Ashwell Prince's Caribbean Diary - Part 4

"Will I? Won't I? ... Will I? Won't I? Waiting to hear if you've been selected to a test side has to be one of the most nerve-wracking experiences ina sportsmen's life. And as the magic hour draws nearer, so do the nerves become more frayed.

5 September The big moment has arrived. The names are read out at our team talk - and I'm not among the eleven. I'm obviously disappointed , but I vow to keep on plugging away. A DJ on a local radio station spins, "I get knocked down, but I get up again" - and I think to myself, "What an appropriate song for me."

6-9 September All of us - even those not involved in the actual play - throw our energies into the first test against West Indies A. We don't fare too well with the bat: WP new boy Graham Smith (34) and Garnett Kruger (28 not out) are the top scorers in our first innings total of 144. Kruger, with four wickets and Charl Willoughby with 3, keep us in the game with some fierce bowling that restricts the Windies to 212 in their first innings. We need a big score to put us in the hunt. It doesn't happen, though. Although Smithie again bats well for his 47 and Nick Pothas weighs in with an undefeated 40, we're bowled out for 202. Needing 135 to win, the Windies seem home and dry at 127/2. But then we get help from an unexpected quarter: the heavens open up and sheets of good old water come pouring down. Result: test drawn. On a lighter note, the warm-up football games have become more and more competitive. The "odds" are now leading the "evens" 5-3. The boys are struggling to find the net. Own goals have become the top scorers for both teams. Smith and Willoughby are comfortably the worst two strikers - ever.

10 September We leave on the 6.45 am flight to Guyana, via Barbados and St Vincent. By one o'clock the afternoon we're booked into our hotel. Guyana, which is bordered by Venezuela, Brazil and Suriname is the only English-speaking country in South America. There is, however, a strong Dutch influence here (the Dutch having been the first European colonisers of this region). Large parts of Georgetown, the capital city, is on land that has been reclaimed from the sea, which is kept at bay by a system of dams and walls, similar to that which can be seen in the Netherlands. Some of the guys set off for a walk around the town; others opt for a mid-afternoon nap. Still others, like me, who didn't play in the test, go for a workout at the gym. Later, all of us spend a quiet evening in the hotel.

11 September Team practice takes place from 10am to 2pm. It's a gruelling session - as middle-wicket sessions tend to be. We get the afternoon off. Some of the guys go jewellery shopping - since Guyana is famous for its inexpensive gold jewellery. Speaking of gold, the fabled ancient city of El Dorado, supposedly rich in gold treasure, was said to be located in the vicinity of Guyana.

12 September The first day of a three-dayer against Guyana. We dismiss them for 189, with all our bowlers getting in on the wicket-taking act. We face one over before the close, with both Watson and Bruyns picking up a single. A few of the players have had their hair cut really short. Garnett (Kruger) who does his regularly said to Doug Watson, who's new to the short-cropped style: "You just have to shower, and it will grow back quickly. To which Watson (pointing to his head) replied: "What do you think this is - a rose garden?"

Until next time, Cheers, Ashy.