'Ackee, patties and curried goat'

It’s been a few days since I returned home to Jamaica from South Africa and, despite the West Indies’ recent defeats to the Proteas, a lot of people have expressed positive feelings to me about our performance in Zimbabwe and in the first couple games in South Africa.

Naturally, like me, they were disappointed that I was unable to play throughout the tour which began very well for us with a 3-1 victory in the one-day series in Zimbabwe and wins in the first Twenty20 and Test match against South Africa.

I really appreciated the fans’ sentiments and well wishes for a full and speedy recovery to allow me to start playing cricket as soon as possible again. Thanks to all who have commented to me, it’s been very encouraging and I’m looking forward to being back on the field in the maroon cap once I’m fit and healthy.

My hamstring and left thumb continue to improve steadily but, as I have stated before, I will not rush my return to competitive cricket. Even though the Windies physio had indicated that I should be able to hold a bat by January 26, I’m giving my thumb another week and then I will test things out.

In the meantime, I’ve been running and working out in the gym. In addition, I’ve been to a couple training sessions with the Jamaica national squad which is now preparing for the Stanford 20/20 tournament after winning their first three matches in the regional four-day competition, the Carib Beer series. Overall, things are looking up and I hope it is sooner rather than later that I will be back in action, with runs flowing from my bat.

After all, the reality is that I was starved of cricket on tour – having suffered the hamstring injury in the second ODI in Zimbabwe and then having my thumb broken by an Andre Nel delivery in the second Test in Cape Town. In total, I played in one-and-a-half one-dayers and two Tests. So, I definitely need to get some cricket under my belt.

It’s also been critical to get back into my fitness routine quickly because of all the great food I’ve been eating since I landed in Kingston. I’ve had almost everything you can think of – ackee and saltfish, patties, curried goat, etc. To top it all off, my mum cooked me my big Christmas dinner which I missed out on in December. I’m still licking my lips. So, you see why I need to keep training!

Of course, I was sorry to see my team-mates lose the one-day series to South Africa yesterday with two games to go. We managed a decent total of 252 for 7 in 50 overs, though we got off to a slow start. Marlon Samuels was again the anchor of our batting with an impressive 98 while wickets tumbled around him. It’s a pity that, for the second time on tour, he missed out on a century at Port Elizabeth; having scored 94 at that venue in the opening Test which we won. There were also good innings from Sewnarine Chattergoon (52) and debutant, Patrick Browne (35).

St. George’s is a decent pitch and it was always going to be a challenge to blast out Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis and company on that wicket. The Proteas romped home by seven wickets and we are now 3-0 down in the five-match series. However, we must keep our heads high and the guys have to play for pride in the remaining fixtures. It would still be nice to win them and come home with some positives.

South Africa play hard and will be intent on a five-nil rout. If we can rally our troops, and give of our best in these two last games, we can thwart their ambitions of a whitewash.