Cricket shows off its moves in city of distractions

Wellington is a great city for distractions.

It is reported to have more cafes, bars and restaurants per person than New York City, which makes for a good start. It is home to the country's national museum - six floors that house everything from a selection of Maori instruments, that can be played at the push of a button, to a giant squid. It has a sea-side run that stretches almost 40 kilometres and a bicycle trail that goes on much longer.

The South African team have taken advantage of all these things. AB de Villiers explored the city with his wife before playing a round of golf; Dale Steyn, David Miller and Kyle Abbott enjoyed sundowners at one of the many hotspots, and some of the management staff explored the terrain on two wheels.

But as valiant as their attempts to get away from the cricket have been, there is actually no getting away from it even in a town where there seems to be enough of everything else, especially sport. In Wellington, as in most of New Zealand, the rugby side the Hurricanes are the headline-grabbers and billboard models but cricket has learnt to encroach on that space, even if just for the World Cup.

On bus stops, lamp posts and even a church wall, posters have been plastered to help fans "Learn the terms" of cricket. I've spotted LBW, in which the bowler looks suspiciously like Dale Steyn letting out a loud appeal; stumped, where a wicketkeeper who seems to bear some similarity to MS Dhoni is shown pulling off some nifty work against a batsman, and a poster defining a cabbage patch.

The cricket explosion has made it to bars that are advertising two-for-one specials during the games and extended happy hours, and to the pages of the Dominion Post's OpEd section, where they published this cartoon.

Sadly, it's only made it as an afterthought to the Basin Reserve, possibly the loveliest cricket ground in either of the host countries. The gorgeous picket-fenced oval is merely a training venue this time, while matches are played down the road at the Regional Stadium - the only stadium at this tournament where teams choose not to train before their matches unless they want to get a feel for being under the lights

There are no nets at the Regional Stadium - this is rugby country, remember - so for a proper bat or bowl, teams go to the Basin. Morne Morkel pointed out that the advantage of that would be to allow squads to simulate game situations on an actual cricket field but one wonders if it wouldn't just want to make them actually play at the Basin instead.

Just around the corner from the ground is Havana Coffee, so close you can smell when there's a new batch being roasted from the Basin. Its name fits in with one of the sub-cultures of this vibrant city. There's a Cuba Street and a cafe called Fidel's. You get it?

Perhaps South Africa have too, especially with their bullish attitude ahead of what is an entirely low-profile game against the UAE. "If I lose, it will not mean that it was impossible to win," Che Guevara said. There's a line for AB and co to remember.