Emphasis on the future in Potchefstroom

It was rugby, rather than cricket, that dominated the conversation on my journey from Bloemfontein to the tiny town of Potchefstroom in South Africa’s Northwest Province for the second one-dayer. My companions, eager for news of the Currie Cup semi-final between the Free State Cheetahs and the Natal Sharks, flicked impulsively through radio stations on the car radio and texted friends for updates on the opening salvo of the match.

Several minutes after the scheduled kick-off time passed, and still there was no news. And then a phone buzzed, and the radio crackled into life. Bizarrely, bees – millions of them – had delayed the start of play. An enormous swarm – mega-swarm, if you will – had descended upon the stadium in Durban and would not budge. An arsenal of fire extinguishers was deployed followed by, as the radio presenter informed us, “pink smoke”. Eventually the queen was located, and the bugs began to disperse as pot plants were placed around the edge of the playing area “to attract any stragglers and give them a place to rest”.

No wonder we got slightly lost, taking a wrong turn somewhere past Kroonstad and then almost missing the turn-off for Viljoenskroon. Speeding along arrow-straight roads with 360-degree views of an imposingly distant horizon, the odd roadside meerkat sometimes the only sign of life, we eventually found the right track, however, and soon crossed the Vaal river – the boundary between the Free State and the Northwest - and closed in upon our destination.

It is fitting that this miniature series at the beginning of the cricket season includes a fixture in little old Potchefstroom, just beyond the southern-most reach of the Kalahari. ‘Potch’ was the first town established north of the Vaal river, it’s position decided by the distance a horse and rider could travel from the sluggish water’s edge in an hour. The town is steeped in South Africa’s difficult history: the first constitution of the old South African Republic was drafted here and the ‘Vierkleur’ flag was designed and hoisted here for the first time.

Today, however, it boasts a plethora of educational institutions rising out of the dust and thorns of this arid flatland out of all proportion with the surrounding barrenness. A town rooted in the past is now aimed firmly towards South Africa’s future, containing no less than four tertiary colleges and 30 schools. And so it is apt that Sunday’s game, so easily overlooked by the too-casual observer, provides such an engaging look at two teams – neighbours but in many ways worlds apart – both poised at a crossroads between past and future.

On a cool Friday afternoon in Bloemfontein, Colin Ingram and David Miller’s exhilarating stand pushed South Africa’s total out of Zimbabwe’s grasp. The crispness and youthful arrogance of their strokeplay – and the sprung-coiled grace of Hashim Amla that preceded it – hinted at the new epoch breaking over the horizon. Wayne Parnell, whose career began with such youthful promise, will surely overcome his cumbersome return from injury. Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel, though currently absent, will soon return to the fray.

This tour also represents the toughest test yet of Zimbabwe’s increasingly bold young guard. Born in the ashes of the catastrophic departure of the ‘rebels’ in 2004, and having weathered over a decade of far-reaching political turmoil, the forerunners of Zimbabwe’s cricketing future are already emerging. The most eye-catching of this new troupe on Friday was undoubtedly Brendan Taylor, who may well end his career with a reputation on a par with that of the legendary Flower brothers – one of whom he now shares a dressing room with.

And he is not alone. Hamilton Masakadza, Tatenda Taibu and Sean Williams are becoming increasingly assertive, and Graeme Cremer is the most naturally gifted spinner of his generation. If Elton Chigumbura can re-discover his electric touch and the fast bowlers can find some fire, Zimbabwe’s future in top-level cricket has every chance of blossoming. Under the white heat of the mid-October South African sun, the lines of the African cricketing map are being re-drawn.