# South Africa Test Tour Diary: Episode 1 🇿🇦 - Three Tests. Three cities. Three weeks.

An episode of [The Howie Games](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1146329262), 7 Oct 2026, 32 min.

Audio: https://enrichment.soundstack.com/4vjqq8/episode.flightcast.com/cv75tyz355senzxw47vmpxl9.mp3

Three Tests. Three cities. Three weeks. And you’re coming along for the ride. We're off to commentate Test Cricket on international soil for the very first time. And it's not only Test Cricket abroad, it's Australia's first time back in South Africa since the infamous Sandpapergate. So, the Howie Games is heading to South Africa for an unscripted, behind-the-scenes tour diary covering the cricket, the commentary, the travel, the characters, the stars and, hopefully a few random adventures along the way. Before we get into the now, Howie takes a trip back through Australia’s incredible Test history in South Africa from Victor Trumper to Allan Border, Adam Gilchrist, Phil Hughes and an 18-year-old Pat Cummins winning a Test on debut. Plus, all the controversy and fallout of our last appearance. There’s great cricket, great characters, some unforgettable moments and a fascinating history between these two proud cricketing nations. It's time… to hit the airport. And there are delays! And a missed flight. Melbourne to Perth, Perth to Johannesburg, Johannesburg to Durban, and the South Africa Test Tour Diaries officially begin. We check in, and then it's off to training. Come along. This one’s going to be a beauty. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

## Transcript

[0:02] A listener production.
[0:14] G'day.
[0:15] Welcome along to what we are calling the South African Test Tour Diaries.
[0:19] Three tests in three cities in three weeks.
[0:23] You and your crew are invited on this tour for an unscripted, behind-the-scenes look at the cricket inside the commentary box.
[0:32] The travel, the people we meet along the way, the stars of the game, and hopefully, typically, some random adventures that arrive when they choose to arrive.
[0:40] This is going to be like nothing you've ever seen.
[0:43] But before we get to the now, I reckon to understand what's coming, I need to get you up to speed on what's been.
[0:48] So, cricket nerds, here's some history for you.
[0:55] Australia first played a test in South Africa versus the home side way back in October of 1902.
[1:03] It was a draw participating some famous Aussie names like Warwick Armstrong and Victor Trumper.
[1:10] God no doubt could have created a better batsman than Victor Trumper had he wished.
[1:16] But so far, he hasn't.
[1:19] That's a fair rap.
[1:20] There's a fair rap.
[1:21] The Aussies toured six more times, typically dominating most of the series, up until the 1969-70 tour when Bill Laurie's team were humbled 4-0 by a truly great South African team.
[1:36] Mackenzie is also caught by Proctor off Goddard, whose great bowling is seldom seen in a lifetime of cricket.
[1:43] He took six vital wickets for 53 runs.
[1:46] South Africa win by 233 runs with 100 minutes left for play.
[1:51] For the first time in 64 years, South Africa has beaten Australia in a home test.
[1:56] This truly was one of South Africa's finest stars.
[1:59] Then came apartheid, when the Australian test team didn't tour for more than 20 years until South Africa freed herself.
[2:07] There's Mr Mandela, Mr Nelson Mandela, a free man taking his first steps...
[2:14] into a new South Africa.
[2:15] The Aussies then returned in 1994 for what was built up as a momentous test tour.
[2:22] The play has just begun here at Centurion Park and the place is absolutely packed and buzzing.
[2:28] Similar type atmosphere.
[2:29] OK, Big Merv.
[2:31] Big Merv was fine for getting in a blue with the locals leaving the playing arena in the first test loss.
[2:37] Now, I've got the bat in my hand.
[2:39] He's got his fingers on top of the walkway thing.
[2:42] And I'm thinking to myself, and I can remember clearly thinking, if I get my bat on the right angle here, I could break eight fingers.
[2:48] So I was sort of measuring that up.
[2:49] In the end, just hit the tin placard that was on the fence and went off like a shotgun.
[2:54] And he sort of jumped back.
[2:55] And I've got over the fence.
[2:56] Now, six foot four, I've got a helmet on, a cricket bat in my hand.
[3:00] I'm taking on Mike Tyson.
[3:01] The Aussies won the second test.
[3:03] Australia have won by nine wickets to level the series at one all.
[3:08] So it was all teed up for the third, which was a draw.
[3:12] The great man, Alan Border, made 42 not out in his last test innings.
[3:17] Beautifully driven through the covers by Alan Border.
[3:20] And alongside Junior, the ever-magnificent M.E.
[3:23] War, in full flow, the pair saved the test.
[3:29] Well up.
[3:32] Ideal delivery to drive through the covers.
[3:34] A magnificent 100 from Mark Waugh.
[3:39] Since then, the series, it has always been on like Donkey Kong.
[3:45] Now highlights for the Aussies.
[3:47] Gillies, emotional double ton in Johannesburg back in 2002.
[3:52] Short, pulled away, and that's the 200.
[3:54] What an innings.
[3:57] Adam Gilchrist, take a bow.
[3:59] Today you've been an absolute star.
[4:02] 2009, an unforgettable twin-ton effort by the late Phil Hughes, who was aged 20 in Durban.
[4:10] A marvellous achievement by Philip Hughes.
[4:14] He gets 100 in each innings and is the youngest player to do so.
[4:19] And in 2011, an 18-year-old by the name of Pat Cummins played his very first test in Johannesburg.
[4:29] He's nicked that one.
[4:30] Brilliant start from Cummins.
[4:32] Absolutely sensational performance from the youngster.
[4:34] He's picked up six for 79, so that is just outstanding.
[4:39] And Pat was extraordinary.
[4:41] You're going to see a lot more of this man, that's for sure.
[4:43] Australia won that test a down with Pat 13 not out, hitting the winning runs and getting player of the match.
[4:50] A big shot and he's got it away.
[4:52] He's got it away.
[4:52] He's got it away.
[4:57] How about that?
[4:58] How about that?
[4:59] Superb stuff.
[5:01] So six were in the second innings?
[5:03] Yeah.
[5:04] And then you hit the winning runs?
[5:06] Yeah.
[5:06] And you got part of the match?
[5:07] Yeah.
[5:09] Okay, so you talked about there's all those bikes in the dressing room and then you're in the dressing room and you've got, I don't know, your little man of the match check there.
[5:16] You got your six in your back pocket.
[5:18] I presume you're having a beer.
[5:20] No, I wasn't.
[5:21] I was, which again, I wish I did now, but I am...
[5:27] I was cooked.
[5:27] My heel basically was in smithereens.
[5:32] So I think on day, it just got worse and worse.
[5:36] Bruised fat pad, which is kind of the heel part, and then just by keep bowling on that, it turned into a stress fracture.
[5:41] So I couldn't walk to the point where it's halfway through day four, the second innings, I got an injection into my heel.
[5:52] Yeah, not nice.
[5:53] Yeah.
[5:55] But once it was in, it was the greatest feeling ever because I couldn't feel my heel.
[5:59] So that had worn off.
[6:00] So day five when I was batting, hopping around.
[6:04] Now, the South Africans, they have been formidable opponents.
[6:08] Wonderful crickers, fierce and quicks.
[6:11] Picture Alan Donald.
[6:12] He's gone, he's gone, yes!
[6:15] They're three for 44 and Donald makes a mess of Mark Waugh.
[6:18] Dale Stane.
[6:20] Gone, ten records for Stane.
[6:22] What a performance on the MCG.
[6:25] Four more named Warfield.
[6:27] It's got him again.
[6:28] Caught in anger.
[6:28] Bob Warfield.
[6:29] They've had tough captains like Kepler-Wessels.
[6:32] They've had a magnificent performance from Kepler-Wessels.
[6:34] And Graeme Smith.
[6:35] Outstanding stuff from Graeme Smith.
[6:37] It really has been a remarkable knock.
[6:39] What a huge turnaround.
[6:41] And then they have had the genius of Jacques Callas.
[6:46] Jacques Callas is the best cricketer I've ever played.
[6:48] Full stop.
[6:49] And that will do it.
[6:51] Places that beautifully.
[6:52] A lovely way to bring up the highest score against Australia and your 23rd Test Match 100.
[7:00] 44 or 45 Test 100s.
[7:02] And they're out of wickets.
[7:06] him.
[7:07] What a beauty from Callis.
[7:08] Fighting on his way.
[7:10] He loves this ground, but not today.
[7:13] Either one of those careers is outstanding.
[7:15] You can, you take 300 test wickets every day of the week and you take 45 tests.
[7:19] He's got them both.
[7:20] He was just a born cricketer.
[7:23] Callis brings up the three figures.
[7:26] He's all class, Jack Callis.
[7:30] Now.
[7:32] We are up to the point in history where we get to the last time the Aussie Test team toured South Africa back in 2018.
[7:40] So this is the umpires having a chat to Cameron Bancroft.
[7:58] labelled the darkest day in the history of Australian cricket, if not Australian sport.
[8:06] I think they're asking him about what he had in his pocket.
[8:10] Sandpaper gate.
[8:12] I'm going to come out and say it.
[8:13] In my opinion, I think he's tampered with the ball.
[8:17] Australian cricket in crisis as the ball-tampering scandal sends shockwaves through the world of sport.
[8:23] For the captain, Steve Smith...
[8:26] the tour literally ended in tears.
[8:29] Any time you think about making a questionable decision, think about who you're affecting.
[8:36] You're affecting your parents and to see the way my old man's been.
[8:44] And my mum, it hurts.
[8:50] And then, yeah, when I got back to Australia, obviously that press conference there was, you know, really tough.
[8:57] Never really experienced anything like that either, you know, just so many lights flashing in your face.
[9:02] And I remember after I spoke, I kind of went back in the back room and just broke down in tears and I was, yeah, kind of nowhere for a while.
[9:14] Didn't really know what to do.
[9:18] Yeah, all this stuff had happened and things were taken away from me and I was kind of...
[9:24] I just didn't know what to do.
[9:26] Steve Smith and David Warner were banned for 12 months by Cricket Australia from domestic and international cricket.
[9:33] Cameron Bancroft, he copped a nine-month ban.
[9:37] And Tim Payne, well, the Tasmanian, he was thrown into the captaincy in absolutely bizarre scenes.
[9:44] How do you find out that you're going to be the 46th captain of the country?
[9:48] Um, yeah, I... Oh, so firstly, going back the morning after, we were in the change rooms and Smithy and Davey both spoke to the group and said that they would be standing down for the rest of the game.
[10:06] What was that like?
[10:07] Yeah, again, just bizarre.
[10:09] Just really weird.
[10:11] It was hard to put in words.
[10:13] It was some of the guys had already started their warm-up and had to come back up.
[10:16] A little bit emotional now, yeah?
[10:18] Yeah, very.
[10:19] Both of them were very emotional.
[10:20] A lot of the guys were sort of stunned.
[10:23] Yeah, and then sort of again crackered and sort of said, well, Payne, are you going to take over for the rest of the game?
[10:30] Yeah, I thought that would probably be it.
[10:32] and then we'd see what happened.
[10:35] But then about, I think about a week or so later, I spoke to James Sutherland, and he said that we're going to appoint you 46th captain of Australia, test captain.
[10:43] So, yeah, it's a funny, again, funny one to explain.
[10:46] I wouldn't say I was overly proud or excited.
[10:49] It was a unusual situation.
[10:50] Yeah, it was.
[10:51] Yeah.
[10:52] It brings to the end of a difficult tour for you guys.
[10:55] A bit of a break until the next test series.
[10:57] Time to settle things down.
[10:58] Yeah, we've got a fair bit of time now, so it'll be good for guys to get home and take a deep breath from everything that's happened.
[11:04] It's exciting again for a new group now that we can start to rebuild a new culture and hopefully perform a hell of a lot better than what we did in this Test match.
[11:17] Australia's preparations for the Red Bull component of their tour of South Africa are underway.
[11:22] Well, Australia versus South Africa, it's the Test Series some eight years in the making.
[11:27] Hi, mate, how are you?
[11:28] Yeah, yourself?
[11:29] Good, mate.
[11:30] I'm going to Durban by Perth and Johannesburg.
[11:33] Yeah.
[11:33] So it starts at a Virgin flight, then flips over to South Africa.
[11:36] First time back since the old sandpaper gate.
[11:39] I can't believe it is that long.
[11:40] That's 2018.
[11:41] Can I just get your pass?
[11:42] Yeah, of course you can.
[11:44] Thanks a lot for that, mate.
[11:45] This week in the build-up to the first test in South Africa.
[11:49] When are you flying back?
[11:51] Oh, not till like the 8th of November.
[11:53] Australia will return to South Africa to play test cricket for the first time since the infamous Sandpaper Gate Tour of 2018.
[12:00] And how many bags are you checking in?
[12:01] Just one, mate.
[12:01] Just one.
[12:02] Does that go all the way to Durban?
[12:04] Yes.
[12:05] Cheers, mate.
[12:06] All done.
[12:06] Thanks a lot for that.
[12:06] Appreciate it.
[12:07] Good man.
[12:08] A lot of water's passed under the bridge since then, but gee, the memories do linger.
[12:12] Righto, it is 6.05pm on Monday the 5th of October.
[12:17] I'm at Melbourne Airport and it'd be fair to say I don't have a great deal of detail as to what the test commentary involves.
[12:25] Not sure who I'm working with, etc.
[12:28] But I'm sure all will be revealed, no doubt, once we get to Durban.
[12:31] So, to get to Durban...
[12:33] Welcome to what's going to be a rhythmically long flight.
[12:36] We go in two hours' time from Melbourne to Perth, which takes about four and a half hours, then three hours in Perth, and then from Perth to Johannesburg, which is about another 11 and a half hours, and then we have a couple of hours in Johannesburg, and then a one-hour flight to Durban.
[12:52] So all up, settle in and relax, because we have about 24 hours of the journey to get us to where we need to go.
[13:06] Welcome to Perth.
[13:08] Watch an old school film on the flight.
[13:11] The Firm, Tom Cruise, still stacks up.
[13:15] Four out of five stars, I reckon.
[13:16] Time to get off this one now.
[13:18] Still a long way to go.
[13:26] Delay, big delay.
[13:28] Who knows what that does to our connection through from Jonasberg to Durban.
[13:33] I find in these situations you can either suffer on your own and just isolate yourself and go into your shell or turn to the bloke next to you and have a chat.
[13:43] So I turn to the bloke next to me and we start chatting.
[13:49] And you realise, which is why I'm doing this diary, people have an obsession for cricket.
[13:55] People love footy.
[13:57] They're passionate about footy.
[13:59] But cricket, for some reason, it just grabs some people and just takes over their life.
[14:07] Did you get some sleep, mate?
[14:10] Oh, I've got some pieces.
[14:11] Oh, it's not too bad there.
[14:13] I think it's OK.
[14:16] So how many of these cricket ships you been on?
[14:18] Oh, over 20.
[14:19] Have you?
[14:21] So where else have you been to?
[14:23] I've been to the Ashes four times.
[14:25] Have you?
[14:27] Sri Lanka?
[14:28] Three.
[14:29] Three times to Sri Lanka?
[14:31] West Indies.
[14:33] And you've been to a tour of South Africa before?
[14:36] This is my forwards from here.
[14:38] To South Africa?
[14:38] Yeah.
[14:39] Were you here last time?
[14:41] I saw that.
[14:42] Did you?
[14:43] Oh, obviously.
[14:44] Here at Newlands when it all kicked off?
[14:45] Oh, yeah.
[14:46] What did you make of it?
[14:48] Oh, it stuck.
[14:52] What was the reaction in the crowd when they showed it on the big screen?
[14:55] Oh, even the Australians were doing.
[14:57] Really?
[14:58] Oh, yeah.
[15:00] It weren't happening.
[15:01] So what keeps you going back to cricket tours?
[15:03] What do you love about it?
[15:03] Do you just love the game?
[15:05] The game I love.
[15:06] I love best cricket.
[15:08] And if you're paying your money to watch one Australian cricketer, who are you paying your money to watch?
[15:15] That's Hayden.
[15:16] Matty Hayden.
[15:17] You are a Queenslander, aren't you?
[15:19] I am.
[15:19] I am.
[15:21] Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention.
[15:25] Passengers with the connecting flight will be rushed in.
[15:30] We'll be rushed.
[15:31] We'll be rushed, all right, mate, because we've got 21 minutes to get our bags, go through customs and then get on the flight to Durban.
[15:38] That will be rushed.
[15:39] We'll be waiting for it, probably.
[15:41] We'll find out, won't we?
[15:43] One of the life's great mysteries is what happens when you get off at a delayed clock.
[15:50] Good morning.
[15:50] Morning, morning.
[15:51] How are you?
[15:53] Good.
[15:53] I'm trying to get to Durban, but I think the flight's just left.
[15:57] It was on a delay from Perth.
[16:00] What time's the next flight to Durban?
[16:03] It's at 9.25.
[16:05] 9.25.
[16:05] What time is it now?
[16:07] Now it's 25 to 8.
[16:08] Oh, not too bad.
[16:09] An hour and a half.
[16:11] Okay.
[16:11] Get number E5, but it's at 8.40.
[16:13] Beauty.
[16:14] Have a lovely day.
[16:14] Thanks for your help.
[16:15] Thank you.
[16:16] Bye-bye.
[16:16] Bye-bye.
[16:20] Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Kinshlaugan International Airport.
[16:24] Hello mate, how are you?
[16:25] I've got the bag.
[16:25] Thanks mate.
[16:26] No, no, I've got the exercise.
[16:28] I've been sitting on a plane for 24 hours.
[16:29] I've been sitting on a plane for 24 hours.
[16:30] Yeah, it got delayed and delayed and delayed.
[16:34] So you're kindly taking me to... Hilton.
[16:38] Hilton?
[16:39] Yes.
[16:39] Okay.
[16:41] They play good cricket.
[16:42] You think the Aussies play good cricket?
[16:43] They do.
[16:44] How do you think they're going to go against South Africa this week?
[16:49] I'm not seeing us giving a good chance in the test match.
[16:51] You really?
[16:52] You think Australia will win?
[16:54] Well, the weather looks OK today.
[16:56] Yeah, today.
[16:58] What about the first...
[16:58] I'd say come Friday.
[16:59] You think it's going to rain on the first day?
[17:01] Normally, it doesn't give us a good way to win for about cricketing.
[17:04] It's a bit like Sydney, mate.
[17:07] If there's cricket on, it rains.
[17:09] I'd like to check in, thank you.
[17:11] No problem.
[17:12] If I can have your passport, let's see if I have the room ready.
[17:16] Oh, that'd be good if you did.
[17:18] You're coming from Australia now?
[17:19] Yeah.
[17:20] Oh, that's nice.
[17:21] It's a long way.
[17:23] How long was the flight?
[17:24] It took all up 25 hours.
[17:28] I'm sure you're just going to go and sleep now.
[17:30] Yeah.
[17:30] Okay, let me know.
[17:31] Thank you, Osana.
[17:32] Thank you very much.
[17:33] Thank you.
[17:33] Enjoy your rest.
[17:34] No doubt I'll see you at some stage.
[17:35] Bye.
[17:44] All right, morning.
[17:45] It is Wednesday the 7th of October.
[17:47] It is 2 minutes to 9am.
[17:50] I've been up for 7 hours.
[17:51] Jet lag sucks.
[17:52] But I am joined by a man that is well known to the Howie Game audiences.
[17:56] He appeared on episode 198.
[17:57] Howie, Howie, Howie, Howie, Howie, Howie, Howie, Howie, Howie, Howie.
[18:02] That is the voice of today's guest.
[18:06] This is a man that I met two years ago and in many ways fell in love with everything about him.
[18:12] His name is Barat Sandarese.
[18:14] He is a cricket writer extraordinaire.
[18:16] He is a man of many talents.
[18:18] But right off the top, this is how we typically greet each other when we see each other around cricket grounds all around the world.
[18:24] I see him and I go, Ba-ra!
[18:30] And he is taking me on a treat today because Sunday Mason is in the back of an Uber.
[18:35] How are you, great man?
[18:36] We have to start with Howie.
[18:39] We do.
[18:39] Howie's doing really well, thank you.
[18:41] We are going to the nets.
[18:43] So this is something you do.
[18:44] You go to training sessions.
[18:46] I don't think I've ever been to an Australian net session.
[18:48] But this is your piece de resistance.
[18:52] Yes, we're calling this a net date, aren't we, Howie?
[18:54] A net date.
[18:55] Net day, it's nice.
[18:56] It's been long pending.
[18:57] I've been offering you this opportunity to stand next to me.
[19:01] Well, it's bizarre because in the TV world, you come in the day before and you have a production meeting and you turn up and you do the cricket, but you're a multi.
[19:11] You're doing SEN radio.
[19:12] You're probably doing six other things that I don't know about.
[19:14] So you go to these sessions and just glean little pieces of information.
[19:19] Indeed.
[19:19] I mean, it's something I've done throughout my, now what, 19-year journalism career.
[19:24] And the way I describe it to people is, if you're really interested in cars, if you're really interested in not just driving a car, but the whole mechanics and everything else, you'd want to go to a workshop and see how it's made, right?
[19:34] The nets are the workshop for cricketers.
[19:37] I mean, what we see in the middle during a match is the finished product.
[19:42] I'm more interested in why the Wise and the Watson products,
[19:46] what happens behind the scenes that leads to why Steve Smith bats the way he does, why Manas Labushain changes his car.
[19:52] I mean, he's not doing it in the middle.
[19:53] He's worked on it for three, four, five days leading into it.
[19:57] And I think over the years, what has also happened is, I think I've developed these unique relationships with a lot of these guys where they seem to know...
[20:07] that not just that I'm there, but if they've had a bad day, I know they've had a bad day.
[20:11] And yesterday was a great example.
[20:13] Steve Smith wasn't having a great time in the Nets.
[20:16] As he walked past, we didn't have to say anything.
[20:17] He just looked at me, gave me a shy smile and said, yuck.
[20:22] And I nodded back and said, yeah, it's pretty yucky, but there's tomorrow.
[20:25] Yeah.
[20:26] So you stand behind the net.
[20:28] Because I have seen this occasionally when I've been wandering by.
[20:31] You're a metre and a half.
[20:32] I've seen Manus turn and have a conversation with you in the nets.
[20:35] You are like a net whisperer.
[20:38] Yeah, I mean, over here, as you'll see, we can't stand behind the nets like it's all nets, but we'll not be too far away.
[20:44] But it doesn't matter where you stood.
[20:46] I mean, standing behind the nets is really handy, but even if you're, wherever you are, you can still pick out things.
[20:52] I mean, you need to know what you're looking for as well, which is very important.
[20:55] And with Manas and Steve in the past, and Manas in particular, not just had conversations, but he'd say, okay, keep an eye on my back foot and let me know, you know, how far it's going outside Austin.
[21:07] or is it going how far deep into the crease it's going or so many different intricacies that he adds to his batting.
[21:14] But it's similar with Steve as well.
[21:15] I mean, I remember at Lord's during the 2023 Ashes, one day he was just really struggling and he just turned around and said,
[21:23] Bharat, I'm useless.
[21:24] I'm just useless.
[21:25] And I said, you're not useless.
[21:26] You're bloody Steve Smith.
[21:28] And he faced another boss.
[21:29] He's like, nah, I think I can't do it anymore.
[21:30] I'm useless.
[21:31] And I said, all right, go away.
[21:32] Come back tomorrow.
[21:33] You're Steve Smith.
[21:34] And he batted for a while, went away.
[21:36] Next day, he was there, started middling everything.
[21:38] And I said, see, I told you, you're not useless.
[21:41] The funny thing that day on, Steve Smith nodded at me and we had a laugh was Steve's dad was standing next to me.
[21:46] And I remember Steve's dad turning around and looking at me and waiting.
[21:49] Who's this?
[21:50] That's my job.
[21:52] But it's just...
[21:53] I mean, I remember years ago with Kane Williamson.
[21:56] I picked up... You know, he used to roll his bat?
[21:57] Yes.
[21:58] And I picked up in the nets that he would do it at times even while, say, a Team Saudi or Trent Bolt is running in.
[22:04] Literally just as they're about to hit their delivery stride.
[22:06] So, very...
[22:08] casually I asked him one day after the next session and he looked at me and said, I actually do that?
[22:12] I was like, oh, you don't know?
[22:14] So he did, it was a subconscious thing.
[22:16] It was a trigger type thing we didn't realize.
[22:17] Exactly, and then, I don't know, this is 2020, we were in New Zealand, and then from that point on, he would just like finish the next session and walk up to me and say, did that look all right?
[22:27] And I remember Peter Fulton, who was their batting coach at that point, one day pulled me aside and said, can you and Kane not have these conversations when Gary Stead, the head coach, is watching?
[22:35] I'm gonna lose my job at this, man.
[22:38] So what will we see today in your mind?
[22:41] So it's two days out from the Test match.
[22:43] Are we seeing bowlers off full runs?
[22:46] Is this intense now?
[22:48] What am I going to see today?
[22:49] No, it will be intense.
[22:50] So they've broken up their main training session in a way, Australia.
[22:52] So everybody batted yesterday, but not everybody bowled.
[22:55] So Josh Hazelwood and Pat Cummins had a long spell.
[22:58] Scott Bolin was...
[23:00] unbelievably unplayable.
[23:01] Was he?
[23:02] And at one point, I remember Cummins and Bolin were bowling together, and Bolin was just going through everyone.
[23:07] And then Pat finishes his session and comes off and looks at Starkey and says, he was embarrassing me there.
[23:12] And he was that dude.
[23:15] Mitch Stark should bowl today.
[23:16] I think most of them will have a bat.
[23:20] And you also kind of start picking up things like, who likes to bat when, and what they're trying to do with their batting.
[23:26] Travis Head, for example,
[23:28] He's not the best Nets batter.
[23:30] And he'll be the first one to tell you that.
[23:32] But one thing he will be very conscious of is not getting out to the bowlers.
[23:36] Against the sidearm, against throwdowns, he doesn't care so much.
[23:39] But he really puts up prize on his picket because that's where he's getting into the zone.
[23:43] And for all his...
[23:45] you know, this reputation or this perception of Travis Head being this happy-go-lucky guy.
[23:50] He is probably the most serious in the Nets.
[23:52] He does not like anyone standing behind having a chat.
[23:55] I remember a few years ago at the MCG, I was there and someone came over and some other journal had a chat with me.
[24:02] And he came back at me with that because a few hours later I was interviewing Pat Cummins, you know, where the parking lot is at the MCG.
[24:09] And he started honking at me saying, what does it feel like now to you?
[24:12] That's just heady being heady.
[24:13] But, and, you know, you'll see Alex Carey working a lot on his wicket keeping, which is, I think, such a, I mean, underappreciated part of how good he's become with the gloves.
[24:26] Manus will be in there.
[24:28] I've seen him.
[24:28] He's not tinkering too much.
[24:30] He had a very short bat yesterday.
[24:32] We'll see if that continues into today.
[24:34] So they had a big fielding session, the main session yesterday.
[24:38] So I think today should be mainly about what they do with the bat and what they do with the ball.
[24:44] But you also start picking up.
[24:46] Not always, but at times, selection cues.
[24:48] Not on the basis of who's batting when, because they just mix the order up.
[24:52] But in terms of who's facing whom, who are the coaches having a chat with.
[24:56] And there are different types of pats on the back as well.
[24:59] There's the...
[25:00] Sorry, man.
[25:01] We might have to rest you for this game.
[25:03] Pat on the back.
[25:03] There's the arm around the shoulder saying...
[25:06] I think you're ready to play this game.
[25:07] I'm watching for the pat on the back.
[25:09] I'm watching the arm around as well.
[25:10] Final question for you.
[25:12] In these next three weeks, when do you and I get to hit the nets together?
[25:15] This is something that we need to do.
[25:17] We do.
[25:17] I do have my crickering whites and my bowling shoes.
[25:20] You've got your bowling shoes?
[25:22] Yeah.
[25:23] There's a few more injuries come Friday.
[25:25] Yeah.
[25:25] What are you going to send down?
[25:27] Off the wrong foot, hair flying everywhere, left arm pace.
[25:31] And I've been working out in the gym quite a bit, so my shoulder...
[25:33] I've noticed.
[25:33] Yeah, so it's... Pace is back, Howie.
[25:35] Right.
[25:36] The pace is back.
[25:37] But I might still need Alex Carey standing up to be.
[25:39] Right, we are having a net session at some stage during this tour.
[25:41] Well, man, Bharat, I will stick close to you and we'll be fine.
[25:45] You will be.
[25:45] Thanks, brother.
[25:50] Okay, so we're out training.
[25:51] I'm next to Bharat, who's just pointed out that there's an entire box of gloves here for Stephen Smith.
[25:57] How many pairs do you reckon are in there, Great Man?
[25:59] There would be, I'm going to say, between five and seven.
[26:02] And he often rates his net sessions based on how many pairs he's going to go through.
[26:06] Well, that pair's got 15 written on it.
[26:09] That's got the number 15 on it.
[26:11] That's really a concern.
[26:12] Yeah, often he'll come and say, oh, it's a 12-pair kind of day.
[26:15] You know, it's funny sitting here watching it.
[26:18] They're elite at what they do, but it's just, if you're a cricketer at home listening to this, a boy or a girl, woman or a man, it's not really much different to your local club cricket training session.
[26:29] There's a bit of a laugh, a bit going on, but they're just way better at it, aren't they?
[26:33] That's exactly what it is.
[26:34] Imagine having a job like this.
[26:35] I mean, you need to be really, really good to be at this level, but having a job where you just show up...
[26:41] play cricket, train, and everything's set up for you.
[26:45] And everybody else's job is to serve you in a way.
[26:48] Oh, that sounds wise.
[26:51] I don't have a personal ball chuck for me above and head.
[26:55] I need to speak to someone about that.
[26:56] I don't think that C. Greg, we typically get that way.
[27:00] Oh, look, if he was in India, it's easy to find one there.
[27:04] But it is that.
[27:07] It's just a bunch of guys who love what they're doing, get to do what they love doing, and just have a really good time.
[27:15] I've just seen Sammy Harper as well.
[27:17] Just having a chat with him, you're saying...
[27:20] Two years ago, I didn't play the last Shield game.
[27:22] I got dropped.
[27:24] And now I've started to back myself.
[27:25] He's like, yesterday I played golf with Mitchell Stark.
[27:28] And then I'm facing Josh Hazelwood in the Nets.
[27:31] He'll be ready to go if required.
[27:33] But I love the innocence of him talking about what this opportunity means for him.
[27:40] Timing is everything, isn't it?
[27:41] Yeah.
[27:41] I mean, timing is just everything.
[27:43] Like you said, despite all the runs he made for Victoria, it was the back end of the Shield season as opener as well.
[27:49] I don't think he would have really expected to be the one getting the call up.
[27:53] I mean, there was Josh Philippe on tour as well, who has been around the international team before.
[27:58] But he's the one guy to make 100 on that Australia Tour of India.
[28:03] That too backs against the wall 100 as well.
[28:05] Yeah.
[28:06] Josh English gets injured.
[28:07] He gets the call off.
[28:08] He said Tony Dottomag came over and it's, you're on a 10 o'clock flight tonight from Chennai and you go to South Africa.
[28:15] And he's like, okay, I'll pack my gear and off we go.
[28:18] And, I mean, God forbid, it doesn't happen, but he's won...
[28:23] Finger injury for Alex Carey.
[28:25] And we don't want that to happen.
[28:26] Yeah.
[28:27] But you're one injury away from Sam Harper from nowhere playing a test match for Australia.
[28:33] And I'm sure he'd do a great job of it too.
[28:35] He would.
[28:36] And, hey, you speak about him coming in only for Alex Carey.
[28:38] I mean, if Matt Renshaw doesn't get runs in the first two tests and the series is lost or whatever.
[28:44] He's opening the batting next to Travershead.
[28:46] He's opening the bat.
[28:46] Facing Big Mark A. Jansen.
[28:47] There you go.
[28:48] Righto.
[28:55] is the facilities.
[28:57] The decks look spicy, but I'm watching Big Starkey with his long run-up, and there's a couple of sort of little pothole areas, so we're not talking pristine here out the back of the Kingsmead ground.
[29:09] You wouldn't forbid anything happens to the big man, so he's just running in literally past me now.
[29:13] About his fifth or sixth step, there's a little divot that his ankle goes into, but he looks sharp, and Sammy Harper's doing everything he can to just keep him out.
[29:23] Now, what you also get at these training sessions are what are called net bowlers.
[29:28] So when the big boys are done, because the batters might be in there for three hours rotating through, you get your net bowlers.
[29:34] I'm just sitting a couple over to the side.
[29:36] So these are young fellas on the up and up in cricket that are going to potentially get the opportunity to bowl to the Australians.
[29:43] I've got a story about that for later on, maybe in the series, when I had a chance to do that.
[29:47] It's a frightening, frightening caper.
[29:48] I'm going to have a chat to these boys, see what they think.
[29:50] You going to have a bowl, mate?
[29:52] Yeah.
[29:52] Yeah.
[29:53] Hiya.
[29:53] How are you?
[29:53] I'm Howie.
[29:54] What's your name?
[29:54] Barron.
[29:55] Barron?
[29:55] Yeah.
[29:57] Where are you from, Byron?
[29:58] I'm originally from here, but I play over in Ireland.
[30:00] Right.
[30:01] Yeah.
[30:02] Been there the last six years and cracked the spot there.
[30:05] Hey, mate, I'm Howie.
[30:06] Abdullah.
[30:06] Where are you from, Abdullah?
[30:08] I'm from Darwin as well.
[30:09] You're going to bowl?
[30:09] Yes, thanks.
[30:10] How are you boys feeling about bowling to Australia?
[30:12] Yeah.
[30:13] Are you nervous?
[30:14] No.
[30:14] So what are you going to send out?
[30:16] Pace?
[30:16] Yeah.
[30:17] I just need to get a couple of overs and I fly back on Saturday.
[30:21] Right.
[30:21] I had two weeks off, so I need to get the loads back up.
[30:24] What about you, Abdullah?
[30:25] What are you going to send down?
[30:26] Medium Pace.
[30:27] Medium Pace?
[30:27] Yeah.
[30:28] Who would you like to bowl to the most?
[30:29] Barnas.
[30:30] Barnas.
[30:30] Smith as well.
[30:32] Smith.
[30:32] Yeah.
[30:32] What about you, mate?
[30:34] Trab Head.
[30:34] Trab Head.
[30:35] Yeah.
[30:35] Well, I'm going to be watching on you blokes, and I want you to impress, okay?
[30:38] Yeah.
[30:38] I want you to bring a little bit to the table.
[30:40] Nice to meet you guys.
[30:41] Nice to meet you.
[30:41] Enjoy the cricket, huh?
[30:42] Cheers.
[30:43] Good luck.
[30:44] Okie dokie, it is 12.23pm now.
[30:47] Training is pretty much done just on the side of the road.
[30:49] As you can note out here, the traffic in the background at the Kingsmeade Ground here in Durban, heading back towards base.
[30:55] Training, that was cool.
[30:57] You don't really get that type of access up close.
[30:59] There's normally fences and crowds around, but we're right amongst it.
[31:02] The Aussies look sharp.
[31:03] They look really focused.
[31:04] They're really focused.
[31:05] Pretty intense.
[31:06] Steve Smith was pretty intense.
[31:07] Marnus was pretty intense.
[31:09] And Mitchell Stark steaming in, as I said, over those potholes was A1 on the money.
[31:13] So the Aussies, it's obviously a massive test series.
[31:16] There's going to be a lot of focus on it.
[31:17] They're ready to go come Friday.
[31:20] Talking about Friday, we will drop episode two probably at the end of the test, but maybe during, depending on how we go, and we'll take you behind the scenes on the broadcast.
[31:30] I'll explain who I'm actually working for.
[31:33] All the wash-up from the test matches, this adventurous tour continues.
[31:37] Thanks for tuning in to episode one.
[31:38] Spread the word with your crew.
[31:40] Episode two of the Test Diaries coming your way soon.
[31:43] Until then, you know the rest of the drill.
[31:45] Peace and love.

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