7th January, 2010 To a grand year... Welcome to 2010, everyone! It's the year South Africans have been anxiously awaiting ever since our country's name was revealed by the honourable Sepp Blatter as the hosts of the 2010 Football World Cup. And now the year is upon us, in fact as I write this, it is already seven days old. The older you get, the faster time goes by. It's one of those sad facts of life. I hope you all had a wonderful festive season and that you brought in the new year in style. On Christmas I was in Durban covering the Boxing Day Test match between South Africa and England. The weather was miserable and I came to the conclusion that cricket should not be played at Kingsmead (the ODI earlier in December was washed out). As training session after training session was cut short or had to be moved indoors due to the dreaded Durban drizzle, so too did moods begin to dampen. But then on Christmas day I witnessed something heart-warming (see photo below).
(My Nokia used to take far better photos than my BlackBerry does, just on a side note.) The Proteas training session ran late and the England players arrived early for theirs. The result was that South Africa and England had a joint net session. Can you get more festive than that on Xmas day? I'm not sure if any gifts changed hands (although I do know that Kallis, Boucher and KP all get on famously well), but perhaps the Proteas did give away some of their tactics. Well, that's the only reason I can think of to explain how they were so thoroughly beaten. So now it's not so much the weather that makes me think South Africa shouldn't play cricket in Durban, it's more the way they play their cricket in Durban that shouldn't be repeated, ever. Aside from the actual cricket, what has made covering this Test series so entertaining is the travelling English media. The English players are obviously more used to answering hard questions and so they have learnt that when addressing a press conference, less is more. Some of the South African players have yet to learn that. Not mentioning specific names here, but more composure needs to be shown by certain Protea players in press conference situations. They land up saying far too much, to the absolute delight of the English hacks, who then leave the room chuckling to themselves because they know they've landed themselves some juicy quotes. One player who none of us tire of listening to is Graeme Swann. He has a wicked sense of humour and doesn't mind taking the mickey out of himself either. I sometimes find myself hoping that he'll play really well just so that he'll be the one at the presser at the end of days play. There'll be some more cricket talk in the next few weeks, but after that focus will more than likely shift to the 2010 Football World Cup (unless someone would like to help me get to the T20 Cricket World Cup in the West Indies - just putting that out there!). Anyway, here's to an exciting, successful and thrilling 2010! 11th December, 2009 It's Fun in the Sun
Yesterday I attended Cricket South Africa's launch of the National School's campaign at the Wanderers Club. It was a beautiful day in Johannesburg and, as always, CSA hosted a great event. A couple of the Protea players even took time out of their busy schedules (I'll get back to those busy schedules in just a moment) to offer a few fortunate kids some quick tips in the nets. I spoke to JP Duminy (above) about the upcoming Test series against England and I also chatted to Paul Harris, who has joined up with the Test squad. Gerald Majola told me that he expects the Proteas to win the series quite comfortably, but did admit that England have become SA's bogey side (I'm glad he pointed that out, I just hope he's had a word with the players about it). I also had to interview AB de Villiers, which was interesting, to say the least. And not just because he said some fascinating things. Getting back to those busy schedules. Well, it turns out that the Proteas haven't been as busy as you'd expect them to be. While the England team have been camped out in East London, running up and down sand dunes and playing warm-up matches at Buffalo Park, the Proteas have essentially been on holiday. Now I'm no expert, but having just lost the ODI series to England, and before that getting dumped out of the ICC Champions Trophy (by, you guessed it, England), I'd have thought the South African team would be trying to spend almost every moment working on their game. I haven't even mentioned the fact that the last time the Proteas played a Test match was nine months ago against Australia (though I have now mentioned that fact). Oh, and I'll also throw in the most recent fact - South Africa have just lost their number one ranking to India. But hey, who am I to argue? If management have decided that the best way for the Proteas to prepare to take on their "bogey" side is to take a break from all things cricket - for a week - then they must know something I don't. What I do know, however, is that this method has not exactly worked out in the past. When the Proteas returned from Australia having won the Test series, they decided to "take a break" before the return series against the Aussies at home. They lost. They also had a two month break in between the T/20 World Cup and the Champions Trophy. And, well, we all know what happened in that tournament. I guess it's not entirely fair of me to just refer to the "Proteas", because you'll assume I'm talking about all the players. Jacques Kallis and Dale Steyn have needed this time off to recover from their respective injuries. But the most worrying aspect is that the rest of the players actually didn't need a break - they only played three out of the scheduled five ODI's. And, of course, enjoyed a pretty lengthy break before the England tour even began, what with being knocked out of the Champions Trophy so prematurely. Let's just hope their weekend camp in Potchefstroom (yes, they've gone to Potch again) proves to be as intense as running up and down sand dunes for a week.
25th November, 2009 Press box perks
Shall we just gloss over the fact that the Proteas were beaten (convincingly) by England at Centurion on Sunday? Yes, let's do that, so I can tell you all about the goings-on in the press box on match day. It's so much more interesting than talking about the fact that the Proteas just couldn't bowl to Paul Collingwood and Jonathan Trott for most of the afternoon. The press box at SuperSport Park has a fantastic view of the ground. It's elevated, has plenty of space, free food and drinks, convenient access, free wireless and, of course, plenty of journalists and commentators. When I sit on the grass or in the stands at a live game, one of the things I miss most is a TV, because without it you can't hear commentary or see clear replays of the action. But in the press box, there are TV's and commentators all around you. But something very new has recently snuck into the press box and it's keeping all the journalists very busy, but also very competitive. It's called twitter. You may have heard about it.
There's Sky commentator David 'Bumble' Lloyd chatting to Robin Jackman (Pommie is in the background). Bumble had just taken a photo on his cellphone and was about to tweet it when Robin interrupted this serious business. Bumble has thousands of twitter followers and he keeps them updated almost hourly, sometimes more often, with brief updates and photos. Amongst the South African journalists, myself and The Star writer Kevin McCallum have probably been the most active tweeters. Others, like Pommie and Neil Manthorp, have started to catch on, but they haven't paid the social network nearly as much attention as Kevin and I have. In fact, the two of us have engaged in some fierce, but friendly, public battles. He's had his reasons to rip me off, but now I'm going to get him back. I knew that Kevin was in the press box before I arrived at the ground, but when I got there he was nowhere to be found. Once I had set up my laptop I checked his twitter page and his tweets seemed to have stopped. Anyway, late into the game Kevin returned to the press box and resumed his tweeting. I think he'd been watching the match from the grass embankment, where the crowd were rapidly shifting their attention from the cricket to beer, just to distract themselves from the Proteas pretty poor showing. I don't know how he's done it, but Kevin's followers have recently out-numbered my own. I'll give him credit, his updates are usually amusing, even if some of them are totally at my expense. There's a little icon at the top of this page that says "follow me on twitter" - do it, please!
21st November, 2009 The start of summer?
I'm sorry, that's not a great photo. But I'm sure you can make out that it's the Proteas training session. It really was a cold day in Johannesburg and I took the photo only moments before the rain came and I got drenched. Charming. You know, the beginning of an end of year cricket series in South Africa is associated with the start of summer. It's the best time of year - long, hot days spent watching cricket at stadiums around the country, braai's (that's barbeque's for non-South Africans), swimming, doing as little work as possible, etc. But the weather has been so cold and rainy in Johannesburg over the last few days that only the touring English must have felt at home. The first ODI between SA and England was due to take place at the Wanderers, but near-torrential rain made play impossible and so the match was abandoned. So instead of talking about the start of the series, I'll tell you about what happened at the Proteas training session the day before the match was supposed to take place. If you've read this website before, you'll know that the Proteas love to get their training sessions underway by having a warm-up game of football. Mickey Arthur says it's because football gets the players "competitive juices" flowing. Well, on Thursday their competitive juices overflowed. Dale Steyn accidentally caught AB de Villiers on the foot with his studs. The result was a nasty gash and lots and lots of blood. It took quite a while for the cut to be patched up, but AB did manage to take part in the net session afterwards. So for all of you who have expressed your deep concern to me about this injury, don't worry, AB is absolutely fine! Dale explained himself in the press conference afterwards: "It's because AB's a Manchester United fan." Funny stuff, Dale! Karma...;) (Just as an aside, Jacques Kallis scored a goal. I've never seen him score one before, so well done Jacques! Bafana Bafana should come and train with you guys.) The England side have banned football from their training sessions because of the number of injuries their players have picked up. But I highly doubt this incident will make the Proteas follow suit. The second ODI takes place at Centurion on Sunday. No rain is predicted, so hopefully the summer series will finally get underway!
16th November, 2009 Ladies of cricket
Jonty Rhodes was one of two men in a marquee of 100 women at an elegant cricket lunch last week. Standard Bank, one of crickets biggest sponsors in South Africa, organised a beautiful function at the Inanda Country Club. There was wine, orange juice, delicious food, pink roses, some of the most influential women in cricket and, of course, Jonty. The other man was cricket commentator Neil Manthorp, who did an excellent job as the MC. Journalist Sue de Groot was one of the guest speakers and she read us a poem, which I have to share with you. It's been doing the rounds online, but no one is sure of the author. It's called 'Never Trust a Cricketer': Come all ye fair young maidens and harken unto me,
So ladies, you've been warned! Thank you Kate Johns for a fantastic day.
12th November, 2009 The return of Benni
For once, it wasn't the food that enticed local soccer journalists to the Rand Stadium in Johannesburg. (There was, in fact, no food at all, nor drinks.) The real story was the return of South Africa's hot-headed striker Benni McCarthy.
McCarthy has had a real love/hate relationship with Bafana Bafana. He hasn't always honoured his national call-ups and was recently left out of South Africa's Confederations Cup squad by former coach Joel Santana. Now, many people have assumed that Benni and Joel just didn't like each other. But Benni surprised us at the press conference by saying that he and Joel spoke "an awful" lot. (McCarthy speaks with a curious accent, combining Cape Coloured and British slang.) Benni claims that the reason Santana left him out of his squad was because he didn't play enough for his English club, Blackburn Rovers. While this is true, I got the feeling Benni wasn't being completely honest with us. And we'll probably never hear the full story, mainly because if we asked Santana, we wouldn't understand his answer. I am pleased to report that Benni offered an apology for his past behaviour, and it seemed genuine enough. He admitted that he's getting older, but that he has plenty of goals left in him. Give him one chance in 90 minutes and he'll stick it in the back of the net with ease. You know, there's a fine line between arrogance and confidence, especially when it comes to footballers. Take Thierry Henry and Lionel Messi, for example. These two seem more confident than arrogant. Cristiano Ronaldo, on the other hand (and I just cringe writing his name), is all about arrogance. But all three score goals, even if Henry and Messi are far more likeable. So, the point I'm trying to make is that as long as Benni does his talking on the field - with his feet - it doesn't really matter whether he is arrogant or just full of confidence. As Benni himself said, let Teko Modise and Steven Pienaar do what they do best, so that he can be left to do what he does best - and that's sticking the ball in the back of the net, something the rest of the players can't seem to manage.
7th November, 2009 The Rose of Soweto
There are some days that truly catch you by surprise, providing you with the sort of memorable moments that probably will never be forgotten. I was fortunate enough to have one of those days last week - when I least expected it. When I was told that I'd be doing a boxing story I wasn't overly thrilled, not being a huge boxing fan and all. Don't get me wrong, I respect many of the people involved in the sport, more so the legendary boxers than the current crop, but I just can't get my head around a "sport" that encourages blood, bruises and brutal knock-outs. That's me being a girl about it, I guess, although I do know many men who feel the same. Dingaan Thobela was one of South Africa's favourite and most naturally talented boxers. Born in Soweto, Thobela had a tough life, but through sheer determination and focus he fought his way into the record books, earning himself the title of WBO Lightweight Champion twice in the early nineties, as well as the WBO Super Middleweight Champion in 2000. With the help of Deon Potgieter, Thobela has just launched his book called 'The Rose of Soweto', which was his nickname during his fighting days.
It's an inspiring story about overcoming adversity, which will appeal to boxing and non-boxing fans alike. So we thought it would be a great story to jump into Thobela's BMW and take a drive down his memory lane in Soweto. Our first stop was the house he grew up in, which is a tiny structure situated on one of Soweto's many dirt roads. It was fantastic to see him greeted by people who remembered him, and who he remembered. I did note the slight envy in their eyes, as Thobela's X5 was almost too wide (and clean) for the road it was on. The next - and best - stop was his old school. He met his headmaster - who features in his book - as well as his English teacher, who taught him everything he knows about Shakespeare. According to both men, Thobela was a star pupil, always destined to achieve great things. Thobela signed copies of his book for both, while his former English teacher joked that after all the years of teaching, he's looking forward to being educated by one of his pupils. He was, however, tempted to take out his red pen to correct Thobela's personal message to him on the inside cover. We drove the streets that Dingaan Thobela walked as a child, with the man himself as our personal guide. Not many people can say they've had such an experience. So, here's to many more surprisingly memorable days.
2nd November, 2009 Close encounters of the Lion kind
Yesterday, I was invited to join the Highveld Lions cricket team on an outing to the Lion Park in Johannesburg. But before I continue with my story, from this point on I will refer to the Highveld Lions simply as the Players and the real lions will be called the Cubs, obviously in order to prevent any undue confusion. Because it goes without saying that when the Lions meet the lions, there's bound to be a fair amount of confusion. So the Players were handed the task of naming two beautiful white lion Cubs. The Players captain, Neil McKenzie, announced that the female Cub would be called Passion, representing the Players' attitude on the field. The male Cub was christened Stevie, after Players batsman Stephen Cook, who recently notched up a monumental single innings knock of 390 runs, the highest first-class score by a South African batsman. I spoke to Neil and Vaughn van Jaarsveld about the new MTN40 tournament. They're both pretty miserable about their start to the competition (the Players have lost both their games so far), but as far as the 40-over format goes, they're enjoying it so far. Unfortunately the crowds haven't flocked to the stadiums, which is what the organisers were hoping would happen. It's becoming quite clear that the only format of the game that is attracting crowds is the 20-over game. I also spoke to Alviro Petersen, who has just been included in the Proteas squad to play England. He's a softly-spoken, really nice guy who is thrilled at his international call-up. All the best to him. The Players and their families then entered the Cub enclosure. I encouraged Vaughn to get up close and personal with a Cub (well, it was more of an adolescent than a cub) for the camera, but the Cub nearly took his finger off. That would have been a difficult one for me to explain. Petting a lion, sorry, I mean a Cub, is quite thrilling. They have this cool, nonchalant attitude about them. They just seem to know, without doubt, that they're the kings of the jungle. Come to think of it, for a sports website it's rather intriguing that my last two posts have had something to do with these beautiful creatures. This close encounter will be broadcast on the eNews Channel in SA (DSTV 403) next Monday night, 9th November. Thank you Michael Wright for not making me do my Piece To Camera inside the lion enclosure, even though I know that's what you wanted. Because, as you said to me there, if it bleeds, it leads.
29th October, 2009 Don't you just love awards?
I just need to start by saying that when I started this website, I made a promise to myself that I would strive to update it on a daily basis. Okay, well clearly that was being a little optimistic, but I was doing rather well up until a month ago, strangely, to the day. I guess the moral of the story here is that one should avoid making promises to oneself. Because those are usually the first types of promises to be broken. Isn't that sad? Yes, but unfortunately it's also quite true. Anyway, moving swiftly along now. The above photo was taken with my cellphone, hence the rather poor quality. But I'm sure you can still make out the heavy rain, hail and various bottles of alcohol beverages. The venue? Johannesburg Zoo, overlooking the lion enclosure. The occasion? Sasol Springbok Media Awards. Those in attendance? A number of highly acclaimed sports journalists from print, radio and television. The function started off nicely. Comedian Mark Banks was the MC and, as was to be expected, he couldn't resist cracking a few jokes about the choice of venue for these awards (a zoo). But then a mighty highveld storm hit us. The jokes then turned to very real fears about being quite severely, even fatally, electrocuted. As you can imagine, the awards were dished out in haste from that point on - Matt Pearce from SuperSport winning the broadcast award, Louis de Villiers of Rapport winning the print category and Duif du Toit the photography prize. And then the storm stole the show. It's still the heaviest downfall Johannesburg has seen this summer. The lions weren't too perturbed by it all, but then they barely noticed us either. Or maybe they did, but you know how lions are, they pretend to be oh so nonchalant about everything. A really nice touch to the event was that there were bottles of peppermint liqueur and Amarula cream on each table, along with instructions on how to make a Springbok shooter. I must admit that I really excelled here and, full of enthusiasm, proceeded to make shooter after shooter, many of which were forced down my colleages throats (not that I didn't have a few myself). So, as is usually the case with sports awards functions (well, most functions for that matter), the formalities were followed by drinks and a good time was had by all. Winners and losers alike.
29th September, 2009 Cricket Crazy
Australian cricketer Michael Hussey (also known as 'Mr. Cricket') was one of the first cricketers I ever interviewed. It was way back in 2006, just after South Africa beat Australia in that epic ODI at the Wanderers (you know, the one where the Proteas succesfully chased down 434 to win the greatest ODI of all time). It was a fantastic interview, mainly because Hussey is such a fantastic guy (and believe me, I'm not usually generous with that word, especially when applying it to Aussies). But it was also fantastic because I got to gloat about South Africa's remarkable victory by asking the opposition how it felt to lose (and that's not a question you get to ask Australian cricketers very often). Unfortunately, South African cricket wasn't on such a high on this occasion (above) that I interviewed Hussey, along with Sias du Plessis from SuperSport. I was one of the many, many people who whole-heartedly believed that the Proteas would put their ODI tournament hoodoo to rest and win the Champions Trophy on home soil. Alas, it was not meant to be. Again. If the last decade or so hadn't already suggested it, it certainly does now: fellow South African cricket fans, let's just drop all our expectations about the Proteas when heading into a major tournament. Because, more often than not, expectation leads to disappointment, heartache, even. And, being an Arsenal fan as well as a Protea fan, I am sad to admit that I know a bit too much about high expectation, disappointment and heartache. I was at Centurion on Sunday for South Africa's crucial match against England. England. Come on. England had just been thrashed 6-1 by Australia, at home. Surely, surely they'd be no match for the Proteas. At least that's what I thought before the match. But once England had managed to rack up 320 odd runs against our hapless bowlers, I must admit that I felt the game was well and truly over. I felt truly sorry for Graeme Smith, who played the innings of his life, yet still found himself on the losing side. Sadness, disappointment, heartache and disbelief. That's probably how South Africans felt after the match. But I'll bet the players felt, and are still feeling, a heck of a lot worse. The positive is that there's another ICC event next year, the T20 World Cup. And then the following year it's the World Cup. So there'll be plenty of chances for the Proteas to make up it up to us for this wobble. Not that they need to make it up to us; they need to do it for themselves. And so another major cricket tournament continues without the Proteas; a tournament that is currently on the go in our country. The attendance at matches has already started to dwindle. But let's not forget that as sad as we feel, the players feel worse. But they'll be back, and we'll be back to cheer them on, whole-heartedly again.
25th September, 2009 To Pretoria and back, and back again
Sunset on the highveld is a spectacular sight. And on this particular evening, it was probably the most beautiful thing South African cricket fans saw at Centurion. The Proteas were thumped by Sri Lanka in the opening match of the ICC Champions Trophy in Pretoria. A two month layoff from the game left the players looking more rusty than refreshed. The match was lost in the field, where some very average bowling allowed Sri Lanka to reach a mammoth total of 319. Wayne Parnell's facebook status in the early hours of the next morning read, "can't sleep I'm being haunted by dilshan...". I can understand why. Tillakaratne Dilshan made 106, earning him the Man of the Match Award. Parnell went for 79 runs in his 10 overs.
Dilshan joined Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara at the post-match press conference. Sangakkara has become one of my favourite international cricketers, mainly because of that sneaky scoop shot he perfected in the 20-over format. Players have copied it, but no one executes it quite like he does. Listening to Sangakkara talk at the presser made me even more impressed with him. He speaks unbelievably well; he is eloquent, superbly intelligent and humble. And aside from being an exceptionally talented player, he's also a qualified lawyer. What an over-achiever. The next day some of the Protea players weren't required to train. Others, however, were seriously put through their paces. And rightly so. Thankfully it paid off, because just two days after losing to Sri Lanka, South Africa beat New Zealand at Centurion in a vastly improved performance. In fact, Wayne Parnell was Man of the Match (although there were some other serious contenders, such as Roelof van der Merwe and AB de Villiers). Graeme Smith's post-match press conference was far better this time. He spoke about how this performance was closer to the level he has come to expect from the team. But the pressure is still very much on him and his side. They have to beat England on Sunday, again at Centurion, in order to give themselves a chance to progress to the semifinals. And in all honesty, reaching the semifinals of a major tournament (again) simply won't be enough. I'm pretty sure that no South African would appreciate another semifinal defeat. But I'm getting ahead of myself; the number one priority right now is to beat England. After yesterday's win over the Black Caps, some of the Proteas celebrated at FTV (a bar/club at Sandton Square). And it was quite amusing, because that's where some of the New Zealand players also went, but to commiserate over their defeat. There's no tension between the players; as I've said before, the New Zealand players are some of the nicest guys and, of course, so are the Proteas. So it's back to Pretoria on Sunday then. The heat is on.
21st September, 2009 Must Love Cricket
One of the reasons I enjoy covering cricket in South Africa is that it is so well organised. Press conferences start on time, the players and coaches who we are told are going to be there actually are there and, well, everything's made a lot easier for us to get our jobs done on time. I went to the Proteas training session at the Wanderers yesterday. It's usually pretty easy to get into these, but this time we had to show our media accreditation at the gate. Luckily I had mine with me. A number of Indian cricket fans had gathered outside the stadium and were trying their hardest to snap cellphone photos of the Protea players through the fences. I must say, being around the Proteas has been highly entertaining the last few days. With so many cricket fans having flown out to South Africa for the Champions Trophy, it's become very difficult for the players to walk around without attracting rather vociferous attention. Your average South African usually acknowledges a well-known personality, but avoids falling over themselves in their attempts to get an autograph or photo. Not so with some foreign cricket fans. I have seen players become encircled in a matter of seconds as they've tried to make their way through Sandton City. I can't imagine what it must be like for them to walk around a cricket-crazy country like India. Anyway, back to yesterday's training session. Dale Steyn seems to have made it his mission to try and disrupt my PTC's (again, that's short for Piece To Camera). As I was wrapping up my conversation with the camera, cricket balls started heading my way. Yes, it was Dale attempting to throw me off again. And yes, it worked, again. I think he's trying to teach me to ignore all external distractions. One day I'll get it right. The Proteas looked very impressive in the nets. Let's hope it translates on the field. It's the first game of the tournament tomorrow, South Africa against Sri Lanka in Pretoria. So go on and support the boys. I'll be there for sure.
20th September, 2009 It's all about cricket
I've got cricket coming out of my pores. And it's only just begun. The Sandton Sun hotel has virtually been turned into the base camp for the ICC Champions Trophy. All eight teams are staying there and, as a result, anyone taking a walk through that general vicinity is almost guaranteed to bump into a Sri Lankan, West Indian, Indian, Protea, Pakistani or Kiwi. England and Australia will be arriving shortly, once the white-wash ODI series over in the UK has been completed. Yesterday there was a media session with selected players from all the teams. I landed up doing flash interviews with Harbhajan Singh (who just oozes arrogance, I'm sorry to say), Gautum Gambhir (seems nice enough), as well as Kiwi's Shane Bond, Brendon McCullum and Ross Taylor (I'm a big fan of the Black Caps, they were fantastic to talk to. And it's wonderful to see Shane Bond back). I also struggled to get a few words out of Sri Lankans Nuwan Kulasekara, Angelo Mathews and Thilan Samaraweera. Their English isn't great, but they were friendly. The West Indies are definitely the underdogs heading into the tournament. And you can see where their priorities lie. Captain Floyd Reifer (pronounced 'Reefer' - how appropriate) took time out from the session to ask me out for a meal. I kindly declined. The Proteas are looking in excellent shape. I spoke to Jacques Kallis (who is looking great, by the way), JP Duminy and Dale Steyn. And I couldn't resist asking them how they feel about the ICC Cricket Awards snub on the Proteas. They all admitted that it's a big disappointment, but it serves as extra motivation to win this tournament and prove that the Awards are absolute bollocks (they didn't put it quite so eloquently, but I believe it's what they intend to do). There'll be plenty more cricket for me to write about in the next couple of weeks. Today I'm off the the Proteas training at the Wanderers. Which of course suits me far better than driving out to Potch.
15th September, 2009 To Potch and Back
There's no distance we won't travel to get this job done. Literally. We drove all the way to a little-known town called Potchefstroom for the Protea cricket players today. Potch is a quaint little student town, situated approximately an hour and half out of Jozi. Two hours in traffic. Which is what we got stuck in on the way back. On deadline. The Proteas are in their second training camp in Potch ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy. I can see why they would choose to isolate themselves in this town. The cricket ground, Senwes Park, is gorgeous; the training facilities are excellent; there are some nice restaurants and pubs; and, of course, lots of students, seeing as though it's predominantly a student town. Some of the guys might think this is a fantastic location to get away from it all. But I won't speculate any further. I had a great interview with coach Mickey Arthur, who is bewildered, to say the least, at the fact that not a single Protea player has been nominated for an award at the annual ICC Cricket Awards. This, despite the fact that the Proteas are ranked number one in the world. And isn't it a little too ironic that the awards ceremony is taking place in Johannesburg? South Africa are not even nominated for the Spirit of Cricket Award. I'm not entirely sure what that is, but if Graeme Smith coming on to bat against Australia with a broken hand and tennis elbow isn't in the Spirit of Cricket, then hell, I have no idea what else would qualify. I'm stumped, as they would say out there in the middle. The Proteas began their training session with a quick game of football. I think I saw them score more goals in five minutes than I've seen Bafana score in five years. But that's being disrespectful to the Proteas, some of whom are fantastic soccer players.
It's part of a reporter's job to stand in front of the camera and record what is commonly known as a PTC (Piece To Camera). The reporter usually says something profound to wrap up the story and then signs off with his/her name. Well, I was in the middle of saying my little speech to the camera, while the cricketers practised in the nets in the backround. It was going pretty well and I was nearly at the end, when I heard someone shout: "Don't mess up, Carly". Of course that threw me completely. So I turned around to see Dale Steyn chuckling, along with everyone else who heard him. Now, I'm not one to pass up a chance for revenge. So when Dale took his next run-up, I shouted (at the exact moment he was about to bowl), "Don't mess up, Dale." Unfortunately, he didn't mess up. I guess he's more used to external distractions than I am. Needless to say, the bowling coach wasn't overly thrilled with my attempt to throw off SA's premier bowler. And with that we packed up and left the little town of Potch and headed to the craziness of a big town called Jozi. I probably won't be back there this week, but the Proteas are playing the West Indies in a warm-up game on Friday. So if you just happen to be in the area, pop in to Senwes Park. You can't miss it; just look for the stadium lights. They're the most prominent feature of the area.
14th September, 2009 Maintaining certain standards
A familiar photo? If you've been to one SA soccer press conference, you've pretty much been to them all. But perhaps the best part of today's presser (that's 'press conference' in common journalistic lingo) was the location. The "urgent announcement" was held at the newly renovated Orlando Stadium in Soweto. Take a look at the below photo:
It's a pity this new stadium will only be used as a training venue for the 2010 World Cup because it really has been renovated brilliantly. It's got a real modern feel to it; lots of glass windows and steel and a fantastic media centre. I'm not sure why, but I've developed a real fondness for empty stadiums. Walking out onto the pitch, be it at Loftus or Ellis Park or the Wanderers, has an almost magical feel. Maybe it's because when you look up at the empty stands all around you, it's hard not to imagine thousands of fans in those seats (cheering for you, perhaps?). Anyway, back to the presser at hand. There are two ways to guarantee a good turnout at a football presser: 1. Send out a notification to the media that there will be an "urgent announcement"; 2. Schedule it over lunch and state that "light snacks will be provided". When we arrived, I saw deep concern on a few faces. It was only when I looked at the refreshment table that I realised the reason for this concern: there were drinks, chips, nuts and biltong. Where was the buffet lunch? I mean, it was 1:15pm already, past lunchtime. The announcement was made (only 30 minutes late this time) that the MTN8 final had been postponed due to the fact that Ajax players are going to be involved in the FIFA Under-20 World Cup. A few questions were asked, I conducted my one-on-one interviews and then we were told that lunch was waiting for us downstairs. Indeed, a buffet lunch was already laid out. And there were plenty of chicken wings. What a relief.
13th September, 2009 Sahara: Money Talks
Yesterday I went to a cricket day at St. Davids Marist school in Inanda, Johannesburg. A school-boy team, made up of boys from different schools, played a 20/20 match against a Protea invitational team, which included Neil McKenzie, Makhaya Ntini, Roelof van der Merwe, Wayne Parnell and Gulam Bodi. Graeme Smith and Jaques Kallis were also there, but didn't take part in the game. It was really great for the school-boys - some of whom really stood out and will definitely go on to have great cricket futures - in fact, they actually beat the Invitational side. But I did wonder how exactly Sahara managed to assemble a seriously impressive list of VIP's. In attendence were various ministers, including Barbara Creecy and, low and behold, the President of South Africa himself, Jacob Zuma. Was this just Zuma's way of confirming that he really is a president of the people? Was it simply an honest and sincere gesture of support? Did he really have nothing better to do on a Saturday afternoon than watch school cricket? The cynic in me has come to one conclusion: money talks. I'm almost certain that he, along with the other VIP's and indeed the cricketers, received hefty appearance fees. The people from Sahara were very helpful, even taking me to the lunch buffet and insisting I fill my plate up with Indian food. It's a good thing I like Indian food. But - and this is something so many journalists will tell you - when a sponsor is involved in an event like this, they try so hard to convince you to interview someone from the brand. Sahara representative: "I'll bring you the CEO of Sahara to speak to. He's here and he can tell you a lot." Me: "No thank you, my interviews are done." SR [looking desperate now]: "But are you sure? He's really the person you need to speak to." Let me state that I have no interest in hearing the CEO further promote his brand. And even if I do interview him, there's no way I'll even use that footage. There was more than enough Sahara branding around the place for even the simplest of people to recognise who the sponsor was. Moving on now. I spoke to Makhaya Ntini after the match and anyone who has ever spoken to Makhaya knows how entertaining that is. He is a real character and the fans absolutely love him for it. He's a bit on the crazy side, but hey, don't we all have a crazy side? The Springboks arrive home from Australasia tomorrow with the Tri-nations trophy. I'll probably be heading to the airport to greet them. They are supposed to arrive at around 4pm at OR Tambo, so go and show your support for our superb Boks.
10th September, 2009 Playing the Waiting Game
Here's a term journalists around the world have come to know and loathe: hurry up and wait. We drive faster than laws generally allow in order to make sure we get to a story on time, only to find ourselves waiting around for hours until, finally, something to report on occurs. Well, that's what happened to me today. Bafana Bafana (the South African national soccer team) were due to land at OR Tambo International at 8:30am. They were returning from Germany and Ireland, where they played, and lost, both games. So we - being myself and my cameraman - did a mad dash through peak traffic and managed to get to the airport at 8:35am. Turns out we were the only media who had bothered to pitch up, which was a bit surprising. The SABC put in no effort, not that that is terribly unusual. And so the wait began. People constantly came to ask us who of importance was arriving. Our answer of, "Bafana Bafana", was responded to with mild giggles and some rolling of the eye-balls. It really is unfortunate that our national soccer team are not taken all that seriously. Although they would be if they were any good. The positive, at least, was that everyone appeared to know who 'Bafana Bafana' was. It seemed like only the police and us had come to meet the team. Albeit only out of force (on the part of the police, of course). After watching foreigners arrive in our country with backpacks (looking distinctly foreign), and returning travellers being welcomed home by loved ones, and small children running to hug their fathers, and tired eyes searching for familiar faces, and everyone being thrown off guard by our camera, we finally spotted the green and gold tracksuits. The national coach, Joel Santana, stopped to speak to me for a few minutes. He answered my questions of, "How do you feel your games went? When will Bafana learn to score goals? Are you feeling the pressure?", with what can only be described as Portuglish - a very bad combination of Portuguese and English. From what I deciphered, Santana is happy with his team, not scoring goals is a problem many countries also have (pity England scored 5 last night), and he isn't feeling the pressure. And so it goes. As is so often the case, we waited around for over an hour just to get a few pearls of wisdom on camera. But hey, that's how this job goes. And don't get me wrong, it's usually a thrill a minute.
9th September, 2009 SA Soccer: So often disappoints
This is what a typical soccer (football) press conference looks like in South Africa. A couple of heavy-weights wearing expensive suits sitting at the head table. Check. A smattering of print, radio and broadcast journalists, who may or may not know why exactly they are there. Check. Two, maybe three, TV cameras. Check. The usual hangers-on. Check. A delay of roughly one hour. Check. Free buffet lunch, with extra chicken wings. Check. The press release stated that there would be a press conference at 10:30am at Tshwane's 2010 Building (which I didn't even know existed, such is their impressive marketing). It would be about the Tshwane (Pretoria) Derby between Mamelodi Sundowns and SuperSport United taking place this weekend. In attendance would be both coaches and captains. We thought it would make for a good story, seeing as though it's a big match and we needed to speak to both coaches and captains about it. Problem. No coaches nor players were in attendance. What we got instead was Trott Moloto and Mr Alex 'Gold Fingers' Shakoane (sitting on the far left) representing Sundowns and a bunch of PRO's who remained speechless throughout the proceedings, bar one SuperSport United representative. A quick word on Alex Shakoane and Mamelodi Sundowns. Shakoane is supposedly the communications manager at Sundowns. Now, in the four years that I have been working as a sports reporter, I have yet to receive any form of communication from him. In fact, many suspect he is not very technologically clued up. And by that I mean he may not be familiar with the concept of email. But please, prove me wrong, Mr Shakoane. (I am also choosing to leave out a certain "incident" in which Alex Shakoane was reportedly implicated two years ago, seeing as though it doesn't relate to football.) Please also bare in mind that Sundowns are the richest club in the country. Yet their so-called "communication department" would be better run by a class of 5-year olds. Oh, and in case you're wondering where the nickname 'Gold Fingers' comes from, it's quite simple: Shakoane wears abnormally large gold rings on just about every finger. All I can say is - and I actually really didn't want to say it - thank goodness FIFA are running next year's World Cup. Get your acts together, you South African football organisations.
6th September, 2009 No more neck strain
You wouldn't believe how hard it's been keeping up with these NBA basketball players. Holding that microphone might not look too difficult, but when you've done interview after interview with these guys, day after day, your arm does begin to go limp. Not to mention your poor toes. Because you've got to transfer your full body weight onto those little limbs, all in the hope that the microphone is close enough to the guy's mouth to get adequate audio. Note to future self: don't wear heels. Oh, and don't forget the camerman. He's got to position the camera high enough to get a decent shot, so as to avoid filming up the nostrils of the player. Just put it on the tripod, you say? Even fully extended, these tripods don't reach the height of basketball players. And today my cameraman was Kamo; Kamo is shorter than I am. Interviewing Victor Matfield and Bakkies Botha is a cinch compared to this. Back to the photo above, though. That's Luc Mbah a Moute, and he's got a pretty fantastic story. Born in Cameroon, he was a participant in the Basketball Without Borders camp back in 2003. He now plays for the Milwaukee Bucks and is one of the favourites. But that's not where the awesome story ends. Luc has a twin brother, Emmanuel, who plays basketball for Texas University. And there's more... Luc and Emmanuel are actually princes in their native village of Bia Messe. Told you it was some story. The All-Stars are heading back to the States tomorrow. Yes, I'll miss Dwight, but thanks to twitter I'll always know what he's up to. And for the same reason he'll always know what I'm up to. Oh, the joys of social networking. At least I can resume feeling like an average-sized person again. P.S. Thank you Michael Wright for taking these photos!
4th September, 2009 Where Giants Do Tread
I certainly don't regard myself as one of the shortest people I know. But I've spent two days on the trot now feeling somewhat like a midget. These NBA guys are massive. This afternoon we headed out to Ivory Park, which is a township right by Midrand. As I mentioned yesterday, the task was to build houses for people who live in the area. I've actually never been to Ivory Park before, although I have been to most of Johannesburg's other townships. It's a sprawling area, complete with zig-zagging dirt roads, shacks, dust and, of course, lots and lots of people. As Dwight Howard, Chris Bosh, Dirk Nowitzki and the others walked down the road to the tiny building site, the shacks they passed only reached their shoulders. It was quite a sight. The people whose house we were building had no idea what all the fuss was about. They don't know who Dwight Howard and Chris Bosh are. As far as they were concerned we were just a group of random people - some of whom spoke with weird accents and loud voices and were perhaps a little larger than what is usually considered normal - helping out on a construction site. But it was a good feeling knowing that we contributed to this small structure that will eventually house a family in desperate need of a stable roof over their heads. On another, lighter note, Dwight greeted me as, 'Hey Shorty' today. I wasn't in the slightest bit offended though; surely that's the way he greets the majority of people he encounters. I was, however, delighted that he received my tweet yesterday. In fact, today he became my latest follower. I worked on laying bricks with him and Chris. Such great guys both of them. Although we got the feeling that we weren't doing a particularly good job. Our trowels were frequently taken away from us and Dwight was even scolded for holding on to a supporting beam. I don't think Dwight has ever been scolded in such a way in his life. Tomorrow the team heads for Kliptown in Soweto to visit the Soweto Kliptown Youth Trust.
3rd September, 2009 NBA Giants land in Soweto
This job can be real tough sometimes. Especially when you've got to interview an NBA legend, who could very well be the tallest man on earth. At least that's what it felt like to me. That's Dikembe Mutombo and, as I mentioned above, he's a legend of the NBA. He was born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo before he moved to the States, where he played for six teams, ending with the Houston Rockets. But you might be wondering what on earth he was doing in Soweto. Well, he is in South Africa as part of the Basketball Without Borders campaign, which encourages youngsters to take basketball beyond the court. Current NBA All-Stars Dwight Howard (what a guy), Carlos Boozer (what a surname), Chris Bosh, Dirk Nowitzki, and many others, are also here for the initiative. We spent about an hour doing some gardening for Cotlands today and tomorrow we'll be building a house in Ivory Park (I say 'we', but really, who can compete with those arms when it comes to laying bricks?). Now, I'll be the first to admit that my knowledge of basketball doesn't extend very far beyond the names of Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Shaquille O'Neal and Space Jam, but after today that may change. Dikembe is just an amazing human-being and I had a great chat with Dwight, who has been tweeting non-stop since he arrived in Africa (said with an American accent). Until about an hour ago I wasn't following him on twitter. But when I admitted that to him earlier he looked a bit surprised and slightly hurt, and so I am now his latest follower. Well, I feel I really exerted myself in the garden today. And so I must rest ahead of tomorrow's house-building exercise.
2nd September, 2009 The Banquet in Boksburg
I thought it would be appropriate to officially launch this website at the same time Cricket South Africa officially launched the new cricket season. So here goes. That's me in that photo above, standing with Proteas players Roelof van der Merwe and AB de Villiers at the Birchwood Hotel in Boksburg. That was the venue for Friday nights launch, also referred to (by me) as 'The Banquet in Boksburg'. If you're not sure where in the world Boksburg is, don't worry, you're not alone. Basically, it's situated on the east of Johannesburg. Lots of jokes are made about Boksburg, but I'm not going to share any right now. It wouldn't be appropriate for my first post. But google it if you don't believe me. Cricket South Africa (CSA) generally look for any excuse to throw a bash, and this time was no different. The Proteas have been on a two month break from the game, but just before they reassembled for their pre-ICC Champions Trophy training camp in Potchefstroom, duty called them to Boksburg. It was a fantastic evening though, all credit to CSA for the event. The hall was gorgeous, the entertainment thoroughly entertaining, especially comedian Marc Lottering. I've never heard him live before, but I laughed throughout his skit. And I don't think he breathed once throughout. The cricketers were clearly excited about seeing each other again (AB de Villiers and Paul Harris - I suspect a serious bromance). Dale Steyn, for sure one of the nicest guys in the team, but possibly also the most forgetful. I mean, who leaves their shoes at home and has to borrow a pair from the security guard? I just hope you returned them, Dale! I had some great chats with Mickey Arthur, Graeme Smith, and a few of the other players. They all seem refreshed after their break and are ready to go out and win the Champions Trophy. Smith and Duminy spent their time training with the Cape Cobras, but some of the others didn't even pick up a bat. They were advised to steer clear of the game and just work on getting the mental edge. From the conversations I had, it's clear how much the players respect Mickey and Graeme. They credit them for getting the Proteas up to the number one ranked side in world cricket (Test and ODI). And so the night ended at about the same time as the morning started. The Proteas got to sleep over at the hotel, but we had to make the long drive back to Johannesburg, Sandton in particular. And getting lost (I've never even been to Boksburg, okay?) just made the drive longer. 'Til next time!
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