If the shoe fits, wear it.

So South Africa has been knocked out of yet another high profile ICC Tournament. And it seems that the ‘chocker tag’ is going to stick for a long time.

There was a lot of expectation on South Africa going into the tournament as the worlds top ranked team in both the test and one day arena. And the world was thinking: surely they cant loose on home soil.

A few events in this tournament led to our demise and we were the main architects in a way.

Firstly, all of the other top teams in the world came to South Africa with regular playing time behind them. Out of the teams participating in the Champions Trophy only South Africa and the West Indies had not played cricket in three months.

Secondly, what was Graeme Smith thinking when he won the toss against Sri Lanka and sent them into bat on a wicket that looked a belter. Perhaps the though of making the Asians bowl at South Africa is dewy conditions appealed to the man, but it was ultimately the wrong decision. We were also very lacklustre in both the bowling and fielding departments.

We then came out and beat the Kiwis convincingly, but lost to England yet again under lights in Centurion. Although there was not much that smith could do as England won the toss and elected to bat first. Again, our bowling was appalling at times.

As usual every other excuse in the world was made except the fact that we played crap cricket in two of our three group games, and in a tournament such as the Champions Trophy that is unacceptable.

The time for making excuses is over. Sure Mickey ‘Mouse’ Arthur is a good coach and has done fantastic things with the team, but a few things about his performance, particularly in this tournament, need to be questioned.

Firstly, our lack of game time should have been looked at. If the ICC Cricket schedule allowed for a tournament one would have been arranged, even if is against weaker teams such as Zimbabwe and Kenya. Its match practice. If the Indians or Pakistani’s have a break in their schedules they arrange a mini tri-nations event and play each other.

Secondly, our lack of seasoned veterans in the bowling department needs to be resolved and fast. In both the Sri Lanka and England matches, we could have done with a pace bowler that could call on experience and bowl a consistent line and length. He would come in at the expense of Roelof Van De Merwe, who was initially included in the squad as a batsman, but now finds himself languishing at the bottom of the order. Couldn’t a case be made for the inclusion of Makhaya Ntini, who is in the squad carrying drinks on the field.

Looking at the tournament, there were some high scores with Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and England both passing the 300 mark. So the wickets are batsman friendly, which should suit South Africa with its long batting line up. Perhaps an extra bowler who can try and restrict the runs would be a better option for South Africa then the extra batsman who has not performed.

What’s even more scary is the form of England who are visiting South Africa at the end of the year for a full tour.

They look to be a team that is gaining confidence with every match played. Although the Australian team touring England was viewed as a weakened team, they were favourites to retain the ashes as they came off a wining series in South Africa. However, England won the Ashes, but lost the 7 match ODI series convincingly, 6-1 in fact. They seem to have turned that ODI form around by winning their two Champions Trophy games. This seems a bit ominous ahead of what is a crucial opportunity for South Africa to silence their critics and gain some retribution for their Champions Trophy exit.

The only major downside to the England tour at the end of the year will be the arrival of the Barmy Army hell bent on singing poncy songs, getting drunk and giving the world all the reson to thank the lord that they are not English.

Making a comeback and dollars in Zim

Its been a long time since I wrote anything for this blog, but I thought that today is as good a day as any right?

I love traveling to other countries, who doesn’t right, but unlike most I want to travel to different African countries before I spread my wings further. And my count is increasing. So far I have visited, Lesotho, Swaziland, Mozambique, Kenya, and Zambia.

If you had to ask me which country in Africa Id like to visit least. Zimbabwe is up there along with Somalia, Ethiopia, and the Sudan. But low and behold. The company sends me to Zimbabwe for a mining indaba last week.

You know that a country is F’D up when you are reading up on the internet about travel requirements to Zim and you get a random bitch and moan like this:

I’ve always said that traveling into Africa is interesting and has its challenges. Seems like Zimbabwe has more challenges then most. The Harare International Airport is quite nice and more sophisticated then Lusaka International and has its walls adorned with pictures of their beloved president for life Bob Mugabe with his ridiculas F***ING Adolf Hitler moustache. Anyway, we had to fill in a yellow form on the plane stating who we were, where we came from, and what our occupation is. For the whole flight I was contemplating as to whether I should put down that I am a journalist. I did, and well I got asked every question under the sun at the immigration desk. They then took my camera’s batteries away and gave them back to me when I left the country.

I was given my own bodyguard in Zimbabwe as they love to rob white people who they perceive as tourists and hate journalists even more then they love robbing the whites. Anyway, on my way to the ministry of information in downtown Harare you pass the only construction site in Zimbabwe, which hasn’t seen any work in over 2 years, a power station that doesn’t work, and potholes that resemble craters. You see a lot of stray dogs running around the capital and people walking around with domesticated warthogs on leashes as pets.

The political landscape in Zim is also interesting. At the conference, Mugabe was calling for a stop to international sanctions from the international community. The next day, Prime minister, Morgan Tsvangirai said that there was no international conspiracy to undermine Zimbabwe. Two points of view, who do you believe?

One comment that went down very well was when Mugabe told the organisers of the conference: "Its so nice to see some white faces in the audience, I thought I cased them all away."

And don’t believe for a minute that traveling in Africa is cheap! Zimbabwe has caught on pretty nicely. Since the fall of the Zim Dollar last year, the country has adopted the Rand in the South of the country and the US Dollar in the North of the country. I was put up in the same hotel as the indaba and internet access is $6 an hour, a bottle of water is $6 and a can of coke is $2.

I made it back in once piece and rest assured….I will not be wanting to go back anytime soon.