Proteas in Sri Lanka, day 1

Confession time – it has been almost two years since I performed my primary job ‘live’ in the sense of being where the cricket was happening rather than describing events as they transpired on a television screen.  Naturally I am unusually excited to have landed in Colombo to commentate on South Africa’s six match, white-ball tour of Sri Lanka. Well, not Sri Lanka, more like just Colombo. Actually, more like the R. Premadhasa Stadium which will host all three ODIs and T20Is.

Excitement is tempered, in equally unusual measure, by trepidation and concern about where the national team is ‘at’ following the first half of the SJN hearings and a mounting crescendo of dissatisfaction with the prospect of head coach Mark Boucher retaining his job, especially in the wake of his deputy Enoch Nkwe’s resignation. 

In normal times I would be able to observe practise and training over the next week before the first game and easily discern what is happening within the camp – not so much because I’m a genius reader of body language, but that professional cricketers are so poor at disguising it. Most sports people are. As hurtful and insensitive as behaviour in the Proteas camp was 15-20 years ago, I fear that Nkwe’s comments about ‘unprofessionalism and lack of discipline’ in today’s team could be more harmful and divisive. 

But for the next seven days I will be confined to my hotel room 40 kilometres south of Colombo. I have a ground floor balcony, which I am permitted to utilise, and a beautiful view of a fabulously grand swimming pool, and the beach just beyond it, which I am not allowed to visit. Even though they are both empty. Never mind. We have now stopped questioning the people who make the rules, haven’t we? The airport was packed with hundreds of people bustling and pushing in a series of queues which configured to keep us within the terminal for over three hours before we could escape.

On arrival at the hotel we underwent immediate lateral flow and PCR tests before we could check in to our rooms. Three meals per day will be delivered to us by staff in full (if haphazardly compiled) hazmat suits and we will be taking care of our own laundry and cleaning, which is as it should be. The first two meals have been splendid so a little weight-gain is to be expected. It has been almost 25 years since I went longer than three days without a run, so that will be a challenge. I packed a skipping rope for this trip around which I came close to breaking my neck, and a leg, upon first use this afternoon. They seemed easier to use when I was 10-years-old. I will get better. 

Anyway, this was merely a ‘welcome to Colombo’ note and an invitation to follow me through the next three weeks of what promises to be a fraught, possibly even frantic tour. On both sides of the boundary.

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