Cricket World Cup 2019: UK Tour Diary with Myron Naicker
Tales of a false English Summer, a Sri Lankan lookalike, and a splendid new dad's conference.
Greetings from the United Kingdom, my home away from home for the next month and a half, on a sojourn to bring you the latest from the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup.
It’s hard to believe that an entire work week has passed since touching down in London in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
The long-haul flight really took its toll on me. For those of you who have never met me, picture an almost two-meter tall man with absurdly long hands, crammed into an economy class seat. Not pleasant.
It was made easier by Beatrice, a Zimbabwean-born IT specialist who was seated next to me. 'B' now lives in Hong Kong after spending the last two decades in countries like England, Germany, and America.
READ: Faf proud to lead Proteas at the World Cup
As I was mentally readying myself for my first ever international work project (Lesotho doesn’t count, does it?), her life stories of ambition and grit having grown up in Rhodesia inspired me as a fellow African.
Eleven hours later, I landed at Heathrow and was greeted by bitterly cold weather, not that I was at all surprised. I have been walking around with a jacket here ever since. 'Summer’ is a loose term in these parts.
London really is a cosmopolitan city, but so are South Africa's cities. So, I never expect people to know exactly where I hail from, but found it hilarious when my hotel porter asked me if I was Sri Lankan. It got even funnier when his colleague, a Sri Lankan national himself, said that I looked exactly like his cousin back home. I guess my friends don’t call me Angelo Matthews for nothing...
After settling in and touching base with the Proteas, I met good friend and popular comedian Carvin Goldstone, who is busy doing a few shows here in North London for the Europa League final. Highbury was buzzing. So much so, that we just could not get a place in any of the bars. After searching high and low, we managed to get into an underground pub, whose claims that they had big screen televisions were completely false.
About 50 of us, die-hard Arsenal fans strained our eyes and watched our team capitulate on a 32-inch flat screen. Now, I have heard my fair share of swear words, but at the full-time whistle, I was introduced to a new language - and it was vile! Same old, Arsenal.
On Thursday, 30 May, I achieved a lifelong dream of covering my first ever World Cup game.
Being so far away from Durban, I was a bit emotional that morning, missing the comforts of home, but more especially my wife and son. I mean, what are big moments if you can’t celebrate them with those closest to you?
Just as I stepped out of my hotel, heading towards the stadium, a man pushing his beautiful baby girl greeted me. I instinctively said, "Howzit", and to my surprise he said, "You must be South African’.
ALSO: Proteas relaxed ahead of World Cup opener
It was like the universe had sensed my energy; here we were, two complete strangers sharing the joys of fatherhood. We had similar stories of being new parents and how our world had changed completely. A ‘new dad’s’ conference in the leafy suburb of Notting Hill. Splendid.
The cricket has kept me busy and like all Proteas supporters, I am looking forward to a big win against Bangladesh this Sunday after the horror show against England.
Next week, I head to Southampton where the Proteas will play India on 5 June.
Cricket aside, my plan this weekend is to find a lekker curry spot. I am craving a bit of soul!
Keep up to date with the latest Cricket World Cup action with Myron Naicker as he brings us exclusive updates from England. Find the latest updates in the podcast channel below: