Tour Diary
Walking through history at Tolstoy Farm
Once a crucible for Mahatma Gandhi's philosophies of community living and civil disobedience, Tolstoy Farm is now a desolate place a few kilometres away from the suburb of Lenasia
Sidharth Monga
17-Dec-2013
Around noon on Sunday, Nelson Mandela's body was lowered into his grave. Around noon on Sunday, in spirit, you find yourself in the company of another inspirational man in this country. About seven kilometres from the Indian settlement of Lenasia, through a gravel road not many can navigate, there is a boundary wall erected around what looks like wasteland. Only when you approach it do you see a giant inscription that says "Gandhi" on a big hill overlooking this land. You are headed towards Tolstoy Farm, where Mahatma Gandhi lived on and off with his fellow protestors for about four years in the early 1900s.
It is a peaceful plot of land. There is no mobile signal here. The hills surrounding the farm are green. However, the farm, as history knew it, is no more. Although a humble structure at the best of times - a shed and four dilapidated rooms - there is nothing left of it now. A brick company, which owned the land, has given it up, but it is difficult to look after the farm, given how far it is from the surrounding urban areas.
About 42 kilometres from Johannesburg, and two kilometres from Lawley train station, Tolstoy Farm is now just a piece of land demarcated from the area around it by a three-foot-high wall. There is no large board outside, no milestones on the way, no trail marks - nothing to suggest this narrow, unpaved lane will take you to a place of such historic importance. Mohan Hira, a 74-year-old Gandhian who looks 55, a former karate practitioner and now a coach, and a local leader in Lenasia, knows the way well. He was the one who gathered people in 2010 to carry those white stones up the hill and inscribe 'Gandhi' there. The stones need a new coat of paint now. He comes here often to ensure that the wall has not been brought down by riff-raffs. He has done Gandhi-style walks from Johannesburg to Natal for charity.
Full postA tent against the torrent
With a state-of-the-art drainage system, a 12-foot-high tent protecting the pitch and groundsmen working hard day and night, Supersport Park in Centurion has all the resources at its disposal to negotiate a rain threat
Sidharth Monga in Centurion
11-Dec-2013
Empty cricket grounds are wonderful places to be in, especially a day before a big match. When the seats are being cleaned for magic to be made the next day. When the mind is free to relive past deeds of enchantment, of heroism, of guile, of close matches. When electricity flows through the stands and empty grass stands. When you can imagine future scenarios. When you can watch some of the most unsung heroes of cricket going about their work.
It has been raining persistently since last evening in Centurion, it is cold and miserable, but there are men in trenchcoats and gumboots trying to erect a temporary structure over the covered pitch. Different groundsmen over the world have come up with different home-grown methods to fight weather. Sri Lankan groundsmen cover the whole field when it rains. Inmates in the nearby prisons are employed to do the work. The groundsmen get labour and the inmates fresh air to breathe. Some in Australian grounds know their weather so well they rush out onto the field even before it starts raining. Some players leave flummoxed, but soon realise - as massive rain falls - a lot of time has been saved by this proactive covering of the field. Some Indian grounds have used helicopters to dry the surface. Glue was once used to keep powdery surfaces together in India.
Here in Centurion, you have the tent erected over the pitch. It is a master move for days like this when the showers are not short and sharp, but persistent and slow. The excellent drainage takes care of the outfield, but such rain doesn't give you time to prepare the pitch, the rolling, shaving and what-have-you. The metal structure takes about an hour to erect, after which the groundstaff pulls over one of the ground covers over it to make the tent. They don't use professional ready-made tents because they can't take so much rain.
Full postA night of celebrating Mandela
Taking in the scenes outside Nelson Mandela's house in Houghton in Johannesburg, on the night he died
Sidharth Monga
06-Dec-2013
I have spent all of about 50 days in South Africa in my life. A month and a half in 2010-11, and not even a week, so far, this time round. I didn't know what to make of my being here, a 10-minute drive from Nelson Mandela's house in Houghton, when he died. This goodbye had been a freight train coming, but how do you prepare for the departure of arguably the most-loved man in the world? There was no precedent of such a big loss in my lifetime. What do you draw reference to? Is it like being a non-Indian in India when Gandhi died?
I will admit that one of my immediate concerns was what would happen to the cricket tour, because I didn't want to leave this country so soon. However, cricket, an old-fashioned thrashing of India by South Africa hours ago, felt insignificant. The man responsible for bringing this great sporting country back on to international stage was no more.
Mandela actually died at 8.50pm on Thursday, when the cricket was still on, with South Africa applying the final touches to the pasting, but the announcement was made three hours later. The nation stopped. The music stopped in the bars as they switched to the television. For five minutes, I tried to make sense of this, but realised I had to go to Houghton in order to do so. Surely I couldn't go to sleep now?
Full postSmall crowd creates big atmosphere
More than 4000 people attended the Abu Dhabi Test on each day, adding much-needed colour in the sterile setting
Firdose Moonda
18-Oct-2013
Dancing, drum beats and die-hard fans are commonplace at most sports events, but I was warned to expect none of that in the desert. A society built on the need to make a tax-free income and stadiums situated far away from city centres or any other signs of life were listed among the reasons the players voices would be audible to journalists.
In reality, the media could hear very little. An insulated press box, five floors high and sealed behind glass windows, meant keeping an eye on the game was like observing something through a fish-tank. It was only when the crowd came in, that sound became part of the experience.
The Abu Dhabi Test was played over Eid but I can't be certain that was the only reason supporters turned up. When they did, they brought their full enthusiasm with them, playing music from the sidelines and providing the familiar claps and cheers that can serve as commentary for those moments when your eyes are on the computer screen.
Full postWorking in the dark
A powercut in Harare left most parts of the city without electricity, forcing our correspondent to search for a plug point and an internet connection
Firdose Moonda
11-Sep-2013
The postcard version of an African morning is sunlight and still. Light seeps through the trees, the rustle of leaves and a bird's song are the only sounds and at some point the smell of strong coffee fills the air.
In reality, unless you've paid for a stay at expensive beachside or bush lodge, that is not the case. Cellphone alarms ring, people yell, cars go past, hooters are pushed - always for too long - and unless your window faces north-east, you're likely to need to turn the light on when you rise because the sun's rays won't be filling the room just yet.
When I ventured towards the switch this morning, nothing came on. I thought little of it and even less of the odd quiet which in hindsight, was unusual. I didn't have to because a few seconds later, the whirring of a generator grew louder and the lights came on.
Full postHow yoga healed Bryan Strang
With more and more cases of depression in cricket, Firdose Moonda catches up with Bryan Strang, who had to deal with his own problems, and found a way to overcome them
Firdose Moonda
08-Sep-2013
"I used to feel completely at peace when I was bowling because there was no past and no future. There was only the present. Cricket is a form of yoga actually and that's what these guys don't realise. When they stop playing they have to continue doing yoga in some form."
The thought of Brendan Taylor or Hamilton Masakadza sitting cross legged, hands joined together, eyes closed and mind clear made both Bryan Strang and I giggle after he concluded his assessment on the healing powers of cricket. "You can't see them doing it, can you?" he asked me. I shook my head. So did he.
"Neither can I. That's why when these guys finish playing some of them don't know what to do... life can be empty."
Full postThe experience of arriving in Zimbabwe again
One of the excitements of touring Zimbabwe occurs long before one arrives in the country. Getting there is an experience on its own
Firdose Moonda
03-Sep-2013
One of the excitements of touring Zimbabwe occurs long before one arrives in the country. Getting there is an experience on its own. While Harare is as much a capital city as London or Mumbai, it cannot be reached as seamlessly, even from right next door.
Most Zimbabweans who travel between South Africa and their home do so on the road. The queue at the Beit Bridge border can snake for kilometers, and having ticked if off my list during a long bus journey to Bulawayo two years ago, I decided I'd prefer not to go that route again.
Instead, I chose the national carrier - Air Zimbabwe - to make my way there. The airline is now headed up by the man who used to be in charge of Zimbabwe Cricket - Ozias Bvute - and it seems to be doing much better than its sporting counterpart. Just six months ago, it relaunched after being grounded for over two years.
Full postIntroducing: Commentary in Shona and Ndebele
As the clock ticks past 3pm, Jeff Murimbechi and Godfrey 'Chief' Koti take their seats in front of the room's large open window and put on their head sets. In a matter of seconds, they'll be broadcasting live radio cricket commentary in Shona and Ndebele
Liam Brickhill
31-Jul-2013
It's the afternoon of the third ODI against India and in a small, slightly frayed commentary box at the end of a dimly lit corridor in the media centre at Harare Sports Club, a pair of radio pioneers are readying themselves to go on air. As the clock ticks past 3pm, Jeff Murimbechi and Godfrey 'Chief' Koti take their seats in front of the room's large open window and put on their head sets. In a matter of seconds, they'll be broadcasting live radio cricket commentary in Shona and Ndebele for the first time for Star FM.
"We've got a first for you here on Star FM," says presenter Steve Vickers, "bringing you commentary not in English, but in Shona and Ndebele with Chief Koti and Jeff Murimbechi here with me in the commentary box. Chief!"
"Maswera sei mukoma, Steve (good afternoon brother Steve)," begins Koti, and with that they're away. India are cruising towards victory and the situation is dire for Zimbabwe but the minutes that follow the presenter's introduction are filled with joyful exuberance. Test Match Special it ain't, but one gets the feeling that this is African cricket as it's meant to be described: with energy, humour and in a vernacular that millions can relate to.
Full postThe Sikandar Raza fan club
Zimbabwe's Sikandar Raza is cheered on by family, friends and cricket enthusiasts, all in matching t-shirts
Liam Brickhill
26-Jul-2013
During the first one-day international in Harare, the television cameras panned repeatedly over an excitable group of young men sitting in the concrete Tobacco Industries stand. Each one wore a white t-shirt emblazoned with 'Team Raza', and the group grew ever more excitable with each run that Sikandar Raza scored. The group were back again on Friday, so I left the press box to inquire about their relation to the Zimbabwean opener. Were they family? Friends? Or just really, really enthusiastic cricket fans? The answer, as it turned out, was all three.
Two 'Team Raza' members sat watching the start of Zimbabwe's chase. They introduced themselves as Irfan and Yasir. "We are his friends," explained Irfan, a finance specialist with the United Nations Development Programme who has worked in Pakistan and Sudan before coming to Zimbabwe. "More of us are on the way now. They're just coming back from prayers."
"By the way," he added as we waited, "I love Cricinfo. I read it every day, before I read any other news. First Cricinfo, then the rest." I decided I liked this guy.
Full postThe Champions Trophy's worker bees
The 800 volunteers in the Champions Trophy turned into "the face of the tournament"
Firdose Moonda
23-Jun-2013
When Katherine Woodgate meets new people, it's often to arrest them. She is a detective by trade and admits it can get difficult to interact with others against a backdrop of crime. That's one of the reasons she decided to sign up as a Cricketeer for this year's Champions Trophy.
"I never get to know people under nice circumstances but here everybody is just smiling and happy, unless their team is on the losing side. It's really nice to be able to meet people that way," she said.
Woodgate is one of 800 volunteers who worked across the three venues at this year's event. Taking their lead from the World Twenty20 and last year's Olympic Games, the ECB and ICC decided to invest in the project again. When they advertised, 2600 people responded, many of whom had worked on the previous two events.
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