"It's quite big..."

Hello you old bag...

    David Miller played a couple of seasons for the Gujarat Titans in the IPL so the phenomenon of the Narendra Modi Stadium is nothing new to him. “It’s quite big,” he replied, whimsically, when asked by a local journalist what his thoughts were on the venue.

    “Good pitches to bat on, great food and wonderful hospitality from the local people,” he continued about his time in Ahmedabad, “although I didn’t get to go out and explore local restaurants, and things…” Aha.

    And his thoughts on Afghanistan, South Africa’s final Group Stage opponent on Friday?

    “They’ve been really, really good to watch. They're a team that's certainly growing in confidence and they've shown that they can compete. They’ve done so well at this World Cup, beaten some big teams,” Miller said.

    “There’s no easy game in the World Cup. We just need to make sure that we're well prepped for whatever game we're playing and team we're playing against. It's been good to watch the Afghanistan group going the way that they have with their spinners, the batters up front, they've done really well. Their opening stands have been good and then contributions throughout the innings.

    “They're a strong team which is why they had a chance to make the semifinals, that's the joys of the World Cup. You see different teams doing well, people that don't necessarily rate a certain team exceeding in a certain phase of the World Cup. It’s good for cricket,” Miller said.

    The semi-final against Australia was, of course, decided yesterday:

    “We played them just before the World Cup and we've played them quite a bit in the past, so we know what to expect. They’re always a competitive team, they've got some incredible players and match winners. From our side it's just important to nail down things that we want to work on. And then come the semifinal, I mean, obviously it doesn't get better than that, it’s a great occasion to be a part of.

    “We missed out in 2019. We made the semi in 2015. So, to be back in the semis and have a great opportunity to make the final is really exciting,” Miller said. Safe, solid, sincere and uncontroversial. He was a good choice.

    Afterwards, he was intrigued by my new running shoes which actually cost R75, not R35 as I incorrectly wrote yesterday. Who on earth would think you could buy running shoes for R35? I showed him the cardboard insoles and he agreed that R75 was, indeed, a bargain. I offered to buy him a pair.

    Solving the Metro train conundrum to get to the Narendra Modi Stadium this morning was like doing algebra in Hindi. So, I hailed a tuk-tuk driver who charged me 200 Rupees, which seemed reasonable. With more time and no ‘deadline’, the code was cracked for the return journey after the Miller chat.

    The Metro is clean, comfortable, air-conditioned and smooth. And pretty much empty. The same journey cost 15 Rupees. Experts in socio-economics could write a thesis on the subject, no doubt, but visual, oral and anecdotal evidence suggests that the vast majority of the population find it less convenient that conventional transport.

    Unless you live right next door to it, and your destination is in close proximity, then you’re faced with an Uber and/or tuk-tuk ride either side so, why not just do that in the first place? It might not be a multi-million dollar white elephant in future, but seems to be for now.

    ‘Bag’ finally made it. Three days apart made my heart grow fonder but ‘bag’ looked tired and miserable. Despite my letter of authorisation to mutilate his lock and rummage through his insides for whatever he had illegally ingested, he evidently maintained his dignity and arrived intact with his lock wrapped in red warning tape. All I was concerned about was the last packet of biltong. Perhaps that was our undoing? But that arrived inside him, along with everything else. Mystery.

Michelle, thank you sincerely for the (5!) coffees you bought yesterday. You clearly have a close attachment to India. When I saw this extraordinary looking child begging on the street today, I decided to give her something from you. As I reached into my wallet, her five parents, six grandparents and eight siblings made a rapid appearance. I would like you to know that their month (at least) has been greatly improved by you!