Telford Vice's Blog, page 17

South Africa’s long day ends in victory

“There’s nothing special about me as a captain.” – Temba Bavuma, who has yet to lose a Test as South Africa’s captain.

Telford Vice / Newlands

SPECTATORS trickling into Newlands on Monday were greeted by the angry ugliness of a police riot vehicle brooding on Campground Road. With its barred, dark windows and bulletproof everything, it was conspicuously incongruous on these streets, which are among Cape Town’s leafiest.

Considering there were only 3,038 people in the ground by lunch, ...

From super Sunday to sleepy Sunday

“That happened in the heat of the moment. It sometimes happens, and it should stay on the field.” – Babar Azam on his heated conversation with Wiaan Mulder.

Telford Vice / Newlands

WHAT a difference a week makes. Last Sunday in Centurion, South Africa won perhaps the most white-knuckle men’s Test of the southern summer; Australian exceptionalism notwithstanding. This Sunday at Newlands, Pakistan treaded water while they waited for it to rise above their heads. Sunday, bloody Sunday.

T...

Prince’s princelings score royal runs

“Ashy P became a father figure to me and helped me through my life for the last couple of years. So to see what he and the kids are going through is really difficult.” – Ashwell Prince

Telford Vice / Newlands

FOUR freshly familiar faces, among many others known and not, arrived at the front gate of a suburban home on a golden evening in Cape Town on Thursday. All were welcomed into the garden. Embraces were warm and plentiful. Newlands was not quite three kilometres away.

One of the f...

Newlands delivers a day for the ages

“Oh, the mountain! Oh, the fine weather! Oh, aren’t we at the gods’ gift to cricket grounds the world over! Oh, he’s out!” – how the Newlands faithful watch cricket.

Telford Vice / Newlands

A man walked up to a group of people wearing accreditation passes and standing outside Newlands on Thursday. He asked them hopefully, “What cricket is on tomorrow?”

“A Test,” he was told, “South Africa against Pakistan.”

He looked deflated. “Ah,” he said, and jerked a thumb at the woman with him...

Rickelton, Bavuma make hay in Newlands’ sunshine

“Shuks had a chat to me yesterday in the nets. He said he wouldn’t put me in a position that he didn’t think I could do.” – Ryan Rickelton

Telford Vice / Newlands

RYAN Rickelton looked unbelievably fresh for someone who had spent seven-and-a-half hours batting under Cape Town’s searing summer sun. When he arrived for his press conference, his shirt was crisp, his hair neat, and his demeanour that of someone looking forward to a relaxing evening.

And well he might. Rickelton’s undefeat...

‘Kwena, run in and bowl as quick as you can’

“I don’t think I’m allowed to speak much about the wicket.” – Temba Bavuma raises suspicions about Newlands’ pitch. 

Telford Vice / Newlands

KWENA Maphaka had yet to be born the first time South Africa played a Test against Pakistan at Newlands, in January 2003. On Friday he will play in that fixture and become South Africa’s youngest ever debutant at 18 years and 270 days.

Maphaka has played two ODIs and five T20Is, but only three first-class matches. He will make his Test debut 11 d...

You like watching cricket? Wiaan Mulder doesn’t …

“I felt like because I was playing cricket on the beach — which I was doing 100% — I’m like, why couldn’t I be playing?” – Wiaan Mulder

Telford Vice / Cape Town

“I hate watching cricket,” Wiaan Mulder said on Wednesday. “Especially when you feel like you’re playing nicely and you could have filled some gaps that maybe the team needed.”

Mulder has been watching cricket for 33 days. He broke a finger while batting against Sri Lanka at Kingsmead in November, and missed the second match o...

South Africa ‘certainly not going to apologise for easy WTC draw’

“We want this team not to know when they’re beaten. And we want the opposition also to know that – that this side doesn’t know when they’re beaten.” – Shukri Conrad

Telford Vice / Johannesburg

IT was two o’clock on Sunday morning, and suddenly the Centurion Test didn’t matter. Shukri Conrad was woken by a message on his phone. Ashwell Prince, South Africa’s batting coach, informed Conrad that Prince’s wife, Melissa, had died from cancer. She was 40.

Melissa was a warm, generous, beaut...

From the toilet to the smoke break to the WTC final

“Sometimes there’s two voices in your head. One says, ‘You’re not going to do this.’ The other one has to overpower it.” – Kagiso Rabada

Telford Vice / Centurion

TEMBA Bavuma was, in his own words, “hiding and sulking in the toilet”. Marco Jansen, Kagiso Rabada and Shukri Conrad were out the back having a smoke, fretting, trying to calm their nerves, and plotting what to do.

South Africa had only Jansen, Rabada and Dane Paterson left to score the 32 runs they still needed to beat Paki...

That South Africa are in the WTC final is a fact like a cow

If you’re looking for someone to blame for South Africa’s success, try the BCCI, the ECB and CA. 

Telford Vice / Centurion

MEANWHILE, in one of the other two Boxing Day Tests, South Africa quietly snuck into the WTC final on Sunday. Who knew? Who noticed? Probably not the 299,329 who have turned up at the MCG these past four days.

There were 2,242 in Centurion’s sweeping single stand and gracious grass banks when South Africa resumed needing 121 more runs to beat Pakistan and secure t...