done that.

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Uplifting 10/06/2010

Trinidad’s geographic location as the most southerly of the West Indian islands situated just north of Guyana which, of course, is actually part of mainland South America, does not auger well for dry weather. We have had a fair amount of rain during the week off between the last ODI and the 1st Test due to start today (Thursday). The weather has already interfered with the two day warm up match meaning that the South African’s had a day of batting but only just a few overs of bowling.

The inclement weather has also meant more time in the Hyatt Hotel and given us all ample opportunity to discover just how to use the hotel lift! Now you may think that is an outrageous statement, I mean for crying out loud, a lift is a lift. You press the button to go up and when the lift arrives, you climb in, press the button for the desired floor and get out when the lift stops at that floor – simple. Not that simple at the Hyatt hotel Trinidad. All the floors are marked on a panel outside the lift at lobby level and you put your key into a slot and choose the floor you wish to go to on the panel. A female voice with an American accent and suffering from a cold (or she was when she recorded it) then tells you which of the 4 lifts you should get into. This is all very sophisticated but if you happen to be in conversation with someone at the time and hoping to conclude the discussion in the lift, there is every chance that you will be separated mid sentence should the person you are talking to not sleep on the same floor.

Okay, so one can put up with that to a degree but the fun starts when you want to come down from your room to the fourth floor where the swimming pool is. Initially, no problem, you get in the lift, push your key into the slot provided inside the lift and press 4. That works provided someone else doesn’t get into the lift on the way down. If they do and press the button for the lobby, the light for the fourth floor goes out and hey presto, you’re in the lobby before you know it. You then get out of the lift, put your card in the slot on the outside, press 4 and wait for the lady with a cold to tell you which lift you must now get into. The first time I went to the pool area to check out the bar, I went from the 8th floor where my room is, down to the lobby, back up to the 21st floor and only then down the 4th!! Thirsty work!

Talk to you again soon

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All that Jazz 07/06/2010

Wherever you are in the world if the Springboks are playing an international you have to make every effort to make sure that you watch it. On Saturday the boys played against Wales and much research had gone into the start time and a venue in which we could watch. Four of us, all South Africans, set off after breakfast for the cricket ground and the sports bar therein called “All Out”. We were told that the game started at 10h00 on Fox Sports but we were only aware that the billing was simply ‘International Rugby’. Johnnie VT (VT), Louw (camera 2), Mani (camera 10) and me arrived at the bar at 09h40 and settled in to await the start of the game.

Imagine our disappointment when on the stroke of ten we were greeted with pictures of a rugby ground but the two teams lined up for the national anthems were Fiji and Australia!! I ‘phoned Tony Hofmann (a good friend and also a cameraman but not on this tour) back in Cape Town who told us that the game had started at 09h30 and the Boks were 16-6 down. No problem, plan B which on reflection should have been plan A, we hurried back to the hotel and once again after a few expletives these engineering boffins managed to hook up to the game through their laptops and channel it through onto the TV screen in Mani’s room. I swear that if we had been in the middle of the Gobi desert, these guys would have found a way of watching the game!!

That evening it was off to Arapita Ave which is the street that I told you about before that has all the restaurants, bars and clubs in and where we had such an excellent meal at Angelo’s. Saturday night however, it was to be Satchmo’s about three doors down from Angelo’s. In attendance was Kate (production manager), Alex or ‘Jacko’ (surname, Jackson) who is Kate’s soul mate and assistant on the tour, Ben (Hawkeye) and me. Now I don’t often demand to see the chef because I am very easy to please when it comes to food but that night I decided that it was imperative that I had a word on behalf of all four of us. Kate and Ben had steak, Jacko and I had a Salmon dish with a sauce. Now it looked brilliant in the picture on the menu and as I ordered it I was aware of the old saying of ‘never judge a book by its cover’ but I had no idea that salmon could be so delicious!! So, the chef was duly congratulated, two bottles of red wine were consumed and we had one standing up at Shakers, a dodgy looking pub across the road.

My only complaint for the night was that the jazz quartet who played beautifully in the background didn’t know how to play ‘What a Wonderful World’ and we were in Satchmo’s!!!

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