You would have been forgiven for thinking you could smell braai smoke during the men’s T20 game between Surrey and Glamorgan at the Oval on Thursday.
But you would have been mistaken. Here in the allegedly first world‚ the health and safety regulations frown on fun like that.
Not that something wasn’t on fire: the South Africans‚ and quasi-South Africans‚ in the mix.
Surrey were bundled out for 141 in exactly 20 overs with Marchant de Lange completing his haul of 4/26 — in 17 balls — by dismissing Imran Tahir second ball.
De Lange also did for Johannesburg-born Jade Dernbach.
Then Tom Curran‚ who is from Cape Town and a son of Zimbabwe international Kevin Curran‚ claimed a hattrick to help whack the Welshmen for 44 in 12.5 overs.
The third element of Curran’s caper was Colin Ingram‚ who edged to slip.
“Jade Dernbach bowled an unbelievable first over and set the tone‚ then I came on and it was my night‚” Curran‚ who claimed 3/3 from a dozen deliveries‚ told Radio London.
Dernbach‚ who sent down four dots before going for a single and a boundary in that over‚ and Curran shared the new ball and Tahir came on at first change to take 3/8 in three overs.
Tahir returned the favour to De Lange‚ going one better by removing him first ball.
There were also random Saffers in the day’s other game‚ between Middlesex and Gloucestershire in Cheltenham.
Stevie Eskinazi — born in Joburg to a mother from England and a father from Zimbabwe‚ who then moved to Perth‚ where their son played for Western Australia at under-17 and under-19 level — opened the batting for Middlesex with Dawid Malan‚ who was born in Roehampton‚ south west London‚ but raised in South Africa.
Graeme van Buuren‚ a left-arm orthodox spinner from Pretoria who played his last game in South Africa for Northerns against Northern Cape in Kimberley in March 2016‚ shared the new ball for Gloucestershire.
Conspicuous by his absence from all that was AB de Villiers‚ who hammered an unbeaten 88 off 43 balls for Middlesex against Essex at Lord’s in the tournament’s opening match last Thursday.
De Villiers wasn’t in the XI a week later‚ and Middlesex could have used him — Gloucs won by two wickets with four balls to spare.
Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package. 