The boys fire up

Do you guys appreciate how good South Africa’s performance was in the first game of the Morocco Cup?

For the boys to come storming out of the blocks like that against a team that recently whipped the Aussies showed some serious character. I know the season is a long and demanding one and this is only the beginning but I saw some things that were extremely encouraging.

I reckon one or two of the blokes had endured a long and sometimes soul-searching winter as they reflected on the carnage inflicted by Australia. To say they may have been awoken in a cold sweat in the middle of the night with visions of a Brett Lee or a Glenn McGrath snarling from about fifteen yards might be a bit of an overkill, but not by much. They had to put some ghosts to rest…and the Pakistanis copped the full force of a determined, focused unit that displayed plenty of grunt.

Did you see the passion in Jacques Kallis performance? Did you notice the enthusiastic display from Allan Donald who looked like he was imitating a caged tiger who had just been let out? His animated celebration when he picked up his second wicket, coupled with a high jinks or two, signaled in emphatic terms that his hamstring is fine! I even saw Shaun pump those fists on a couple of occasions.

What about Mark Boucher? I have never seen him more vocal and full of encouragement. Rhodes was his normal self, covering ground left, right and center and inflicting panic, but hey….that’s Jonty!

My second biggest pat on the back goes to ‘scooter’ Gibbs. Let’s face it. A player of his ability would have been extremely disappointed with the way the boys from down under…well, er….undermined his ability last summer.

Yesterday he was sublime. The conditions didn’t suit his batting style. The track was barren and slow. He showed admirable patience initially and upon being encouraged by a rampant Nicky Boje soon hit full tilt.

The best part about his innings was the responsibility he showed in batting through. All this, when due to the typical Western Cape winter, he had hardly had willow in his mits.

My biggest accolade goes to Eric Simons. He would have been wondering for months whether he could rekindle that fire in the belly. I have been saying for a long time that South African cricket had momentarily lost it’s spark.

Well…from what I saw against Pakistan that spark that so many of the players possessed……is combustible!