Our boys dunn good on Wembly nite
And gev them uvver lads wot for.
O cors they neely spoild the game
Wi’ all that silens just befor.
Oo wonts to fink about Man U,
An sum ole plane crash years ago?
Or niteclub deaths or Bobby Mor?
We came ere for the game – dint you?
Our Jack and Theo shode the way –
The Gunners – we noe oo we are!
So stuff them Chelsea mob and Spurs.
Av you got sumfin els to say?
Hard to believe but it’s true.
The first test of the three match series started on Friday, February 1st, Graeme Smith’s 32nd birthday. It also marked the 100th time that ‘Biff’ had captained a test team, (99 SA, 1 world XI) what a remarkable achievement!
Other captains noted for their longevity in the job include Border (93), Fleming (80), Ponting (77), Lloyd (74)
Smith won the toss and decided to bat, it’s never easy on the first day up at The Wanderers, Protea’s wickets fell at regular intervals but I was buoyed by a comment from Andrew Samson that an average first innings score up there was ‘only’ 260. Average is rarely good enough but I was reasonably satisfied with our 253 at the end of the day.
Who could possibly have predicted yesterday morning’s carnage Pakistan 49 all out! Just slightly better than NZ’s 45 last month and Oz’s 47 in Cape Town (Nov 2011.)
S.A. ended the day on 207/3, a lead of 411.
A bit more batting practice for our middle order today, improve those averages, get some time at the crease, build confidences where necessary and then unleash Steyn, Philander, Morkel and (perhaps) Kallis.
Play resumes at 10:30 our time (08:30gmt)
We met at 6pm.
I was the last to arrive, a beer was poured and waiting for me. A quick chat, distribute the tickets and off to the van,
We arrived at the Fettes road gate within 10 minutes, our lift dropped us off within 10 meters of the entrance unlike large well attended rugby tests there was no queue! A quick stroll through the electronic turnstile, a cursory body pat down and off to find our seats. Continue reading “Niger v Ghana – Afcon 2013”
I’ve just heard Harsha Bhogle, refer to the backdrop of the HPCA stadium (Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamshala) as breathtaking, I have to agree. This of course is where England are playing their 5th and final ODI against India today.
Picture from espncricinfo.com
I’ve mentioned elsewhere that on Monday 28 January we are going to watch the mighty Niger against the Black Stars in the Orange Afcon 2013.
We’re avid sports fans, I’m one of the few people who can attest to watching World Cup Rugby, World Cup Cricket and World Cup Football all right here in my home city and now we’re privileged to host the Africa Cup of Nations, we just had to go.
I was tasked with buying the tickets, 8 of them!
I consider myself an experienced ticket buyer, in the last year I’ve arranged tickets for numerous E.P.Kings rugby matches, the Springboks / England test match, HSBC sevens, the Proteas v Black Caps T20 on Boxing day and of course more recently the Proteas v New Zealand 5 day test held right here at St. Georges Park.
Where to buy Afcon tickets? It was not as simple as you might think.
None of the usual suspects were selling tickets for the Afcon games!
A phone call to the offices of E.P rugby quickly solved my problem, “there’s a kiosk at the Prince Alfred Road gate” she said, no problem and off I headed.
I got to the aforementioned gate at The Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium (the home of the mighty Southern Kings and graveyard of bulls and sharks) and nothing! Locked. I saw a security guard in the distance and beckoned her over, she directed me down the road to the ‘kiosk’
You’re not going to believe this….
As I passed by our stadium yesterday I chuckled at who the title sponsors are, it’s a crowd called Orange, to the best of my knowledge they don’t operate in South Africa, must be big up north then.
We’ve been allocated 8 matches down here (6 group games, a ¼ final and the 3rd / 4th place play off) We want to go and support the event but we’ve no idea who is worth watching and who isn’t.
We settled on Ghana vs Niger, it’s a final group game (kick off 7 O’clock, Monday 28th) hopefully important log positions will be at stake and we’ll be treated to some attacking football and goals.
Ticket prices are a very reasonable R70 (£5) R60 (£4.20) and R50 (£3.50) we’ll probably break the bank and buy the most expensive!
The tournament kicked off last night with a double header up in Jhb, (S.A. v Cape Verde and Angola v Morocco) both games ended nil – nil.
Update 23 Jan
This Wiki page has all the logs, fixtures and results on one easy to read page, it’s great for up to date and easy to read information.
The cynical hypocrisy of Lance Armstrong continues. No dignified Profumo-style retirement for him. His disgrace as cycling’s biggest-ever cheat is now compounded by his carefully orchestrated, tearful TV ‘confession’, already billed as the greatest show on earth, with the clear objective of seeking sympathy and even more millions of dollars from the hoodwinked public. Pass the spittoon.
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.
Boadicea's Chariot 
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