Tour Diary
Aussie Rules in South Africa?
Is there no escape from the AFL
Brydon Coverdale
25-Feb-2013
Is there no escape from the AFL? Understandably the football code dominates the sporting pages in southern Australian newspapers during the winter but even in summer an inordinate number of back pages are splashed with stories of off-season football dramas, when cricket should be the sport of the moment.
You'd think that travelling halfway around the world to South Africa would be enough to escape the clutches of Aussie Rules. But at Senwes Park in Potchefstroom, the Australian cricketers were greeted by a familiar logo on the advertising boards where several signs promoted "AFL South Africa", making the venue seem as much like a rural football oval as an international cricket ground.
It seems that Aussie Rules is one of 11 recognised sports on the roster at the North-West Academy of Sport located in the city. AFL teams have plundered the Gaelic football leagues in Ireland in recent years to find athletic players who can switch codes, and the league is keen to stretch its tentacles to South Africa as well.
But while several of the Australian players were keen to find out the scores in the pre-season football competition back home – my team Carlton beat Ricky Ponting's North Melbourne while the first day of the tour match was being played – there's not much chance AFL will be dominating the sports pages of tomorrow's Potchefstroom Herald.
Full postThinking New Zealand
Some random thoughts while on the way to New Zealand - seven different airports, various hotel transfers and immigration checks, and far too many flights
Sidharth Monga
25-Feb-2013
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Some random thoughts while on the way to New Zealand - seven different airports, various hotel transfers and immigration checks, and far too many flights.
1. 2.30am. That's when one wakes up in India to watch a Test in New Zealand. Not to mention the numerous fights with other inmates of the family house that come along with it.
2. Rain. A reality that comes with New Zealand. England's wet summer is over-rated.
Full postHitching a ride to Potchefstroom
The Australian players love Potchefstroom, even if some of them struggle to pronounce it
Brydon Coverdale
25-Feb-2013
The Australian players love Potchefstroom, even if some of them struggle to pronounce it. If a suggested name change goes ahead and it becomes Tlokwe, that won't be any easier to get their tongues around. But one thing that is easy for the squad is getting to the place. They fly in to Johannesburg, board a team bus, and are there in a couple of hours.
For the average visitor it's not so simple. Especially if said average visitor is also a distinctly average driver. Trains and buses aren't really an option, so the easy solution would in theory be to hire a car. But even in my hometown of Melbourne I have the ability to wind up further from my destination than when I set off, just by getting wrong-laned or misreading a street directory.
It would not be out of the question for me to leave Johannesburg for Potchefstroom and lurch up to the Lesotho border with an upside-down map, an empty tank and a nagging suspicion that something was wrong. In the end I managed to find a local reporter making the trip and hitched a ride to Potchefstroom without bother and quickly discovered that there isn't much hassle in the town itself.
A low-key university city a fraction smaller than Geelong or Cairns, it's a million miles from Johannesburg, figuratively if not physically. Its strong Afrikaner history has to some degree made way for the new South Africa, which is clear when you travel along Walter Sisulu Avenue and Govan Mbeki Drive.
Full postVote unquote
Election fever has hit Antigua (and Barbuda)
Andrew McGlashan
25-Feb-2013
Election fever has hit Antigua (and Barbuda). There is much for the people of these small islands to think about and two huge issues have reared their heads over the last week. First there was the pitch debacle at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, for which some have laid the blame at the government's door, then there was the far more serious issue of Allen Stanford.
Bringing back images of when Northern Rock lurched into trouble in the UK, there were queues snaking around the Bank of Antigua on Wednesday as people tried to grab hold of their savings – or at least make sure they are safe. A colleague, perhaps tongue-in cheek, I couldn't quite tell over instant messenger, asked me if I had enough cash for my last few days before heading to Barbados. There goes that slap-up meal down on the harbour tomorrow night.
Baldwin Spencer, the Antigua and Barbuda prime minister who I spoke with earlier in the week about the North Sound fiasco, announced the general election for March 12 during a live radio address on the evening that Stanford's fraud charges became public. "If ever there was a reason and a time for the Antiguan and Barbudan people to come together in solidarity that time is now," he said.
The two parties involved in the election are the UPP (currently in power) and Labour. It has been impossible to miss the campaigning while here in Antigua with huge billboards on nearly every street, rallies being organised and most lampposts swathed in blue and red wrapping. Apparently each party has taken to trying to cover up each others colours.
Full postLet the music play, I'll just go top up
Andrew McGlashan
25-Feb-2013
Despite a three-year gap in hosting Tests the ARG has looked pretty much as everyone remembered it. One detail, though, is not quite the same.
The party stand, the large double-decker structure to the left of the pavilion, hasn't been able to live up to its name. Before the match started there was a suggestion that the stand had been condemned and couldn't be used. Then they were just going to use the bottom, before finally announcing they would open the entire structure.
Full postReturn of a long-lost friend
Finally this series is back into full swing
Andrew McGlashan
25-Feb-2013
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Finally this series is back into full swing. It's the third Test, but really it's the second, because the second one we had two days ago lasted 10 balls. Still following? It's been a crazy few days.
The outfield was bumpy, the run-ups a little damp, some of the seats a bit wobbly and the press box a little cramped, but none of that mattered. The music was at full volume, the England flags were draped around the ground and the atmosphere was electric.
There were cheers for the toss, for the first ball, for the first run, for the first boundary. They grew louder each time. When England passed 51 there was almost a standing ovation, and later the ground rose as one to acclaim Andrew Strauss's century. It was a day of 'I was there' moments to add to quite a list from the last week.
Full postSense and sensibility
Andrew McGlashan
25-Feb-2013
"I always believed Test matches were going to come back to the ARG," said a tired, but proud Keith Frederick. However, he would never have believed the scenario which sees international cricket back in St Johns after three years. It's been a surreal few days in Antigua as a Test has been moved to a new venue in less than 48 hours.
When it was announced on Friday that the second Test at the Sir Vivian Richards stadium had been abandoned, Frederick sensed what was about to happen. For the past day-and-a-half he has become the most important man as far as the short-term future of this series is concerned. "I was at the [SVR] stadium watching the game and when I learnt the game was off I quickly jump in my car and left. I suspected this might happen."
Full postBlind bends on a mini-bus
Being driven around Antigua is an interesting experience, Pot holes are deep, occasionally verging on cavernous, and there are endless blind bends
Andrew McGlashan
25-Feb-2013
Being driven around Antigua is an interesting experience. White lines appear an optional extra outside of the capital, St John's, and are mainly used for marking the popping crease. Pot holes are deep, occasionally verging on cavernous, and there are endless blind bends. But it's a heck of a lot of fun.
After a couple of England's training sessions this week I have opted to use the local bus service to return to my hotel and it has added a whole new dimension to the journey. And when I say local buses, don't think about the 275 along Uxbridge Road.
In Antigua it is a mini-bus type vehicle. For anyone who has been to South Africa, picture the vans you can jump on board to whizz around Cape Town. Occasionally those come without steering wheels so the driver can fit in an extra passenger and, while the Antigua version is less extreme, the principle remains the same.
To begin with there is no set timetable. The buses just leave when they are full. And by full, I mean not being able to squeeze in another person. As in any mini-bus there are rows of seats, but at the end of each is another fold-down seat and each of these gets filled as well, plus the two next to the driver. So by the time you leave the stand it's like a can of sardines. Spare a thought for the person sitting on the back row in the far right corner – there is no swift exit for them.
Full postThe unmistakable Gravy
Stand 16 at the West taxi station in St John's
Andrew McGlashan
25-Feb-2013
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Stand 16 at the West taxi station in St John's. My taxi driver said I wouldn't be able to miss him. Sure enough, as I wander through the parked cars all I have to do was say one name: "Gravy."
Labon Kenneth Blackburn Leeweltine Buckonon Benjamin – it's a good job his mother came up with the nickname, because his full version would never have caught on. As I walk up to his store, which sells everything from bolts to batteries to beer – "the hardware is in the back," he later says – Gravy is on his mobile, no doubt getting the latest gossip ahead of the Test.
There have been frequent, heavy showers around Antigua over the last 24 hours. "Mention the cricket in Antigua and the rain comes," Gravy says. "I spoke to the groundsman the other day and he said everything would be okay."
Full postFresh clothes at last
First up, my bags didn't make it onto my flight
Andrew McGlashan
25-Feb-2013
First up, my bags didn't make it onto my flight. After standing for 15 minutes by the carousel I, and about a dozen other people, caved to the inevitable. We would be wearing the same clothes again today. Apologies to anyone who sat down wind of me.
We all approached the LIAT baggage agent who, of course, had the process down to a tee. He'd seen it all before, in fact with the previous flight and no doubt the next one as well. Asking what the problem was he said "overweight," which I thought was a bit harsh as I don't think my waist had expanded that much despite all the jerk chicken and tea-time doughnuts.
After filling out the form – "only I know the codes," the agent said when asked if people could do their own – he said the bag would be delivered by 11am today. I left my hotel at nine to go to the England net session, and when I returned at 2pm my bag was waiting for me at the reception. When I tried to lift it I realised what the man had meant by overweight. Must pack lighter in future, but a change of clothes has never felt so good.
So the concerns about LIAT were true, but in their defence they also lived to their later promise. Thousands of people at Heathrow's terminal five had to wait a lot longer than 12 hours for their luggage to arrive.
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