For any of you who have read some of my previous musings, you may recall our trip to the US Grand Prix at Austin, Texas last October. It was a first for us, hugely enjoyed despite the poor weather, but something we did because we just happened to be in town. Yesterday was a similar scenario.
The England cricket team have been labouring away in South Africa for nearly three months - it showed at times yesterday - and luckily, they were in Cape Town last night for a T20 match, one of two games that round off their tour.
I had cast around locally to see if any official tickets were still available at sensible prices but my efforts were to no avail. The match was a sellout with a 19,000 crowd expected. However, thanks to the wonders of the Internet and a site called Viagogo, I managed to locate six tickets at a hugely over inflated price - more of that in a minute - and so our places in the Northern Stand of Newlands Cricket Ground were secured for this sporting spectacle. We did have to pay over the odds for the tickets but decided that this was an opportunity too good to miss. Instead of the face value of R220, we actually forked out R1175 per ticket, a very painful experience for me as a Yorkshireman but even worse for my big brother who is now almost a fully adopted Scot with the accompanying deep pockets!!
For those of you still hanging in there on this post, you might be puzzling about my reference to six tickets? Well our party of four was enhanced with the addition of one of my golfing partners and friends, David and his wife Sue, who just happened to be in Cape Town at the same time as us. Whereas the three men had all played cricket in the past, the three ladies were still brushing up on their T20 knowledge but were very much there to enjoy the occasion with us and what an occasion it turned out to be!
Newlands is one if the most beautiful venues for cricket in the world. How couldn't it be when it sits in the lea of the iconic Table Mountain, a brooding mass of granite last night due to the grey clouds billowing around it. We had thought that the match was in danger from the weather because we had rain as we walked to the ground. However, similar to our experience in Texas, the clouds parted and we were treated to a fantastic day/night match watched by over 19,000 excited spectators.
We actually felt a touch anticlimactic after the England innings, anticipating that it was going to be an easy South African win. How wrong we were! If we were to have picked any match as our first T20, then we couldn't have chosen better than this one as it went down to the final ball of the game.
With 16 runs required from the final over, big brother and I had it down as an easy win. David on the other hand, pessimistically, opted for our opponents. He was right and must have known how nervous, Reece Topley, the bowler of that final over must have been! They beat us with the last shot of the match! Instant despondency followed and 24 hours on, we still wonder just how we lost.
A terrific experience, never to be repeated I fear but a memory that will live with us for a long time. Mind you, I bet Reece Topley doesn't forget it quickly either!!
Joe Root in Action
Looked amazing. Glad you wrapped up warm. As someone who doesn't u deist and cricket we watched from the sofa and I really enjoyed it....just a shame we didn't get tickets too...next year?
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