Pothas gets a wake-up call

If Nic Pothas wakes up in time, he could make his full international debut against Pakistan at the Kallang Cricket Ground on Wednesday. Then again, given the incredible journey Pothas undertook to get to Singapore, he could be forgiven for not knowing exactly where he is.

Pothas was called up to the full South African side to stand in for Mark Boucher last Friday. The regular `keeper contrived to slice into his fingers while cutting biltong after South Africa's remarkable tie with Australia at the Colonial Stadium. He is expected to be out for up to six weeks and an SOS was sent out for Pothas.

The problem was that Pothas had left Johannesburg for Barbados via New York with the South African A team. The flight from Johannesburg to New York takes 17 hours and after the transfer, and another stop in Miami, the side finally reached Barbados on Friday evening, more than 30 hours after leaving South Africa.

Pothas managed to get a night's sleep in a real bed on Friday night, but on Saturday he was tracked down by South African manager Goolam Rajah. On Saturday evening he was back at the airport and on his way to London. After landing at Gatwick, he had to transfer to Heathrow to catch a flight to Singapore. All in all, he arrived at Singapore on Monday morning, 27 hours after leaving Barbados.

To make matters worse, Barbados is six hours behind Johannesburg while Singapore is six hours ahead. The good news is that Pothas finally made it to Singapore. And how did he feel? "He's sleeping," reported United Cricket Board officials.