“One foot on the plane” syndrome is common for sports teams at the end of a long tour or, in the Proteas case, a very short tour. But it was evident nonetheless as they are only halfway through a tour encompassing six games each on opposite ends of the world.
There was no lack of intention or desire, just energy. Two compelling and deeply rewarding wins in the first two games meant, entirely naturally, that their focus was on a 6:00am departure from the hotel on Monday morning for an 8:00 am flight to Brisbane and a division into two groups for onward travel to Heathrow, the first via Sydney and the second via Perth.
Kagiso Rabada’s non-participation in the ODI series was a revelation. He initiated an informal, social meeting with my ABC co-commentators, Jason Gillespie and Stuart Clark, on Saturday night and was only too happy to join us for a formal interview between innings on Sunday.
Rabada asked the two former Australian fast bowlers most of the questions you’d expect a fan to ask – ‘what was it like to play with Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne, the ‘aura’ of the great Australian Test side, the Baggy Green etc.’ But also, what they thought of modern day workload management and how they prepared their minds and bodies for long series.
On the record, in the commentary box, he said his greatest lesson from the three-month suspended sentence for recreational drug use was ‘gratitude’. Not just for the people who stood by him and supported him, but for the realisation of how much cricket meant to him and the personal loss and consequences if he was unable to play.
For those who may have thought the great Rabada had become aloof, the last week has been eye-opening. Halfway through the first ODI, I inadvertently took a step into the Proteas dining-room, just two doors away from the ABC commentary box in the Great Barrier Reef Arena grandstand. Team Manager, Volvo Masubelele, barked angrily at me to retreat. Fair enough. ICC Anti-Corruption and Security stuff, and all that.
Rabada asked what I was looking for. A coffee. “We only have instant,” he said, “no good stuff. But let me make you one. How d’you take it? Milk, sugar?” Returning to the sparse commentary box coffee-armed, Gillespie and Clark were bristling: “Where did you get that?” they demanded. “Kagiso Rabada made it for me.” Gillespie and Clark’s relationship with KG developed from there.
His sore ankle did not prevent him from making coffee for the ABC radio commentary team or buying three rounds of drinks for them on Saturday night. Rabada appeared to be in awe of the two veterans, hanging on their every word.
“It’s a bit weird, isn’t it?” reflected Gillespie. “I obviously went alright as a Test bowler (259 wickets @ 26), had my moments, played Ashes series, I was OK. But Rabada is an all-time great. He’s 20 years younger than me but I was probably more interested in hearing what he had to say than he was in listening to me.” Not so. Gillespie’s inherent modesty is humbling, but he will always be a great. And washing our clothes in a coin-op laundrette together in Cairns will remain a tour highlight for life.
It may be a more sombre note for some, but Stu’s drive from Cairns to Mackay took him past the site of Andrew Symonds’ demise in a car-crash 15 minutes outside Townsville, midway between Cairns and Mackay. He stopped, as cricketers will do for many years to come, to pay respects. It’s a very ‘real’ tribute. Helmet, bat, flag, can of 4XXX.
Review of the tour to follow, hopefully. Three days in Brisbane to regroup and regather before the 28-hour return to Cape Town. Talk soon.
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Those travel arrangements are the pits. Heck I was hoping we could challenge a 'famous' 431 score. ...