DURBAN – The ICC World Twenty20 caravan has been away from town over the weekend but will return soon with a Super Eights game between New Zealand and England on Tuesday. With the media fraternity also moving base, I was left quite alone in the Eastern Coastal city with precious little to do. I could hear Durban’s silence over the howling winds and the gentle waves on the beach.
With no company and some sound native advice, I had to rein in my adventure spirit and give up aspirations of driving to the Phoenix Farms in Pietermaritzburg where Mahatma Gandhi had distilled the essence of non-violent opposition. With the cricket action happening in Johannesburg and Cape Town, I had to resign myself to being confined in my room.
And I settled down to watching the cricket on TV. Sanath Jayasuriya’s blast against New Zealand on Saturday was attractive television but it wasn’t easy watching India lose its opening Super Eights group E match to New Zealand on Sunday. After getting good starts in both innings – first with the ball and then with the bat – India lost its way and the game.
It wasn’t the most pleasant thing to watch on a Sunday morning. But Twenty20 cricket is so compelling that I did not reach out for the remote control. India and Pakistan had conjured many twists and turns in the game here on Friday and there was hope India would find a trick again but Daniel Vettori, the closest cricket can get to Harry Potter, turned on his magic and won the game for his team.
From near the beachfront, I chose to walk in a slight drizzle to the Sahara Stadium, home of the provincial KwaZulu Natal Cricket Association so that I could find someone to talk cricket with. “See if you can get the groundsman,” I told myself and walked unhurriedly past a baseball park where some youngsters enjoyed a Sunday afternoon hit about.
There was a calm silence at the Sahara Stadium and its surrounds in the Kingsmead Office Park, a direct contrast to the carnival atmosphere that prevailed when the ICC World T20 matches were being played. The tons of bottles and food cartons that had been left over by the revelers on Friday had all been cleared and the Stadium was spotlessly clean.
A lone security guard was helpful and quickly told me that the groundstaff had left for the day. The team had anticipated the drizzle and done well to cover the square and, quite thoughtfully, the practice pitches at the Dolphins Cricket Academy, too. And I would have to wait for another day to get inside the mind of a curator who tends to one of the fastest pitches in world cricket.
And as I walked back to the hotel, I could not help think about how the ground had seen some amazing history. It has been host to a high score of 658 for nine and a low of 66 in Test matches. From the timeless Test between England and South Africa in 1939 to an amazing tie (and bowl out) between India and Pakistan. An awesome venue, even when it is silent.
