Author: Soutie

SA vs NZ St. George’s

Today’s the day, our first test at St George’s park since 2007 and only our fourth since 2000!

That’s Graeme Smith and Morne Morkel at yesterday’s practice on the left (pic espncricinfo)

Entry to the ground is R30 (£2) I’ll be buying my ticket at the gate, as usual there is absolutely no public transport provided nor parking close by, my modus operandi today is to park and meet a couple of mates at a nearby restaurant (perhaps a mile away) and the owner has kindly volunteered to drop us off at the gate.

I do like to watch the first ball, its a 10.30 (08.30gmt) start.

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SA Agulhas

I was fascinated by this story in my daily yesterday, particularly the excitement of the cadet in the report.

SA Agulhas
The expedition led by explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes to cross Antarctica in winter will be a new record for humankind, deputy transport minister Sindisiwe Chikunga said in Monday (07/01/2013). “This ’coldest journey on earth’ is humankind’s first ever attempt in history at crossing… Antarctica in winter,” she said in a statement.

Cannon fodder

Picture espncricinfo.com

They say that there’s a first time for everything, today is certainly the first time that I’ve sat down and watched a complete innings of test cricket over breakfast and 2 cups of coffee!

Reminiscent of that famous demolition of Australia back in 2011 (also at Newlands, 47 all out, 18 overs, 95 minutes, Philander also bagged 5!) scorecard here. The Kiwis lasted 8 balls and 5 minutes longer!

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A wave from The Bay

Shannon Kahn and Berni Freeman wishing all a happy 2013

And a Happy New Year from me too.

This delightful picture by Mike Holmes wishing readers a Happy New Year graces the front page of my daily read today, taken at Hobie Beach right in the heart of the Port Elizabeth promenade.

I thought it too good not to share.

Tony Greig

1946 – 2012

Born just up the road in Queenstown, educated at Queen’s College, a legend in these parts.

It was always evident in his commentary how proud he was of Daryll Cullinan and Justin Kemp, both Proteas, both products of Queen’s College but perhaps he kept his greatest accolades for Makhaya Ntini, a product of Dale College, located in nearby King William’s Town, a school with close ties, rivalry and camaraderie with Queen’s

I had the pleasure of attending a breakfast with Tony Greig, it was apparent that he loved his trips here and the company of fellow South Africans.

His commentary sessions with Benaud, Lawrie and Chappell are legendary, always balancing the Aussie spin.

Nothing would have given him more satisfaction than the recent Proteas series win, he might have played for and captained England, lived in Australia but I suspect his heart was always here.

Aussie rules

When last did you see one of these when out shopping?

It’s a wooden standard metric ruler just like the one that I would have used back in the day and yes, for some reason mine was also “made in Australia”  (even way back then, BP¹ perhaps!)

So why this nostalgic reminder of our un-PC, non-green, tree murdering past?

Well, I bought a hundred of them last month!

That’s right, a hundred.

I happened to be at a local wholesaler and as luck would have it he was in the process of relocating to larger premises, he’d been in the existing building for as long as I can remember. At the counter were 4 bundles of 25 rulers priced at R10 each (that’s less than £1 per bundle) I bought the lot.

The staff had found these collectors items (and tons of other dated products) and were either going to scrap them or give them away.

What did I do with them?

Why I gave them away of course, 50 to Quest school for their stationery cupboard and the balance to a nearby local primary school.

¹ Before Plastic

Boxing Day

No boxing today but plenty of CRICKET.

I’ll be spending the afternoon (14:30 start) in The Long Room at historic St. Georges Park with a view not too dissimilar to the one on the left.

It’s The Black Caps in the third and final T20i, with the teams currently tied at one match apiece we should be in for an entertaining game.

One advantage of The Long Room is that it is far from that infernal brass band who’s badly played 10 song repertoire (which gets played over and over) drives most of us to distraction. The band were actually glorified by Australia’s Ch9 commentary team this morning, they have obviously never spent an hour never mind a full day’s play within earshot of them!

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