Wet Wet Wet

The Olympics have just ended and South Africa have a few more sporting hero's.  It was been amazing to sit back and watch how the boys supported each and every South African competitor, from the kayak bronze medalist to the swimming superstars.

We arrived in Ireland on the 5 August 2012, today is the 13th and the team has just played 2 days of cricket.  The weather has not been favourable, minimal outside practices as well as game time has been a bit frustrating, but who are we to challenge mother nature.  I'm currently sitting in my room, on the morning of the first day of the 2nd "Test" in Limavady Northern Ireland.  We should be about to start but weather has followed us yet again.  The "Test" will be hosted by Colraine Cricket Club.  The first "Test" in Wicklow, Republic of Ireland, resulted in draw due to the first 2 days being washed out due to a waterlogged field.  However days 3 and 4 brought some personal highlights. Our wicket keeper Heino Kuhn showed some great skill under pressure to bring about an aggressive century which could have been achieved without the partnership he had with Rory Klienveldt.  The Irish did not perform very well with the bat and was sent in to follow on. The chief destroyer with a career best of 7 wickets in an innings was Wayne Parnell.  Due to the time lost in the game, a result was difficult to attain.

The team was based at the Croke Park Hotel in Dublin, which was about a 45 minute drive to the Oakhill Cricket Club in Wicklow.  I must commend the staff at the Hotel for their service and the effort they made to make as feel at home.   They treated us to a South African braai.  The boys ate borewors and even had Jacaranda FM on live streaming radio.   Our liaison officer, Paul O'Hara, was of great help and showed the team around and got us to walk across to road to watch a Gaelic Football game.  Interesting to say the least.

Dublin is a wonderful city, rich in culture and history.  First world and much more to do, but from a cricket point of view I would rather have the weather of Zimbabwe.  The Triangular "A" Series hosted by Zimbabwe saw us dominate in all disciplines, prior to us coming to Ireland.  We went unbeaten in the tournament as we left Sri Lanka A and  Zimbabwe A, scratching their heads due to the power of our batting, skills of our bowling and commitment in the field.   The highlights of the tournament was the leadership of Faf Du Plessis, the batting prowess of Colin Ingram and the bowling efforts of the young Lions duo of  Chris Morris and Aaron Phangiso.

With positive series wins in the form of the "Test" series against the Sri Lankan A team and Triangular "A" Tournament in Zim, it all bods well for the current tour of Ireland.