Cricket: Donald close to notable cricket mark

By RICHARD BOOCK

BLOEMFONTEIN - The first thing you noticed was that the exchange on your cellphone started reading "300AD."

It happened on the road into the Free State where, it is fair to say, between the patriarchal Afrikaans lifestyle and Bloemfontein's reputation as the judicial capital of South Africa, the place appears to be lagging behind the times a bit.

But 1700 years seemed a mild exaggeration.

It was only after being introduced to a representative from cellphone company MTN that we were able to fully relax, safe in the knowledge that the Boers had not suddenly developed a sense of humour.

Translated, it meant 300 test wickets for Allan Donald.

Depending on the toss last night, that question may already have been answered, but the man himself was not taking anything for granted as he prepared for the first cricket test against New Zealand at Goodyear Park.

For a start, he was struggling with flu, and at a massed press conference sounded like something between Rod Stewart and Kim Carnes as he spoke of his determination to concentrate on the job at hand, rather than any statistical milestone.

It was hard not to request a rendition of She's got Bette Davis Eyes.

And then there was the small concern that these sorts of things have never come easily in the past, with Richard Hadlee, Ian Botham, Shane Warne and Courtney Walsh, to name a few, all frustrated on the verge of record-breaking deeds.

"The biggest mistake I can make is to expect to go out there and get the three wickets," croaked Donald. "What I need to do is go out there and focus on my task for the good of the team, and if it comes, it comes.

"Then we start counting again."

It was only eight months ago that Donald's test career seemed in the balance, as he struggled with injury during the 1998-99 tour to New Zealand and then committed himself to Warwickshire for a season, leaving his future in the hand of the South African selectors.

Only 14 bowlers in the world have reached the 300 mark and the 34-year-old Donald, dubbed "White Lightning," has closed to within three, with 297 wickets from 62 tests.

Blomefontein, which is signposted on the main arterial route with a tank and a couple of armoured vehicles, has arranged for cannons to be fired three times when Donald eclipses the milestone.

"It means a lot when I think back six months to the situation I was in," said Donald.

"And now I'm standing here talking to you guys about what might be a great day.

"It could be the first day, the second day or the day after that, but when it happens we'll celebrate for 10 seconds or 20 seconds or so and then on we go again.

"I'm honestly very relaxed about it and I probably don't know how big this thing is, if it is that big anyway."

Not only is Donald's every move being followed by a sporting-mad South African public, but he also has the best wishes of the country's most notorious cricketer, his disgraced former skipper, Hansie Cronje.

Donald visited Cronje last week and said his former team-mate wished him luck over a cup of coffee.