Johannesburg - Kingsmead stadium manager Brett Proctor came in to work shortly after 7am yesterday and the telephones were already ringing. Despite South Africa having already lost the T20I series, local fans are very keen to see Christopher Henry Gayle strut his stuff again.
“A lot of people suddenly want to attend the game, and judging by the calls, they’re keen to see Gayle deliver the kind of entertainment they’ve already seen on TV,” Proctor said.
Ticket sales were slow to begin with, but the recent Gayle thunder has caused an acceleration in the process with 12000 out of a capacity of 17500 already taken.
And - always a major concern on the sub-tropical East Coast – the weather seems set fair for the game. Another issue, load-shedding, has been removed from the equation because the KZN Cricket Union has hired generators as backup.
Local curator Wilson Ngobese has created a beauty of a pitch for the match. Already rock hard, there’s modest grass cover and the surface has a lovely sheen. The strip is the same as that on which David Miller plundered an unbeaten 93 in 37 balls in the RamSlam T20 semi-final against the Titans last season.
“I’m happy with the preparation,” said Ngobese. “I just aim to produce the best possible cricket wicket. I’ve learnt that I can’t win if I try to keep everyone happy, so now I don’t try!”
Proteas’ wicketkeeper Morné van Wyk has probably occupied the best seat in the house in which to observe Gayle’s rampages at Newlands and the Wanderers.
He’s helped to dismiss the 35-year-old Jamaican in both matches, taking catches off the bowling of Imran Tahir and David Wiese, but not before Gayle had walloped his team for 77 in 31 balls and 90 in 41 balls.
How did it feel to watch the left-hander’s sublime acts of destruction? “Gayle is in such good form at the moment that even the best bowlers seem to have no answer to him. His hitting is so clean that they’re blown off their lines and lengths. They just can’t offer a consistent set of deliveries.”
Looking ahead to tomorrow’s match, Van Wyk said that, despite the series being lost, “no game is a dead rubber” for the Proteas.
“We’ve got a lot of pride and, besides, it’s the last game for the group. We’re also really keen to pick up a win because it will give us momentum going in to the ODI series on Friday.”
The Dolphins skipper knows Kingsmead well and feels that the conditions will level the playing fields somewhat, offering the bowlers opportunities that they simply didn’t get at the Wanderers.
“It depends on the state of the pitch and the overhead conditions. If there’s some cloud cover, decent bounce and the ball ‘pings’ off the surface, then the bowlers will feel they can get something out of it.”
Van Wyk is unlikely to get many opportunities in the ODI series with Rilee Rossouw likely to bat up front with Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers likely to be given the gloves in the absence of the injured Quinton de Kock.
“Obviously I’m disappointed that I didn’t make the World Cup squad, but I’ve been in the runs in limited-overs cricket this season and I’m determined to keep myself ready just in case the opportunity arises,” Van Wyk said.
The Star