Zimbos in town — Kimberley

September 30, 2018 by neil manthorp

There is no time to be spared for anybody who complains about coming to Kimberley for an international. It still provides one of the oldest and most persistent heartbeats of the game in South Africa and they did themselves proud once again with a fine production for the first ODI against Zimbabwe. The worry must be greater than ever that Griquas’ isolation from the rest of the country will increase with less flights to the city from the major centres but they remain determined to be relevant, And they will be. For those of you who haven’t ever visited, and there are many, it is something of a throwback to a bygone era. Your lives will be no poorer, but they will be richer for a visit. A mining and railway city with a rich (literally and metaphorically) history, there is much to cherish about the resilience of the population...

Zimbos in town

September 29, 2018 by neil manthorp

It’s been one of South Africa’s longest ‘off-seasons’ for decades – just a short tour to Sri Lanka in the middle of five months of team inactivity - although many of the individuals have found gainful employment elsewhere, most notably Dean Elgar with Surrey and Dale Steyn with Hampshire in the English County Championship. Neither would have been in the ODI squad had they not been playing. There was a time – a long time, actually – when the captains and coaches of superior teams felt the need to be politically correct about playing against hopelessly inferior opposition but, thankfully, that is less of a problem these days. Respect is one thing, and a good thing, but It is pointless pretending that Zimbabwe have any reason to expect to be competitive. Unless the Proteas play especially poorly. Captain J-P Duminy used to be one of those prone to clichés but...