If there was any doubt about what sort of place Potchefstroom is, the name of the cricket ground provides the answer: Senwes Park. Senwes is an agricultural business focused on grain producers, and inside the press box is a picture showing tractors, fertiliser, and maize - hardly things you'd expect at an international cricket ground.

These are not criticisms, but simply serve to highlight that Potchefstroom is no bustling metropolis. For an Australian comparison, it's more Geelong than it is Melbourne. That makes it all the more remarkable that the city, with a population of 125,000, has developed such a strong sporting pedigree.

Effectively, it's a dual-World Cup winning city. In 2003, Australia's cricketers based themselves there in the lead-up to the second of their three consecutive titles. And last year, Spain set up camp in Potchefstroom, from where they launched their triumphant FIFA campaign.

In fact, if you walk past the tractor photo and down a flight of stairs, you'll find a signed Spanish jersey from last year's tournament, a constant reminder that this is a sporting hub. The place might be short on tourist attractions, but it has world-class sporting facilities.

Sport is a way of life in Potch. As Australia took on South Africa A in their tour match at Senwes Park, kids were playing rugby and cricket on the grass embankment, soccer was under way at a pitch adjacent to the ground, and even AFL had a presence: the offices of AFL South Africa are based at the ground, part of the league's optimistic expansion plan.

Even the older gentleman who runs the guest house in which I am staying works as a tennis coach, his phenomenal tan evidence of the decades he has spent under the sun. Coming as I have from Australia, a country with a rich sporting history but now with one of the worst obesity rates in the world, it's good to know there is a place where outdoor activity is still king.