Local cricket

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While the Boy Wonder was out and about doing a thing today, he spotted some SA vs England cricket action.

A quick look at the internet determined that this was the SA U19s vs the England U19s, playing their first 45 over ODI of a 3 match series.

And then I forgot all about it.

But the cricinfo page was still open when I came back to my laptop after horseriding (not me), this evening. And it turns out that England won – somewhat convincingly – bowling SA out for 87 and then knocking off the required total with [ahem] 189 balls to spare.

Eina fok!

But you’ll notice that they still “only” won by 5 wickets. That’s because, of the 18 players who batted, only 4 of them* (2 from each side) made it into double figures. Wow.

Cricket matches are clearly going to look very different – apparently mainly much shorter – in the near future.

If you’re in or around Cape Town on Sunday, you can watch the second ODI at WPCC.

* one of them being Archie Vaughan, debutant and captain of the England side, Sheffield born, and son of ex-England captain Michael Vaughan.

Gallops

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A great morning out at The Gallops at HollywoodBets Kenilworth this morning. Ostensibly to watch one particular horse, but it was just a chilled morning out with some drinks and some bacon rolls, while the horses do their thing along the track there.

Taking photos of a ton and a bit of horse running directly at you at 60kph through the heat haze is never hugely easy, but I actually quite like this all action shot of all eight (equine) legs all airborne taken while they were about 200 metres out.

It’s just for exercise and familiarity with the surroundings for the horses, so there’s no real competition here, but you know that the jockeys don’t want to come in second on any of their rides, so the speed is very real.

I’m not heading back to the races in the foreseeable future, not least because the next meeting there is The Met, and I haven’t got a stitch to wear.

(I know, it’s gruesome that someone so handsome should care, but I do.)

Succulent issue

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Not much time today, so here’s something someone else has written (and filmed).

Just another way in which a lack of will or effort to carefully use a unique natural resource to benefit the impoverished local communities has allowed organised crime to take hold, even in the smallest dorpies in the Karoo.

A biodiversity hotspot in a remote part of South Africa has become the hub of an illegal trade in protected plant species, with organised crime groups capitalising on overseas demand.

“They’ve not just stolen our land or our plants, they’ve stolen our heritage as well,” a livestock farmer angrily tells the BBC, as she expresses dismay at the social and ecological crisis that the poaching has caused.

It’s a sobering read.

Tough stuff

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Incoming from one of my wife’s horseriding friends earlier, this:

And yes, I get it. I’ve often lamented the diving in football. Not least here. I hate it, and I hate the reputation that it’s giving the best sport in the world.

That said, the football part of this image is a mash-up of a couple of photos from Italy’s 1-1 draw against Romania in Switzerland at Euro 2008. And the players on the left were lying on the turf at the end of the match, with Romania having given it all, but having missed a huge opportunity to beat Italy, due to a penalty save in the last 10 minutes.

And that orange shirt top right belongs to cheaty ref, Tom Henning Øvrebø.

Anyway, like I said, sadly, I understand the reputation.

But then, ironically, there was a bit of rain this afternoon and evening, and while my daughter’s horseriding was cancelled, my football went ahead. Because actually, we footballers are clearly made of tougher stuff than the local pony club.

So there.

SuperHound

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Some fun at the Kirstenbosch Summer Sunset Concert last night, where Mango Groove were playing. Sadly(?), I was too busy picnicking and enjoying the music to take photos or video, but suffice to say, they were very good.

And today has been another busy one, taking Dad around the peninsula, then back to the first piano lesson of the year: school starts again soon.

We’ve got another few days of doing tourist stuff, so please accept a QP taken of the beagle in our 24 hours in Agulhas.

With the breeze coming straight off the sea, ear flappery was rife, and I was able to get this pic of Colin enjoying the view out towards Uruguay.

Once my Photoshop skills are properly honed, I might add a cape so that she can look like a true superhero.

I might not.