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After touching down in South Africa, believe me there’s plenty of cricket to talk about as we head into this three Test battle for the ICC’s number one Test ranking. But I might leave that for my next entry because this week I’d like to give you all a bit of an insight into some of the things this new group has done together in what’s been a really good week of preparation both on and off the field.
I’m not sure the last time Australia has toured with so many fresh new faces but consider this; We’ve got four players in this squad who haven’t played a Test and four more that have played less than 10 between them. If you add this to the games our more experienced players have accumulated, you end up with just more than 128 Tests the captain (Ricky’s) has knocked over himself! That is exciting in itself!
Naturally there were a lot of wide eyes when we arrived in Potchefstroom or “Potch”, our base for our tour game v the SA Presidents XI. It’s certainly a different feeling in the change-rooms also. The younger guys are finding ’where they fit’, from their place in the group right down to their seats in the rooms! The guys who have been here before head straight for ‘their own’ spaces they have used previously (territorial these cricketers!!) and like to settle in, and it was something different watching so many newer guys waiting for the experienced guys to sit down before committing to a change room locker! In the end that’s part of the charm and fun of having a group that is really touring together for the first time.
The nice thing about being in a small university town like “Potch” was there wasn’t a lot to do, so the social, or non-cricket time was really spent as an entire group. I think some of the initial barriers were really broken down in this environment just from guys having dinner together, playing cards and just spending time together off the field.
We had a nice little team outing to a game reserve on Thursday night. We packed into three opened backed utes with seats in them but we only managed to see a zebra, a couple of wilderbeasts, a giraffe’s head over the top of a tree (!!) and a few springbok before it started bucketing down and we had to rush back indoors, drenched, for a barbie in our wet clothes!
We were given a taste of South African country life during the BBQ however as one of the guides walked back from the toilet with his bow and arrow and managed to snag a “puff adder”, which apparently is one of the most venomous snakes in South Africa. It was sitting on the lawn just 20 meters away from where we were eating, which raised an Australian eye brow or two, but we were assured that we were safe. He showed us the snake, showed us it’s fangs and for all the scaredy cats repeated it was safe and they don’t bother you unless you bother them! I personally don’t plan to find out if that’s the truth or not!
Into the cricket with the three day tour game against the Presidents XI which went very well. It was pleasing to see Katich and Ponting get a couple of big scores, Hughes a start in his first hit out for Australia and then a 50 retired in the second innings. Another debutant Marcus North get six second innings wickets and two undefeated fifties to really put his hand up hard for selection. Overall the bowlers had a good hit out and we really got everything we could have hoped from the match.
Obviously the difficult thing with tour games is having enough time to get a result but the game was played in good spirit with their young side and ours enjoying the opportunity of batting and bowling twice over the three days.
We’re back in Johannesburg now after a fantastic day at a cricket field in one of South Africa’s poorest areas in Soweto. The local Gauteng Cricket Assoc had bought kids from all over the local area to be involved in what was a fun coaching session. All the players chipped in with some tips, and gave the boys and girls a chance to bowl them out or hit ‘em for six! Lots of smiles and one of the really nice opportunities that come out of representing Australia in our game!
Training back on tomorrow – we will be looking to get a good hit and bowl in to finish off our preparation in readiness for a big day Thursday. The group is all excited about the opportunity that lies ahead, and I can’t wait to see them go head to head with the Proteas again!!
