A thirst for tradition

Once upon a time it was all about tradition, but these days cricket has become synonymous with crass sponsorship deals, from Australia's Pura Milk Cup to the Pepsi-fuelled and LG-cooled Champions Trophy. But when it comes to rebranding their assets, it is the South Africans who really take the officially-recognised biscuit.

Since the rejigging of South Africa's domestic structure in 2003, no-one has suffered more than Cape Town's cricket fans, who are now expected to rock up to "Sahara Park" in Newlands to chant for the snappily titled franchise team "Nashua Western Province Boland". But Port Elizabethans haven't escaped either, and since they last hosted a Test match in 2001-02, their ground has also undergone an implausible name change. The venerable St George's Park is now an almost-sacrilegious "Sahara Oval".

Sahara (who vehemently deny being anything to do with the similar-sounding sponsors of the all-powerful Indian cricket team) complete a notable set by expecting Kingsmead in Durban to be known as Sahara Stadium, despite the fact that it is the least stadium-like of South Africa's five Test venues, not to mention the least desert-like. Happily for those traditionalists present, however, the arrival of England's fans and their plethora of flags meant that the St George and his cross were restored to their rightful position by the start of play.

It is a bit of a mystery as to quite what Sahara do (they claim to be a computer company), although it's not thought to involve alcohol. As of Monday, a new Eastern Province by-law comes into force which prevents the sale of alcoholic drinks after 8pm ... shades of Prohibition. Port Elizabeth likes to be known as "The Friendly City", although this is hardly a move to endear it to members of the Barmy Army - although at least the Sahara Oval will be living up to its name.

Mind you, it was a pretty Saharan afternoon for England's cricketers. Prior to the match, various local superstitions had been voiced about the direction of the wind and its effect on the pitch - if it's an easterly sea breeze, said the sages, the ball will swing - but if it's from the west, the pitch will dry out and the bat will dominate. For much of the afternoon session at St George's (reclaimed) Park, the air was filled with the smoke from a large and noisome bushfire. Sure enough, it drifted across the ground on a westerly wind, and sure enough Jacques Rudolph cashed in on the arid conditions.

To give PE its due, however, it has certainly offered a warm welcome to its English visitors, and not just in terms of the weather. The eve of the Test match, December 16, was Reconciliation Day, a public holiday of the post-Apartheid era, and a direct replacement for the old Afrikaner Day of the Covenant.

Under its old title, December 16 had been a deeply divisive day of the year, for it served to commemorate the Voortrekkers' victory over the Zulus at Blood River in 1838. But now, ten years on from South Africa's first democratic elections, the focus of the holiday has been emphatically shifted. On Thursday the centre of Port Elizabeth was a ghost town, as the entire city forgave, forgot, and decamped to the beach for a party.