The day night game in Port Elizabeth(PE) is the 4th game in the series of 5 between SA and India . They start at 2.30pm which allows those who want to explore in the morning which is exactly what I did this morning with a visit to the beach for a swim. I’m not normally a beach person but PE is such a lovely looking seaside town and it was the most gorgeous day, blue skies and warm sunshine, it was too good an opportunity to miss out on. The sea was a bit chilly to begin with but once you’ve got past the initial wetting bit then the water was lovely and a good exercise to!!!
The game was a bit one-sided again with SA batting first and totalling 243-8 and India subsiding to 163 all out giving the home side an invincible 3-0 lead in the 5 match series. The Indians just can’t seem to get their tour going and when you lack a little bit of confidence it can make things a whole lot worse.
30/11/06 – Thursday and it was back to the town where it all began and that’s Johannesburg .
There is a Pro Twenty game on Friday night at the Wanderers and then the final match in the ODI series on Sunday at SuperSport Park in Pretoria . The flight from PE to Jo’burg takes about an hour and a quarter and was not particularly remarkable other than the landing at OR Tambo airport was a bit bumpy thanks to thunderous clouds in the local area. This is a problem in the Highveld where you get lovely sunny, warm days but there is a build up of cloud which leads to spectacular thunder and lightening storms in the evening. I had an invitation to the opening of a new magazine in Jo’burg this evening and the only real reason for going was because there was free Champagne on offer plus the fact sometimes we’ll do anything to fill in the days/nights.
1/12/06 – I woke up fresh as a daisy this morning that Champagne is good!!
I was supposed to be going to Pretoria today to inspect a couple of cricket grounds to see if they were fit for international cricket but my trip was cancelled at the last minute so it meant I was free to go and drop some washing off at the launderette and then go to the Wanderers with the boys which is near the United Cricket Board offices to pick up some tickets for this evenings match. Whilst there I’m told there are going to be dancing girls and boys, lots of loud music and some fireworks mixed into the party atmosphere and they’re expecting a sell-out crowd of 50,000 people. They do arrange a very good Pro-Twenty game for the spectators and although I’m not totally sold on the game itself it is certainly a spectacle!!
There was some threat of rain which might have stopped some people from coming to see the start but fortunately the clouds parted and the game got underway on time. Again the South Africans won the toss and decided to bat but the Indians, playing their first Pro-Twenty game bowled particularly well to restrict the home side to 126. Then Sehwag and Mongia got the tourists to within shouting distance of the total only for them both to get out but fortunately little Dinesh Karthik saw them home with an excellent 31 not out, their first win on tour and boy were they relieved and happy!!!
2/12/06 – Saturday was the last day of rest before the long flight home and what better way of spending it than on the golf course!
Neil Manthorp, who’s a local journalist, Alan Donald, Neil Johnson and I were to team up in a fourball and play at Royal Johannesburg Golf Club at 1pm. What a course! They have the most beautiful golf courses in this country because they have the ideal growing conditions with plenty of sunshine and lots of rain. The game was a belter! Neil J plays off a 5 handicap, Alan and I play off 8 and Neil M plays off 10 and it was Neil M and me against Neil J and Alan. Alan Donald hits the ball a country mile, on the stroke index 1 hole – meant to be the hardest hole on the course – Alan hit his drive 325 metres – that’s a professional golfers distance! Needless to say they won that hole but we held our end up because as they say it’s not about how far but how many! Manthorp and Broad won the front nine by one hole and Johnson and Donald won the back nine by one hole, so after 18 holes the match was halved. Great game one which we will have to repeat on another day!
3/12/06 – Sunday and an early start because our last ODI is a day game in Pretoria which even on a Sunday takes between 30 – 40 minutes to get to from Jo’burg.
6.45 am call then turn the telly on to see England going quite well against the Aussies in the 2nd Ashes Test from Adelaide , quick shower then breakfast and off to the ground. It was another gorgeous day with a predicted temperature of 34 degrees and sunshine all day long! Again for the 5th time in a row SA won the toss but this time they elected to field first and bowled well restricting the Indians to a total of 200. It could be enough if they bowled well, unfortunately for them G. Smith and DeVilliers put together a partnership of over 150 and the game was as good as lost within the first 20 overs. As it was they did manage to get Smith out but that was their only success and the home side ran out comfortable 9 wicket winners.
4/12/06 – The last day was a long day as I wasn’t due to be flying out until 7pm!
Billy Doctrove was catching an earlier flight because his connection in Dubai was better than mine would have been so I met him in reception at 11am to wish him a good journey then I went into the Sandton shopping centre to waste some time ostensibly but also to buy some lunch, there is a great food court in the centre that sells almost everything, I particularly like the Wrap Centre ‘cause they do a great selection of all sorts of wraps……….very yummy! I was being picked up at 4.45pm to go to the airport so the rest of the afternoon was spent reading and packing.
Karl Hurter was fifteen minutes late picking me up which was a worry as it’s rush hour in Jo’burg and driving in rush hour is not an advisable thing to do but he knew the back streets so was able to by-pass most of the troubled spots but I had trouble at the airport! I was at check-in an hour before the flight was due to leave which for business class passengers is the designated time, unfortunately I was told there were no seats left for this flight! I was shocked! The ticket had been booked and paid for but the airlines nearly always over book flights so that they make as much money as they can and then they allocate the seats on a first come first served basis.
Karl Hurter was fifteen minutes late picking me up which was a worry as it’s rush hour in Jo’burg and driving in rush hour is not an advisable thing to do but he knew the back streets so was able to by-pass most of the troubled spots but I had trouble at the airport! I was at check-in an hour before the flight was due to leave which for business class passengers is the designated time, unfortunately I was told there were no seats left for this flight! I was shocked! The ticket had been booked and paid for but the airlines nearly always over book flights so that they make as much money as they can and then they allocate the seats on a first come first served basis.
It was not looking good for me for a while and I was anxious about getting on the flight but then the stressed groundstaff lady had a break when a first class passenger didn’t turn up for the ride so she gave the spot to me! All’s well that ends well and I thoroughly enjoyed my 8 hour trip to Dubai with First Class Emirates service all the way, having sampled the first class treatment it meant the leg from Dubai to London was a little bit of a comedown ‘cause I was only in business class but Emirates are a great airline and I enjoy travelling with them wherever I go!
That’s the end of this little trip but I am due to go back to South Africa for the Pakistan tour in early January so I look forward to talking to you then. Best wishes and seasons greetings for those that celebrate Christmas.
That’s the end of this little trip but I am due to go back to South Africa for the Pakistan tour in early January so I look forward to talking to you then. Best wishes and seasons greetings for those that celebrate Christmas.
