SEPTEMBER 28. South Africa's contribution in enhancing the quality of world cricket has been immense and grand in the last 10 years. In fact, South Africans are celebrating the 10th anniversary of their return to the game, after being isolated by the other cricket playing nations because of the then government's apartheid policy.
The country's new generation cricketers are a happy lot. Their predecessors such as Barry Richards, Graeme Pollock, Mike Proctor and Clive Rice missed a lot in terms of performing in far away lands and entertaining the enthusiasts of the game. They would have indeed been a great advertisement for South African cricket both individually and as a team.
The cricketing world knew little, or nothing, about the background of their newcomers such as Andrew Hudson, Richard Snell, Brian MacMillan, Jonty Rhodes besides others when South Africa was readmitted as a full member of international cricket. What the United Cricket Board (UCB) of South Africa did then was putting in place a professional public relations cell to disseminate news about their cricket and players, their development programme for the disadvantaged people and in general the changes taking place in South Africa.
Most of the events for the day were handled by Chris Day Communications. The father and daughter team of Chris and Anthea, thorough professionals, left no stone unturned. Things have changed, perhaps, for the better. The UCB has made the Communications Department an in-house thing. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) must wake up to this need of modern day cricket administration.
The person holding the prestigious position in the UCB is Ms. Brownwyn Wilkinson. She has been the Communications Manager of the UCB for more than two years. She has not been contracted by the UCB, but is employed as a staffer. She functions out of the UCB office at 'The Wanderers Club', 21 North Street, Illovo, Northlands, Johannesburg.
Ms. Wilkinson has had to deal with good and difficult situations, especially in the week the New Delhi police linked South Africa's skipper Hansie Cronje to the betting syndicate. "You know, I received 431 calls on my cell phone on April 11, 2000. That's the day Cronje confessed. There were journalists all over the world who wanted to know whether he will be sacked as South Africa's captain and all that," she said.
It's not exactly been an easy job for Ms. Wilkinson. "But it's been interesting to see things from the other side now," she said with a smile. Well, she has been able to deal with things deftly and firmly because she was a top-of-the-line journalist in South Africa and the first woman editor in South Africa of a sports daily (which closed in six months time).
To begin with, Ms. Wilkinson was reporting news, especially crime, with The Star Independent Group. She has travelled with and interviewed Nelson Mandela many times, covered the black Soweto township and other important events, including the 1994 general elections in South Africa. "Things changed dramatically then, and sports was seen as a medium to unify people. I was a cricket fan and a rower for a club team. I was the first woman editor (of a sports daily) in the country. I was retrenched because the paper closed in six months. Then Dr. Ali Bacher asked me if I would be interested in the job and asked me to apply."
Ms. Wilkinson was chosen over a short list of men. "In South Africa, the labour laws are very strict. The entire procedure has to be gone through before a person is given a job," said Ms. Wilkinson, who studied law at the University of Witwatersrand. "Well, the fact that I was a journalist has been very useful to me in handling events here. Sometimes it's quite tiring, as it was when the stories related to corruption broke out in India. I travel with the team, but only for two weeks during the first part of the tour. The next important event of course is the 2003 World Cup during which I will be associated with the South African team," said Ms. Wilkinson, handing over the accreditation to us in her cabin in the UCB office. "I have already issued 300 passes for the triangular series involving India and Kenya besides the host. That includes the electronic media, too."
Sept. 29. It is a pleasures to travel by road in South Africa. The concrete surface is so good and even that it does not take much time to reach 'The Centurion', where the Indians had decided to move for practice. Coach John Wright said 'The Wanderers' was excellent, but the pace and bounce is different here at 'The Centurion', which is closer to South Africa's capital Pretoria.
Going back to the travelling part of it, the Indians had decided to stay put in Johannesburg during the third Test, which will be played at 'The Centurion' where, two years ago, Hansie Cronje and the English skipper Nasser Hussian, contrived a result through predetermined declarations. That was a Test match South Africa lost.
At the UCB office there are showcases full of cups and trophies South Africa has won in the last 10 years. There are posters of cricketers and star players, South African teams, past and present, all kinds of publicity material that says a lot about what the UCB is doing for school and junior cricket. There's not a single picture of an administrator.
Sept. 30. Dr. Ali Bacher, with his wife, arranges for a visit to the 2003 World Cup premises at 'Summer Place' on Melvil Road, not far away from the UCB office at 'The Wanderers Club' and the 'The Wanderers Stadium'. It's a huge place that the World Cup 2003 Organising Committee has rented. The Bachers' information on to whom the place belonged (before it was auctioned) varied. The husband, who is the Executive Director of the World Cup, said: "It was owned by an Italian"; his wife said: "It belonged to a Greek".
The Bachers end the insignificant point of debate then and there. "This is going to be the hub for all our activities. We will have press conferences, events and everything connected with the World Cup. Soon we will be joined by World Sport Group which has been given the television rights. We will be working in close coordination with them."
The suggestion of having lunch at an Italian restaurant is dismissed straightaway by Narayanachari Sridharan whose taste buds rebel if the shape of things on the table do not resemble 'idli soaked in a brownish-yellow liquid made out of lentils and condiments and dosa with its usual accompaniments'. Sridharan gets support from another 'grasseater' and from Joseph Hoover (Deccan Herald), who simply joined the majority.
So Dr. Bacher drives us to 'Sahib' on Grayston Drive on a Sunday afternoon described by the former UCB boss as 'what a day'. We empty a couple of bottles of a South African brand of 'cabernet sauvignon', have mixed platter ordered by Mrs. Bacher for starters and follow it with tandoori roti, plain palak, daal Makhni, pilau (all for veggies) and chicken vindaloo and curry. The afternoon engagement comes to an end after three hours, Dr. Bacher dropping us at 'The Don Suite Sandton 1' Apartments.
Dr. Bacher, known as Ali to some and Aron to a few, lectured on the 2003 World Cup, on how he and his committee will strive to empower the blacks and why a white-majority owned company will not be awarded a contract. All this will be seen 16 months later.
Oct. 1. After seven days, the Indians travel to Randjesfontein, near Halfway House on the way to Pretoria, to play a cricket match that Bollywood, Tollywood or Kollywood would have liked to shoot. It simply would not have fitted into the scheme of things of perhaps Aamir Khan's Lagaan probably running houseful for another week at Mumbai's Eros, opposite to 'The Oval' at Churchgate. Perhaps Naseeruddin Shah would have been thrilled to host, not a 'Super selector' show, but a 'Super Match' show.
South Africans and a majority of the international cricketers and some media people know the Oppenheimer family, Nicky and Jonathan, who bowled the last over to hasten a win for the Indians at their superbly maintained cricket ground. The Indians won the match okay, but what was charming was the place, ambience, a splendid looking club house and the people concerned who put up a great show, preparing a flat pitch for close to 500 runs being scored, presenting a lavish Indian spread at one of the big marquees for lunch.
Dr. Bacher, never to miss an opportunity to be in the news or make news, announced the World Cup groupings ten minutes after the lunch break. He pre-empted questions on whether South Africa and West Indies will play the opening match at Cape Town and Wesley Halls' immediate reaction to it and why the final of the Cup has been advanced to a weekend from a midweek day. The other day Raj Singh Dungarpur said at 'The Press Club, Mumbai' that television will dictate the scheduling of series and one-day tournaments. Dr. Bacher said global exposure will be the maximum if the final is played over a weekend. There were no further questions.
Oct. 2. Everybody thought all was good and nice with the Indian team until a must-visit to 'The Wanderers' on this Tuesday afternoon proved us all wrong and a little disappointed. As team manager Dr. Mahendra Bhargava said the team bus appeared at the gates of Gauteng Cricket Association dot at 2 p.m.
A small crew of ESPN, along with a photographer and two reporters, takes up positions to shoot, but Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar are absent. So much was written and talked about Tendulkar's 'great toe' and the friction between the sesamoid bones between July and September. Surely food for thought to produce a full length film. The very fact that Tendulkar and Ganguly did not come with the team for practice was good enough for tongues to wag.
Two cell phone calls to Dr. Bhargava got the right information. He said Ganguly will soon come with Andrew Leipus and that Tendulkar has gone to refit his 'orthotic' insoles and there was nothing serious. Minutes after the Indian team had started training, Leipus and Ganguly arrived; the former said the Indian captain had a sore finger, but the captain said: "I have squashed the ligaments of the index finger."
A little later, Tendulkar joined his teammates at practice and confirmed that he will indeed play the tri-series opener against South Africa. But Ganguly's damaged index finger raised enough doubts of his playing the match.
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