Cricket: Players' minds on job even in next best thing to paradise

By RICHARD BOOCK

PAARL - You can see how it happened.

From towering rock formations in the west to the dramatic Drakenstein mountain range in the east, the Paarl Valley is picture perfect at first glance, and the more you look at it the more intoxicating it gets.

That certainly was the case for the New Zealand side who toured here six years ago, when the hospitality extended much further than one would normally associate with cricket tours, and three players, Stephen Fleming, Dion Nash and Matt Hart, ended up receiving suspensions for smoking dope.

The region, which is world famous for vineyards such as Nederburg, Simonsvlei and Fairview, is to hedonists what Disneyland is to children.

Bisected by the Berg River, the valley is a spray of wild flowers and wooded glades, rugged like Central Otago yet more vast, as fertile as Marlborough but hotter, and as laid-back as Northland, without quite getting to the horizontal stage.

For the uninitiated, the sight of the mischievous Cape Sugarbird, with a tail three times as long as its body and an appetite to match, and the vivid orange Hoopoe, boasting a crest like one of those new cycling helmets, only serves to reinforce the Alice in Wonderland feeling.

You half expect to meet a talking rabbit.

And lending a more sombre air, but no less fascinating, is the thought that just a few kilometres up the road is the former Victor Verster Prison, from which Nelson Mandela was eventually freed.

Apart from the vineyards, some of which the New Zealanders visited after practice yesterday, the whole area is dotted with cafes and restaurants run by friendly proprietors, who make our West Coast locals seem almost frosty in comparison.

Yet even if this is paradise, the New Zealand players may have other things on their minds right now.

Despite the heartbreak of the last one-dayer, the harsh reality is that the tourists lost a match they always should have won, and are now under even greater pressure as they look towards the first test.

Whitewashed in the one-dayers, they also lost their best test performer in Chris Cairns, and could have been forgiven for limping into Paarl, inland from Cape Town, with little fight left for the rest of the tour.

For all that, however, New Zealand seemed far from disillusioned as they prepared for the three-dayer against Boland, and have been working tirelessly to put this marathon tour back on the road.

Manager Jeff Crowe said yesterday that the team were hurting after missing out at Newlands at the weekend, but were determined to give themselves the best chance of turning things around for the looming three-test series against the Proteas.

"Everyone's still got their heads up, and the players and management are supporting each other through thick and thin," Crowe said. "Paarl comes with some unwanted history as far as New Zealand teams are concerned, but we had a good practice session at Newlands and there's no question that everyone's got their minds on the job."

Although the playing line-up was not finalised last night, New Zealand seemed poised to play all five newcomers, with Stephen Fleming, Nathan Astle and possibly Scott Styris receiving a well-earned break.

Craig McMillan was promoted to captain, which presumably means he will deputise as vice-captain for the test series instead of Cairns.

"Being given the captaincy was a real buzz for 'Macka,"' Crowe said. "He gave a great captain's speech after practice."