Wayne Parnell: the romantic

Wayne Parnell doesn’t appear the romantic type but he has a soft spot for love stories. He was one of just two South African players who joined the management team on a visit to the Agra to see the temple of love, the Taj Mahal, on Saturday.

“I wanted to go because of the story behind it,” he told ESPNCricinfo. “It’s amazing that someone could love his wife so much that he built that.”

Embarking on the trip meant an early wake up call for Parnell, who was picked up around seven in the morning, but said that in hindsight it was worth it. “Even if it meant I would have had to wake up at 4am to go and see it, I would have done it.”

Parnell, who only finished school three years ago, also turned the excursion into a history lesson and said he “learnt a lot” about how the capital of the Mughal Kingdom was moved from Agra to Delhi in the 1600s. “It’s always good to know what’s going on around you and to see different places.”

Most of the squad opted out of the trip because of the long bus ride and chose to rest around the hotel instead. Hashim Amla was the other cricketer who went along and Parnell his team-mate seemed to enjoy the experience too.