All set for apples versus pears‚ or Proteas versus Springboks

08 December 2016 - 12:00 By Telford Vice
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Apples and pears shouldn't be mixed‚ so how about cricket and rugby balls?

The answer to that question will be delivered live and in living colour at Newlands at 6pm on Thursday‚ when the Proteas and the Springboks take each other on over 20 overs.

It is less a match than a novelty‚ and a chance to swell the coffers of the Nelson Mandela Foundation.

But‚ considering what both teams have been up to - or down to - these past few months‚ all involved could do with some light relief.

The cricketers are freshly returned from the test series in Australia‚ where they won in grand style.

Even so‚ the intense focus during the last two weeks on what was or was not in Faf du Plessis' mouth saw the tension soar to ugly levels.

Thursday's occasion‚ then‚ is a chance for the Proteas to rid themselves of all that jazz.

It's also the first opportunity the South African public will have to celebrate the Australian series victory with the team.

As for the Boks ... perhaps we shouldn't go there.

Their dismal performance on the end-of-year tour means anything and everything - including a charity event - that can take millions of minds off the poor rugby their national team are playing will be welcomed in the green and gold trenches.

The fact that this could be the first game the Boks win in a while should serve as motivation.

And the portents for that happening would seem good - as the Boks' player-coach Graeme Smith will plot the Proteas' downfall.

Better him‚ surely‚ than the hapless Allister Coetzee. - TMG Digital

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