Tour diary: From paradise to reality
Well this is my last report and probably time for reflection on the just concluded tour
Alistair Campbell
20-Apr-2000
Well this is my last report and probably time for reflection on
the just concluded tour. I suppose as far as the Test matches were
concerned it was a case of what could have been. We got ourselves
into good positions but failed to convert them into winning ones.
We will have to learn how to do this and quickly if we are to do
something in England over the next 3 months.
The one day matches were a big disappointment as we are probably a
more accomplished one day side than Test side at the moment. We
were well short of the standard required and were beaten
comprehensively in the 4 games we played.
Apart from the cricket we know needs improving if we are to have
a good tour of England, the Carribean tour was an experience of
a lifetime, and, somewhere I thought I would never get to go.The
beautiful beaches, friendly people, warm hospitality and the
passion for Cricket are things that will remain in my memory
until the next time, which I hope is not too far away.
As I write this report I am sitting in London's Heathrow Airport
awaiting my flight home, which has been a difficulty in itself.
British Airways have postponed their regular flight to Harare
due to the crisis and have pulled all their staff back to
Lusaka, with no guarantee that the flight will go to Harare.I
have managed to get back home via Johannesburg all it be for 3
days, as its back to England on Sunday to commence a 3 month
tour.
A sad piece of news is the resignation of Dave Houghton as our
coach.
Citing personal reasons Dave called it quits after our
last one day game which was a bomb shell to us all. On behalf of
myself and the team I would like to thank Dave for all his
efforts with the team which I know have been very frustrating at
times, and wish him well in his future endeavours.
Barbados is widely regarded as probably the best island in the
Carribean, although this would be hotly disputed on the other
islands. We got to go there for 24 hours on the way home and had
great plans to visit the "hot spots". Unfortunately - seems to
be the story of our tour - there had been no running water on
the island for 2 days and was still none so most of these " hots
spots" were closed. We had to thus confine ourselves to the beach
outside the hotel and when finished swimming in the sea go back
to the hotel pool for a bath.
I suppose it's back from paradise to reality now as we come to
grips with what is happening in Zimbabwe and also what is
happening to our cricket. These are hardly times one associates
with prosperity and growth but we need to remain focused,
positive and confident and have faith that things will come
right. We have to believe - but I suppose only time will tell!