One ODI not too many, Durban seeks more action
DURBAN: On Monday morning, the practice area at the Kingsmead saw the home team Dolphins in a practice session, and with left-ar m spinner Keshav Maharaj rolling his arm over.
Till a day back, he was part of the Proteas Test squad. In Durban, a city heavily inhabited by South Asian expats, he is a star attraction.
Maharaj and Hashim Amla, though, are the only Indian-origin players to have played a significant number of Tests for the Proteas since readmission.
Both belong to Durban, known as the city with most Indians outside an Indian city. Maharaj’s forefathers docked here in 1874, having arrived from India as indentured labourers.
There have been other Test players like Imraan Khan, who too came from this city, but disappeared after playing a Test or so.
Maharaj taking up spin or Amla imparting plenty of wrist in his strokes was a natural corollary. “You see, we always had Indian cricketers or Asian cricketers as heroes,” says Professor Ashwin Desai, a chronicler of cricket in Kwazulu Natal province.
“The reason was that there was no connect with white cricketers due to Apartheid. So we had to look at players from our motherland.”
It was no surprise that the first international South Africa hosted in 1992 was given to Durban as the hosts played India.
There is a plaque of captains inside the Kingsmead Stadium commemorating that “Friendship Series’.
Durban became a regular fixture since then, hosting a Test and at least an ODI every time India toured these shores barring 2001-02.
Durbanites, however, will see just one game on this tour – the first ODI on February 1. This despite the tour having 12 internationals with Centurion getting four and Johannesburg and Cape Town three each.