South Africa ready for the razzmatazz

The throb of African drums will herald the start of the ICC World Twenty20 at a sold-out Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg next Tuesday.

More than 35,000 excited spectators - 20,000 of them armed with a pair of inflatable plastic "bang sticks" - will hammer out rhythms conducted by professional drummers on the field.

"We are not calling it an opening ceremony but an opening celebration," said Cricket South Africa's marketing manager Ros Goldin. "It will be a musical celebration of South Africa and Twenty20 cricket."

Thabo Mbeki, South Africa's president, is likely to be on hand to open the event amid rivers of vibrant colour that will flow fast enough to make a chameleon's head spin.

Then South Africa and West Indies will try to match the razzmatazz in the first game of the tournament, which culminates in the final at the Wanderers on September 24.

No closing ceremony has been scheduled. Instead, the winners of the inaugural international tournament in this format will enjoy an extended bask in the limelight in what has been billed as a "high-profile presentation".

If it isn't obvious by now, South Africans take their 20-over cricket seriously. So much so that families arrived with beach umbrellas, deck chairs and picnic hampers just to watch Graeme Smith's T20 squad put 120 children through their paces in a coaching clinic on the beach in Durban on Sunday.

A gormless MC interrupted the booming music to interview Brody, aged 12, and asked whether she "specialised in batting, bowling or fielding". Perhaps that wasn't such a silly question in Jonty Rhodes' backyard.

Brody "really didn't know" how she came to be chosen to be a part of the clinic, but she sure knew who her favourite player was: "AB! AB! AB!".

It's hardly surprising, then, that the "house full" signs have long been posted for several matches in the tournament. Low ticket prices have done their bit in that regard, but there is also a refreshing departure from other ICC events in that spectators will be allowed to bring umbrellas, folding chairs, cooler bags and their own food through the turnstiles.

The first few thousand through the gates will be handed builders' hard-hats - plenty of balls flying into the crowd ... geddit?

South Africans will make up a far larger chunk of the crowds than they have in other major international events that have been staged in their country, but tour operators have indicated that significant numbers of tourists are on their way.

The teams have started arriving, and the atmosphere is building in cricket circles. Part of the growing excitement is due to the novelty of having big cricket to watch in September, which is normally the preserve of the most low-key of pre-season friendlies.

Another aspect is the prestige that comes with hosting the first world championship in this format. Then there's the prospect of, perchance, seeing someone besides Australia win a championship.

Will anyone besides Mark Boucher miss Jacques Kallis? Only if South Africa start losing.